Q&A: Aces guard reflects on surviving life-threatening infection
Tiffany Mitchell has a story that can bring even the toughest WNBA coaches to tears.
The veteran guard, who signed with the Aces this offseason, is nearly a year removed from a life-threatening battle with sepsis that saw her undergo surgeries and blood transfusions as her medical team worked to repair six abdominal abscesses.
Mitchell, 30, went in for what was meant to be a routine procedure during the 2024 All-Star break. Once she realized she wasn’t getting better within the estimated recovery time, she returned for a weekslong hospital stay that kept her from completing the second half of the season with the Connecticut Sun.
Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White coached the Sun last year and called Mitchell’s recovery “a really emotional time” ahead of the Aces’ win Sunday over the Fever.
“Every time I see her on the floor, I just smile. I’m thankful,” White said. “Just incredibly proud of her strength.”
For Aces coach Becky Hammon, Mitchell’s journey was a surprise.
“I knew she had gotten sick. I didn’t know how extreme it was,” Hammon said. “I watched her (WNBA on ION feature) probably three or four times. I cry every time I watch it, just because of her perspective.”
In former South Carolina teammate A’ja Wilson’s absence, the 5-foot-9-inch Mitchell made two starts for the Aces at forward and scored a season high of 10 points in one of them.
“Once a person has had to look death in the face … it’s a different outlook,” Hammon said. “And I think her outlook and just willingness to try to learn and grow in all these other areas has been good.”
Mitchell reflected on her first season back in a sit-down interview with the Review-Journal before the Aces (6-7) host the Sun (2-12) on Wednesday:
RJ: Does facing the Connecticut Sun come with extra emotions?
Mitchell: I think I kind of got my emotions out the way when we went to Connecticut earlier in the season (an 87-62 win May 20). This go-around will be a lot happier, just to catch up with some friends and some of the staff that’s still there that helped me get through everything.
When I was cleared, (strength coach Analisse Rios) spent almost every day with me, twice a day, just working out. I lost an extreme amount of weight when I was in the hospital. And when I got back to Connecticut, it was definitely an uphill battle. Even though I was all the way from my family after everything that just happened, she made it feel like there was someone who genuinely wanted me to get better.
And also (Jeanie Brooks), she’s the assistant trainer. She actually came to my house to take care of me. She’s seen the bad, where it could have gone left or right. So those two are literally like my life-savers. I’m about to get emotional already.
RJ: You say you’ve always been a fighter. How has that mindset helped you during your recovery and comeback process?
Mitchell: Throughout the course of my career, I’ve been put in a lot of different situations with teams. I’ve had injuries that could have been career-ending. So it’s just kind of being mentally strong in those moments that you feel like your back is against the wall. How are you going to react? I didn’t want my story to end in the hospital. Coming from a single-parent household, seeing my mom do everything like a superwoman, I feel like I just take on that same type of independence. I used every ounce of energy to recover to the point where I couldn’t even talk. It’s just a mindset thing that I think was instilled in me since I was younger.
RJ: With everything you’ve been through, does the game feel different now?
Mitchell: Yeah. I didn’t even know there was a thing called post-sepsis syndrome. But there were times that I felt differently on the court and just in my body and I wasn’t putting two and two together — it’s just the aftermath of contracting sepsis. Each day is different for me. Sometimes you fatigue faster, you have low energy. So I have to do things differently now to prepare myself to deal with that. So I’d say, every time I’m on the court, I try to give 100 percent. I have to give myself grace to just be able to give what I’m able to give, and go from there.
RJ: What has been the greatest challenge of adjusting for you this year?
Mitchell: I’ve had to guard (6-7) Li Yueru, (6-6) Dominique Malonga. I’m like … girl. I didn’t have that on my bingo card. It’s hard. I’m not gonna sit here and act like it’s not, because every single night I’m guarding literally (positions) one through four and then having to play the four on offense, so it’s like having to know different positions, different plays.
I’m somebody who’s always gonna figure it out. I don’t know how long it’s gonna take and when everything is gonna click and start to flow and look a lot better, but I think (Hammon) does trust me. So I just try to not let her and the team down in those aspects. But again, I try to give myself some grace, because this year I’m doing some things I’ve literally never done in my entire career. But I think (Hammon) chose the right person to figure it out.
RJ: What’s it been like reuniting with Wilson?
Mitchell: In college, I was on the wing a lot. But we have glimpses now where she goes into ball screens, I’m coming off screens, and it’s kind of like that flashback of South Carolina games with the pick-and-roll. Either you’re gonna stop me getting to the rim or you’re gonna go off to A’ja. But I just love being out here with her, watching her greatness and kind of filling in where I need to and just doing my part.
RJ: What was your favorite memory with her in college?
Mitchell: When she first got to school, she was a little reserved. Her family was right down the street; mine was an hour away. We come from families that we want to always be around, but I’m like,”A’ja, you’re in college. Live a little.” I literally dragged her out of her bed one time to come run the streets with me. Of course, we got our stuff done in the gym. But when that and school were done, it was time for a little bit of fun. So whatever Coach (Dawn Staley) had in mind, if she thought we were asleep, we definitely weren’t. But, hey, we made it to practice.
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.