BUTTE – The ‘Saints we Ain’t’ all-female boxing ticket in Butte ushered in a new era of athletes that showed everyone that you can truly do anything you set your mind to. Among the trailblazers to fight that day was Amanda Guidoni. Fast forward to June and she’s been preparing for a much different kind of fight.
“I was just having some weird symptoms. I was gaining some unexplained weight, I was feeling kind of tired and having pain in my legs and my feet,” said Amanda Guidoni.
A trip to the doctors revealed that Amanda had a murmur in her heart. An electrocardiogram (EKG) was done and showed more irregularities, until an echocardiogram test revealed the problem.
“And that showed that I have a hole in my heart they call an A-S-D, Atrial Septal Defect,” Guidoni added. “And it’s something that I’ve probably had since birth but it hasn’t given me problems until now.”
Luckily for Amanda this condition is rather common and in her case doesn’t need to be fixed with open-heart surgery. However, it will take her out of the ring for a bit. But we have not seen the last of Amanda “Guido” Guidoni
“I was very happy because (the doctor) said that at first for the first few months I’ll be on some heavier blood thinners,” she added. “But once I’m weaned off of the blood thinners a little bit he said there’s no reason I can’t go back full swing.”
There really was never any doubt Amanda wouldn’t get back in the ring. You see, she has to prove to a very special someone that you can always fight back when you’re pinned down.
This is where we meet Ireland, Amanda’s adopted daughter who lives a great normal life like any two year old would. But it wasn’t always easy for little Ireland growing up.
Amanda says Ireland has a condition called tetralogy of fallot, a combination of four congenital abnormalities. The four defects include a ventricular septal defect (VSD), pulmonary valve stenosis, a misplaced aorta and a thickened right ventricular wall (right ventricular hypertrophy). So they had patched a hole in her heart and it was diagnosed as VSD. It’s very similar to what she is going through, only Ireland’s hole was in her ventricles.
And it wasn’t over there for her. A loose patch sent her back to the operating table for a second heart surgery. But she fought, just like her mom always does in the ring.
“So people look up to me for boxing and have admired me for that, and it’s the same thing with her. I watched her go through all of that, and even though she was tiny and probably afraid, she was tough and she was amazing,” added Amanda. “So the way they look up to me I look up to her.”
It was almost as if fate brought these two into each other’s lives
“It’s just crazy through all of that that I had no idea that I myself had a little hole in there,” says Guidoni. “And so it’s amazing how the world has brought us together, and it just kind of feels like even more so now that we were meant to be.”
Ireland has been through more in her two years of life than most go through in a lifetime. It’s that strength that Amanda wants her daughter to know one day was the inspiration for her comeback story.
“I would like her to know that she was my hero and I get a little emotional when I say that,” Guidoni said. “But I hope throughout her whole life she can draw from her experience. I hope she can look back on what she’s been through and become stronger and stronger for it. And she will definitely know how much she inspired me.”
This is only part one of Amanda Guidoni’s journey back into the ring.
