Aug. 13--A mix of rain and sun produced one of nature's wonders on July 12 during the Amateur Softball Association 16-under State Tournament at Springfield.
Or was it two?
"There were two rainbows ...," confirmed Kayli Newell, pitcher for the Illini Inferno. "... one with each of our names on it."
That may not have been clear to most who watched the Bloomington-Normal Girls Softball Association Red Hots defeat the Inferno, 7-0. Yet, to Newell and Red Hots' second baseman Katie Gibbons, the rainbows were symbolic of the journey that united them on that mid-summer day.
Both had endured dark clouds, and been told their softball careers were over. Instead, they were on the field. The sky was bright again.
Their story, while heartwarming, is mostly heart regulating.
Newell, 17, of Tremont, is back in the game thanks to an Automatic Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (AICD), a device that monitors heart rate and gives the heart a shock in the event of life-threatening arrhythmias.
Newell suffers from ventricular tachycardia. On May 11, 2007, it caused her to collapse during a Tremont High School junior varsity game, and in October led to chest pain and a near-collapse during class.
Gibbons, 16, of Normal, is playing with a pacemaker ICD necessitated by Long QT syndrome, which leads to arrhythmia during exercise or excitement and can result in fainting or sudden death. Unlike Newell, she had no warning signs. Her defect was discovered during tests to determine the source of recurring headaches.
Two cardiologists told Gibbons she could no longer play softball. A third, in Indianapolis, told her there were options, most notably the ICD.
"My parents weren't convinced that was the right way to go," Gibbons said. "It's major surgery, it's super expensive and 'is it (softball) really worth that?' "
Ironically, a story on Newell's return to the diamond, aired in April on WHOI-TV in Peoria, led Matt and Kelli Gibbons to open up to the idea. A friend alerted them to Newell's story, and Kelli Gibbons contacted Lisa Newell, Kayli's mother and a paramedic.
"After my mom talked to Lisa, she was convinced it would be OK because it was proven to work," Katie Gibbons said.
So in May, after watching her sophomore season with the Normal Community junior varsity from the dugout/first-base coaching box, Gibbons underwent surgery, seven months after Newell.
Still, neither they, nor their parents, had met before the July 12 game at Springfield.
"I was like, 'Oh my gosh. That's her,' " Gibbons said.
Afterward, she told Newell, "You're the reason I'm playing softball."
"We took pictures and exchanged scars," Newell said. "It felt good that I was able to help someone."
The two have kept in contact through phone calls, text messages, etc. While the topics vary, the communication almost always includes softball.
"It's in our blood," said Newell, who also has endured three surgeries on her left knee, the most recent two weeks ago. "Asking us not to play is like asking us not to breathe."
"It sounds bad that you would give your life for a sport, but that is what I live for," Gibbons said.
Their parents' peace of mind extends beyond the diamond. Kelli Gibbons used to worry constantly that her daughter would "do things she's not supposed to do."
"To Katie, it was all softball. For us, it's so much more than softball," Kelli Gibbons said. "Every time she would leave I'd think, 'OK, somebody watch over her because I can't be there right now.' "
Don and Lisa Newell are relieved as well, though as a paramedic, Lisa said, "I know you can have a defibrillator and still die from cardiac arrest."
"Some parents have told me, 'I'd have said no way my daughter is going to play,' " she added. "But this was happening whether Kayli was playing softball or sleeping or at dinner. Are we going to tell her to stop eating or stop sleeping? And if you knew Kayli, you can't just put her in a box. She's going to do what she wants to do."
Topping the list is softball. Newell said she has played "since I could walk," and at age 9 was diagnosed with asthma because of occasional breathing problems during physical activity. Turns out it likely was the heart problem.
She says she now can tell when episodes are about to occur and can keep them from progressing too far.
"But the AICD is there for that one time I might not be able to," Newell said.
The same applies for Gibbons, who was given the Sportsmanship Award on the NCHS JV team. Matt Gibbons praised NCHS JV coach Dana Curby and varsity coach Bob Grimes for supporting his daughter and making her part of the team.
Gibbons and Newell would like to one day be part of a college team, but said most do not allow athletes with AICDs or ICDs.
"That doesn't mean we're not going to try," Newell said. "If we can't play, maybe we can change the future for players after us." To see more of The Pantagraph, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.pantagraph.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2008 The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.