Road to recovery has 18 holes: Justin Komp displays determination to play golf after heart transplant
WAUKESHA, Wis. (BVM) — Justin Komp missed most of his junior year at Catholic Memorial High School last year and almost lost his life.
As his heart was failing him, causing the rest of his organs to follow suit, Komp needed a heart transplant. He got the life-saving procedure in December of 2018. After the procedure, he had one goal.
“What I told my doctor, what I told my parents and what I told myself was when all of this stuff is over and I get my new heart I’m going to pick up right where I left off,” Komp said. “I might have some limitations, but what I want to do is be my normal self and try to get to normal as much as possible.”
It just so happened that the golf season was coming up, so to pick up where he had left off for Komp started with golf.
“I remember going up to the hospital to visit him after he had the surgery,” said Catholic Memorial boys golf head coach Steve Plechaty. “What was so amazing was his optimistic spirit. He had set some goals for himself. He was talking about swinging the golf club even while he was laying in a hospital bed with all kinds of tubes hooked up to him. That was the beginning of it.”
What followed was a slow, but persistent process of recovering what Komp had lost.
“The big issue for me was how many holes can I walk while carrying a golf bag,” Komp said.
At the beginning of the 2019 spring season, he could only carry a bag for about a hole and a half. From there, he began putting clubs in teammates’ bags and walking with them at practice to build up his stamina.
“He got clearance from the doctors to do a little putting and a little bit of chipping his junior year,” Plechaty said. “By the end of the year, he was swinging the club and he played a couple of nine hole rounds. He really didn’t want any special treatment as far as he could’ve had a golf cart. He wanted to walk.”
Using a push cart, Komp was able to get back to playing shape months after a heart transplant and even help his team.
“My first match was during the week of Easter when we were short-staffed and needed players so I was out there playing,” Komp said.
Through all of his hardships, Komp’s showed perseverance and determination to not let what had happened to him hold him back. His story was inspiring to anyone who heard of it or met him. It had a massive impact on his teammates.
“His teammates were really encouraging,” Plechaty said. “In a lot of ways that was inspiring. It wasn’t about what number he was going to shoot. It wasn’t about his score. It wasn’t about placing in tournaments; the story really was his courage and determination to get back on the course and play. It really had an impact on his teammates.”
Komp reiterated Plechaty’s sentiments saying that his teammates were “amazing.” He also explained how opposing players and coaches made efforts to help him out on the course.
Komp finished the season, but that didn’t stop his comeback. During his senior year, he was able to try out for the volleyball team. Even though he didn’t make the team, he became the manager and played on senior night.
After volleyball, Justin began preparing for golf. More than just playing his last season of golf, Komp wanted to push the team like he pushed himself. He worked with the other upperclassmen to coordinate winter hitting sessions.
His leadership led to him being named a captain on the golf team — a role he has lived up to not only before the season and during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also during a time when their season had been lost, Komp was still encouraging his teammates to go and play.
Komp has fought for his life and worked hard for everything he has gotten back. Through it all, he has inspired those around him and has also led them. He has done more than pick up where he left off. He’s gone way beyond that.
