Catcher's Grit Shines in Health Scares
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
April 9, 2018
RICHMOND – Evelyn Swantek couldn’t have imagined what her day would be like when she awoke on Aug. 8 of last year.
Dressed in shorts and a T-shirt on a seasonably warm summer morning, Swantek went for a mile run as part of the training that all varsity volleyball players at Richmond High School were expected to complete.
Near the end of her run, Swantek noticed something wasn’t quite right. A bit of fatigue, yes, but it was more than that. She went home and told her father, Dave Swantek, that she was going to take a nap. But when she awoke, her world changed dramatically.
“It came out of nowhere,” she said. “I woke up and couldn’t talk. Part of my face went numb and I couldn’t see out of my right eye. And my neck was really big.”
A bit dazed by the sudden physical change of the youngest of his three daughters, Dave Swantek drove her to the hospital not knowing what was wrong.
Thankfully, Dave was home on a vacation day while his wife, Julie, was at work. He was attending to a couple of odd jobs around the house when his daughter came home.
“Evie came in and said she was tired, and wanted to take a nap,” he said. “She got up and came downstairs; immediately I knew something was wrong. It’s something, as a parent, you just don’t want to see.”
The Swanteks arrived at McLaren Hospital in Mount Clemens and, after the diagnosis, were told that Evie had developed blood clots – one in her throat and one in her face, and that she had suffered a Transitory Ischemic Attack (TIA), commonly known as a mini-stroke.
Dave Swantek said the doctors immediately took his daughter off the blood-clotting medication she had been taking since January.
On New Year’s Eve, 2016, Evie experienced abdominal pain while celebrating the arrival of the New Year with family members. She was taken to McLaren Hospital, where exploratory surgery was performed and she was diagnosed with endometriosis. Endometriosis is a condition in which a layer of tissue that normally covers the inside of the uterus grows outside of it. One of the main symptoms is pelvic pain.
At the time, the Swanteks never gave it a second thought. Evie took medication, didn’t miss a day of school and continued to compete on the varsity basketball team. After that season ended, Evie made the varsity softball team for the first time and was named the starting catcher by coach Howard Stuart. Richmond won the MHSAA Division 2 title in 2016, and the Blue Devils reached the championship game again in 2017 only to lose to Ida, 8-4, in nine innings in the Final.
Seven weeks later, the Swanteks’ world turned upside down. And it would take nearly three months for their world to be turned right side up.
“It was a warning sign,” Dave Swantek said of the blood clots and the mini-stroke. “The medication she was on was clotting. Then they took her off of it. It gave us time to find out what was wrong. And this went on for a long time.”
Not knowing the exact cause and the proper medication was disconcerting to the Swanteks.
“They had no clue,” Evie said. “I kept asking (the doctors) what’s wrong. They said they didn’t know yet. I was sitting in the hospital just thinking, this is scary.”
For about a six-week period, Evie was in and out of the hospital three or four times – doesn’t recall the exact number. The illness prevented her from competing in volleyball and basketball, and for a senior, that can be difficult to handle. She also can’t give the exact number of days of school she missed, but she does remember missing a couple of football Friday nights, which did not sit well with her. Evie was able to attend Homecoming, however.
All during this time one thought, one goal, weighed heavily.
“Not knowing if I was going to play softball was hard,” she said. “I kept asking the doctors, ‘Will I be able to play?’ That’s my favorite. I’ve been playing since I was 7. I’ve been playing travel (softball) since I was 8. And I’ve always been a catcher.
“It was hard on my parents, too. It was frustrating.”
This frustration and uneasiness came to a head one evening while Evie was watching television.
“I started to have these chest pains,” she said. “I’m lying on the coach, and it’s starting to hurt real bad. And I have a high threshold for pain. I broke my wrist (glove hand) and played three more tournaments, so it has to be a lot of pain for me to do something about it. I had had these chest pains before, but this time it was really bad. I rolled up into a fetal position, it was so bad.”
Said her father: “I remember that. I rushed to (McLaren) hospital and the people in the emergency room looked at us and it was like, what now? It took them three days to find out. The doctors kept saying they don’t know.”
Dave Swantek said the doctors changed medication, from one blood thinner, taken orally, to one that was administered intravenously. In the end, that did the trick. Evie said she’s feeling better since the switch was made and the application, after a couple of tries, became second nature. She’s able to administer the shots by herself.
Dave Swantek gushes when he talks about how well his daughter has handled this situation. He said the doctors who have either diagnosed or treated Evie have offered to have a psychologist meet with her in an effort to make sure she recovered mentally from the ordeal.
“The coping mechanism she has displayed is amazing,” he said. “She’s been amazing through it all. She lost two sports – two sports she played her whole life. She loves volleyball and basketball. There were times they were throwing all kinds of medication at her, trying to find out what works. When they can’t tell you what’s wrong with your daughter, it’s a challenge. It was a rough time. She did a wonderful job.”
There is a happy ending. Evie is playing softball and expected to be one of Richmond’s top players. She’s down to one shot per day and she’s hoping, after she and her parents meet with the doctors April 26, that she will be taken off medication.
And her future looks bright on the diamond. She’s received a scholarship to Oakland Community College where one of her sisters, Ally, a sophomore, is a student.
“I’ve had the best support system you could imagine,” Evie said. “My parents, my family, have been so great. It’s been very comforting.”
Tom Markowski is a columnist and directs website coverage for the State Champs! Sports Network. He previously covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Richmond catcher Evie Swantek frames a pitch during last season’s Division 2 championship game. (Middle) Swantek powers through a swing during the Final. (Below) The Swantek family: parents Julie and Dave and daughters Emily, Ally and (far right) Evelyn. (Family photo courtesy of the Swantek family.)
Performance: All Saints' Hannah Ducolon
May 19, 2017
Hannah Ducolon
Bay City All Saints senior – Softball
Ducolon will finish her high school career this spring among the most successful hitters in MHSAA history; her career batting average of .638 if she ended her final season today would rank third all-time. And it certainly got a boost May 11 during a sweep of Tawas when Ducolon was 10 for 10 from the plate in earning the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Her team’s shortstop and a four-year varsity player, Ducolon is hitting .720 this spring – which would rank fourth in MHSAA history for one season – with 24 stolen bases and an on-base percentage of .758. She’s a slap-hitter – she takes a shortened swing to place the ball away from fielders so she can use her speed to outrun their throws to first base, often with a bunt down the third-base line or a “slap” past an infielder playing in close. Ducolon also plays an important role off the field; All Saints was a softball power only a decade ago, winning the Division 4 championship in 2008, but the Cougars have struggled to find players of late and are 5-20-1 this spring with 11 on the team. Ducolon is one of two seniors and has worked to stoke interest in the program, teaming as well with her mother Beth, who took over the program before the 2016 season and was a standout on All Saints teams that made the MHSAA Semifinals in 1986 and 1987 (the latter team finished Class D runner-up).
Hannah Ducolon also was a key contributor on the basketball team that went 17-5 this past winter, but her main stage is in the theater – she’s been active in All Saints’ drama program, her favorite role being Miss Hannigan in “Annie,” and hopes to continue in theater at Saginaw Valley State University. She’ll graduate 10th in her class and carries a 3.82 grade-point average, and she’ll study secondary education at SVSU. It wouldn't be a surprise if she ended up leading from a sideline someday as well; Ducolon has been coaching 4th-5th grade soccer the last three falls after playing volleyball as a freshman.
Coach (and mom) Beth Ducolon said: “Hannah has been the lead-off hitter at All Saints since her freshman year. Through her high school years and subsequent travel team games, Hannah has worked hard to perfect the art of slapping. She has really become good at reading the defense and putting the ball where they aren't. Hannah is an excellent bunter, but is very capable of slapping the ball through the hole or hitting a ball to the outfield. Her ability to place the ball, coupled with her speed has been the key to her successes. Hannah is an excellent leader and is a great example for the underclassmen on the team to learn what 100-percent effort means.”
Performance Point: “That was the day when our baseball team also was on the bus with us to Tawas," Hannah Ducolon said of her perfect hitting performance. "There’s a player on the baseball team with really long hair, and I made a deal that if I went 100 percent with getting on base, with no errors on the other team, I could braid his hair – and that’s what I did. I always try to go 100 percent, and it worked out that day. ... I don’t think that much ahead of a game. I show up when they tell me to and get the job done whatever we need. He didn’t believe me (that I went 10 for 10); I had to show him the book.”
Like mother, like daughter: “I was born into a softball family. It always was on TV, we were always going to games and such, and it just became second nature. I kinda adopted her game, and I have the same number (17) as her. She brought me up as a mini her, and I kinda joke that I’m a mini her but better. I’m blessed just to have a close relationship with my mom and softball."
Leader … and recruiter: “We try to explain (to interested players) how much fun it is, how much time we spend together as a team and how close we get. We always have cookouts between games, and there are so many family-oriented things we do as a team. Our school is so small, so sometimes they are scared of that because they think they know everything about everyone already, but softball is a chance to get closer. … We try to have as much fun as possible. It’s hard to see the younger girls struggling, who are new to it; they get flustered. But my role is to remind them it’s all about the journey: just have fun, try your hardest, and you can’t ask for anything more. Let the word spread, get a culture going. I think that has the ability to work; we’ve got some girls coming up who are passionate about the sport, but it can only go so far (unless) other people are passionate too.”
Lessons in coaching: “It’s a lot of patience; patience is probably the biggest virtue you could ever have. It’s really hard to begin as a coach. You’re so invested in it, and you know some people are not as invested, and that’s frustrating. You also have to learn to be a leader, appeal to other people’s personalities, talk to other people differently, motivate them differently. I find that to be really interesting and fun. I love finding out how people work and how you can persuade them so we’re on the same team, working together for a common goal.”
Theater takes center stage: “What’s not to like about it? There’s so much history, so many layers to it. I’m very family-oriented; I like team sports, I enjoy close-knit groups. And theater is another one of those. On top of that, you get to express yourself and interact with the crowd in a way that isn’t you. You portray someone who isn’t you, but you get to put your own spin on it.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2016-17 honorees:
May 11: Mason Phillips, Salem track & field – Read
May 4: Lillian Albaugh, Farwell track & field – Read
April 27: Amber Gall, Shepherd track & field – Read
April 20: Sloane Teske, East Grand Rapids tennis – Read
March 30: Romeo Weems, New Haven basketball – Read
March 23: Jaycie Burger and Maddie Clark, Pittsford basketball – Read
March 16: Camden Murphy, Novi swimming & diving – Read
March 9: Ben Freeman, Walled Lake Central wrestling – Read
March 2: Joey Mangner, Chelsea swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 23: Isabelle Nguyen, Grosse Pointe North gymnastics – Read
Feb. 16: Dakota Hurbis, Saline swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 2: Foster Loyer, Clarkston basketball – Read
Jan. 26: Nick Jenkins, Detroit Catholic Central wrestling – Read
Jan. 19: Eileene Naniseni, Mancelona basketball – Read
Jan. 12: Rory Anderson, Calumet hockey – Read
Dec. 15: Demetri Martin, Big Rapids basketball – Read
Dec. 1: Rodney Hall, Detroit Cass Tech football – Read
Nov. 24: Ally Cummings, Novi volleyball – Read
Nov. 17: Chloe Idoni, Fenton volleyball – Read
Nov. 10: Adelyn Ackley, Hart cross country – Read
Nov. 3: Casey Kirkbride, Mattawan soccer – Read
Oct. 27: Colton Yesney, Negaunee cross country – Read
Oct. 20: Varun Shanker, Midland Dow tennis – Read
Oct. 13: Anne Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country – Read
Oct. 6: Shuaib Aljabaly, Coldwater cross country – Read
Sept. 29: Taylor Seaman, Brighton swimming & diving – Read
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTO: (Top) Bay City All Saints' Hannah Ducolon charges toward first base during a game May 8 against AuGres-Sims. (Middle) Ducolon makes a throw from her spot in the infield. (Photos by Brady Kenniston Photography.)