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GRASSR OO TS Battling back against the odds with family support


LEXIE CASTILLOW, 16, DREAMS OF playing NCAA Division I volleyball, but she has needed to overcome the odds not just among other recruitable athletes for the few precious spots on college teams. Like so many other pre-teens, Castillow began playing volleyball at age 12 and loved the sport. She joined Fort Smith Juniors in Arkansas four years ago and continues to play libero for Fort Smith Juniors 16-1s and at Greewood High School. Castillow, who carries a 3.8 grade point average, earned a basket load of honors in 2015, including all-conference and All-Arkansas Prep as she finished first in digs for 6A and fourth overall in the state. But she has needed to overcome so much to


reach her current level on the volleyball court. While at softball practice in April 2010, she was running the bases. When she reached sec- ond base, she started to limp and by the time she crossed home plate she was full of pain and collapsed to the ground crying – something so uncommon for her as she pushes herself beyond her own limits. Her parents took her straight to the


orthopedic office and X-rays confirmed she had a tumor they had not seen before. Doctors referred Castillow to Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas. In Little Rock, doctors confirmed the diagnosis. Castillow had a giant cell tumor of the bone and giant cell sarcoma of the lungs, a cancerous blood disorder. The disease affects the bone-making cells of the body and is considered a rare, aggressive tumor that grows rapidly. The cancer generally occurs in the knee with an 18 percent chance of recurring – both situations that affected Castillow. Doctors were forced to remove her entire right patella which was followed by months of physical therapy. In two percent of patients with this form of cancer, it metastasizes to the lungs, which


AED’s and being in the right


place at the right time The first thing Jennifer Popp does when she walks into a new tournament venue or practice facility is find the automated external defibrillator on site. Maybe that comes from working for years in the health-care field as an X-ray technician, but that is something every coach, official and spectator at a youth sporting event is capable of doing. And it’s a good thing she did. That’s because on Jan 24, Popp and Trish


Lorenz, two parents of 18-year-old girls in the Lakeshore Storm Volleyball Club, needed an AED to save the life of a 50-year-old gentle- man who was having a heart episode at a


Lexie Castillow has been a battler on and off the court. (Photo: Terry Buzbee)


happened to Castillow. She had the lower third of her right lung removed, along with a tumor mass from the upper left lung. Castillow has numerous small tumors still remaining in her lungs. Castillow receives monthly XGEVA treatments, a form of chemotherapy. As of today, her prognosis is unknown due to the limited research. Despite the health setbacks, Castillow con- tinues to play volleyball wearing a bulky brace allowing her right knee to function and holds onto that dream of playing Division I. “My inspiration for continuing volleyball


was driven by my determination to defy all odds and continue to do something that made me happy,” Castillow said. “Doctors told me that my sports career days were over after losing my patella. However, I could not find peace with these words. This being said, I pushed myself through physical therapy to learn how


volleyball tournament they were at in Crystal Lake, Illinois. “We were in the right place at the right time to help this man,” Popp said. “It just doesn’t feel real. You don’t expect to ever have to do that. It’s very emotional, and it’s still hard to talk about it sometimes to this day. Some- thing we will never get over.” Lorenz and Popp had been sitting close to a


part of the facility that had a lot of foot traffic at the Sky High Volleyball Complex when they heard others frantically asking for a doctor or others with medical experience to come to the assistance of a man who collapsed. “When I got there, Trish (a licensed physi- cian) was doing compressions,” Popp said. “We asked the people at the building to go and get the AED, and they did. We shocked him just


66 | VOLLEYBALLUSA • Digital Issue at usavolleyball.org/mag


to use my leg again. In order to play sports, I have to wear a brace that I didn’t like so much but the reward of playing was greater. My faith also inspires me because throughout recovery, I felt that God was calling me to overcome my weaknesses and to inspire oth- ers on and off the court. Also, my dream of playing volleyball at the collegiate level is also something that inspires me to leave it all out on the court.” According to her father Steve, volley- ball has been a therapy in her recovery even though doctors told her sports were not in the cards any longer for her. “She has continued to play volleyball because it takes her mind off of everything that she goes through with her disease,” Steve Castillow said. “Sports have always been a big part of her life starting with playing travel softball at four-years-old and then volleyball happened. She was determined to play after losing her patella despite the doctor telling her that sports were over. Going through treat- ments has taught her to be thankful and just how blessed she is to be able to play volleyball, whereas others are worse and sit in a hospital for long periods of time. She says volleyball takes her body away from feeling sick and that makes her thankful to the sport.” Castillow’s teammates feed off of her drive to be successful and her story inspires them to work hard and leave everything on the court. “This disease has taught me that you should always be thankful for every day and make the best out of every day,” Castillow said. “Also, it has taught me to understand what is more important in life: my relationship with Christ and my family and friends. This disease has taught me to always stay humble because I have seen other kids who struggle even more than I do. It has made me be able to not be worried about the future, but to live for today.”


the once and did some more compressions after that and he started to come to a little bit.” The man didn’t know what was going on


or where he was, Popp said, but they did get enough information out of him to know he was from Minnesota at the tournament watch- ing his daughter. By the time the ambulance had arrived,


Popp said he was able to squeeze their hands and move his legs, and other facility staff mem- bers were able to find his 15-year-old daughter and other family that came to the tournament with him. After arriving at the hospital, the man received the proper care and was recov- ering, Popp said, with word getting back to others at the tournament that he was going to be OK. “Trish and I felt good that we had each


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