Simron Dhillon has the heart of a lion.

The Yuba City High senior is running up and down the soccer field, thanks to emergency surgery two years ago to repair part of his aorta.

“The doctors told me I might have died or at least had a heart attack if I had played,” said Dhillon, who is known among his friends and teammates as Sim.

It all began after his freshman season. At the time, he was playing competitive league soccer, and one Friday night before a game, Dhillon suddenly had a hard time catching his breath.

“I couldn’t breathe properly,” Dhillon said Thursday, while sitting in the stands at Honker Stadium waiting to take the field for Yuba City in a Tri-County Conference game against cross-town rival River Valley. “I almost passed out at home.”

His parents, Rajinder and Makhan Dhillon, rushed their son to an urgent care facility, where his current coach, Paul Shank, happened to be on duty.

“Coach told me no way was I playing the next day,” Dhillon said.

Shank, a physician’s assistant, told Dhillon he needed to see a doctor right away and have tests scheduled.

“He set me up with a pediatrics cardiologist, who ordered some tests,” Dhillon said.

When he learned how serious his condition was - a coarctation of the aorta, or the narrowing of the main heart artery - Dhillon admits he was scared.

There was nothing Dhillon could have done to prevent the condition.

“It’s congenital; he was born with it,” Shank said.

Surgery was quickly scheduled at Stanford Medical Center.

Rather than crack open his chest to access the aorta, surgeons went in through his back, Shank said.

“It’s an easier approach with a kid,” Shank said.

Normally, with a coarctation of the aorta, Shank said, surgeons remove the bad section and replace it with a graft. But because Dhillon’s damaged section was so long, surgeons put a patch on the damaged area, Shank explained.

Dhillon remained at Stanford for more than a week and, after he returned home, he still made periodic visits to the hospital as well as his pediatric cardiologist.

“It takes about a year for someone like Sim to recover,” said Shank, explaining that Dhillon’s youth and athletic background were certainly advantages.

The recovery period forced Dhillon to miss his sophomore soccer season at Yuba City.

“It was hard waiting to get back on the field,” Dhillon said, admitting all he could do was watch from the sidelines as his friends and teammates had fun playing the game he loves.

When he finally returned to the soccer field his junior year, Dhillon admitted his teammates treated him with extra care.

“They didn’t want to do anything that might send me back to the hospital,” Dhillon said.

Shank said it took that season for everyone to get comfortable again.

“He was basically a nonfactor,” Shank said.

Now Dhillon is flourishing.

His teammates involve him in the play, and the Honkers have opened the year 11-4-1. They are 3-2 in league play.

“They know I’m fine now and we play around like we used to before,” Dhillon said.

And Dhillon is now an integral part of the Honkers team, Shank said.

Dhillon can play in the midfield, up front scoring goals as a forward or play in the back on defense, Shank said.

“He’s playing as well as he’s ever played,” Shank added. “He’s a great player. He’s tough and does a great job for us.”

More importantly, Dhillon is again doing what he loves. In fact, he has hopes of playing soccer at Yuba College next fall.

“He’s a gem,” Shank said.

While the patch has fixed the problem, in another 20 years or so, Dhillon said he may eventually have to go back for additional surgery.

“But there is nothing to worry about,” he said.

Appeal-Democrat sports reporter Richard Myers can be reached at 749-4714. You may e-mail him at rmyers@appeal-democrat.com