On March 3, Megan Penny was riding high. She had merely strike a two-run estate run to lead the Fontainebleau softball group to a crucial District 6-5A gain over Northshore. The Bulldogs were undefeated at that point, and Penny, their sophomore catcher, was a primary demand why.
Two days later, Penny told her family she wasn’t feeling well. After a couple of games in the Lafayette tournament that weekend, they noticed she looked ill. After that she began vomiting, and she missed school on March 7. Penny returned on March 8, primarily so she could play in that day’s game versus Hammond. However once she got to the Fontainebleau fieldhouse to dress out, she began vomiting again.
Penny was taken to a doctor. She and her family figured she had a stomach virus. However after blood was drawn, the medical staff asked for one more sample since something merely wasn’t right.
“Her white blood cell matter was so high, they believed their machine was broken,” Megan’s father, Eddie Penny, said.
Megan Penny was accepted straightaway to St. Tammany Parish Hospital, where doctors broke the news that she had leukemia. It didn’t appear right then, and it still doesn’t, Penny said.
“It literally happened so fast,” the 16-year old Covington resident said. “On the third, I strike a estate run. On the fifth, I truly started to feel gross and from it. On the ninth, I had leukemia. I believed I was merely tired from starting the season up again. Maybe I had the flu.”
Penny was taken by ambulance later that night to Ochsner in brand-new Orleans. She was offered a spinal tap and her very first chemotherapy treatment. She now is undergoing chemo two times a week for 28 days, After that will certainly receive a monthly treatment for one more two years. She will certainly not return to school until the fall at earliest, and softball is on hold temporarily, otherwise indefinitely.
The news hasn’t broken Penny’s spirit, however. She gave a glimpse of her toughness just minutes after she learned she had leukemia.
“I’m not going out enjoy this,” she announced to family, coaches, and teammates gathered at St. Tammany Parish Hospital.
That’s become something of a mantra for Penny. A Facebook group was started and titled “I’m Not Going Out enjoy This.” She said she thinks regarding that statement often, now that she’s focusing every one of her focus on beating cancer.
“There is no others means to take it,” she said. “The cancer is alive in me. Points that are alive can easily feel fear. I can’t reveal it fear, or it will certainly be worse. I can’t allow it grab to me. It takes a mental toughness, and I’m lucky I’ve had that my whole life. There’s not time for negativity. There is so considerably positivity and support.”
Though she won’t play for Fontainebleau again this season, Penny stays in close contact along with her teammates. One in particular has actually something in common a lot more compared to their red and black group jersey.
Berkeley Mardis, a junior at Fontainebleau, was diagnosed along with bone cancer throughout her freshman year of higher school. She now starts on the junior varsity team, and is an energetic user in the varsity dugout. She’s been cancer free for nearly two years after having portion of her fibula removed.
“It’s hard,” Mardis said of her own recovery However additionally attempting to grasp her friend’s illness. “However I told her I’m going to be there for her, no matter what. I told her I already know exactly what she’s going through, and I already know exactly what she’s thinking. If you reason me, come to me.”
Penny said she’s taken those words to heart.
“Berkeley gets it,” Penny said. “She knows chemo. She knows doctor appointments. She knows exactly what happens next. She understands. The others girls on the group were there once she went through her cancer. So they already know regarding the late night texts once you can’t sleep. They already know exactly how to deal along with it and exactly how to advice too. I don’t already know if I could do this devoid of such a fantastic group of girls.”
Others in the community have actually reached out, as well. On March 19, a softball incentive was held to improve your hard earned cash to advice defray the Penny family’s medical bills. Penny joined attendance and checked out as Fontainebleau defeated St. Scholastica. Slidell and Springfield additionally played. Pictures were taken, and hugs were shared.
“It was an awesome day,” Penny said. “There was such a big turnout, and to have actually so lots of individuals there that I’ve played ball along with for years was truly special. It was my very first full day out in a while. It felt excellent to be spine in my element.”
Eddie Penny said softball has actually been an crucial portion of his daughter’s life for years. He knows she misses it. And along with 80-85 percent of persons her age beating leukemia complying with right treatment, there is a possibility she could play again in the future.
“She’s handling the bodily portion truly well,” he said. “And mentally, she’s among the toughest youngsters I’ve ever seen. She’s not letting it grab to her … yet. She wishes to beat this and play ball. That’s exactly what she does.”
