Baseball put in perspective for Vandy's Westlake

It's stories like this one about Vanderbilt freshman Aaron Westlake that put sports in perspective.

Redding.com reports that the first baseman was taking batting practice April 7 when he noticed he could not extend on his swings. Teammates saw that his right arm was turning purple and swelling so Westlake headed to the team's training room and then the Vanderbilt Medical Center emergency room, where he was diagnosed with a blood clot.

Over the next few days, a total of four potentially fatal blood clots were discovered. The first three were removed and now doctors are trying the dissolve the fourth by putting the 19-year-old on blood-thinners.

According to the article, the doctors diagnosed it as Paget-Schrotter Syndrome, which can come about through constant exercise of the shoulders. As a baseball player, Westlake did just that, making him susceptible.

Westlake remained in the hospital on Tuesday, although his father, the head trainer at Maxim Physical Therapy, said he is improving and could be released today.

"The best way you can describe it is he isn't out of the woods yet," Steve Westlake said, "but there's daylight between the trees."

Our thoughts are with Aaron and we certainly wish him well in his recovery.