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Readers and softball community: this is Brentt Eads of Extra Inning Softball… in this week of Thanksgiving, I’m appreciative of all you do and ask that you keep in your thoughts and prayers this talented athlete who is down, but not out!
Take a second to go to let her and her family know you support here and that we ALL are behind her!
*****
High school senior catcher Brooke Michael from Orange Park, Florida is tough.
Like very tough.
Last Friday, Nov. 20, 2020 after struggling with her breathing for a week but continuing to push through and play softball, Brooke was catching her twin sister Brittany in a workout and had such intense pain in her chest and difficulties breathing that she was in tears during the entire hour of pitch and catch.
She refused to quit, however, because, as their father, Lee, told Extra Inning Softball last night: “Brooke didn’t think Brittany’s curve had enough snap to it so she wanted her to keep working to get it better.”
Eventually, the high school senior at Ridgeview High was taken to the hospital where tests revealed she had a chest mass, which turned out to be Lymphoma—a cancer of the lymphatic system.
“It was the worst day of our lives,” her mother, Stephanie, would say. And Brooke’s father added, “Imagine having to make the call where you tell her twin sister that it’s cancer.”
Today, Brooke is in the Intensive Care Unit of the Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida and will begin chemotherapy to treat her B cell lymphoma, a treatable form of cancer. According to her mother, the teenager also has a chest tube inserted to remove a liter of fluid off her left lung which doctors are doing to make breathing easier.
The Florida softball standout will be in the hospital through Thanksgiving and into next Monday so doctors can monitor her treatment and see how she responds. If all goes according to plan, she will have six rounds of chemo for an 18-week period and will be in the hospital for five days a month during her treatment.
Brooke’s mother posted today on the Facebook page BattleForBrooke—which is where the Michael family will update the athlete’s progress—with good news: “They are letting her go back to school. This made her extremely happy. Prayers are answered! This is the best news for this situation. It feels weird to say we are relieved but we can see the light at the end of a dark tunnel.”
The girls’ father is grateful for how the unthinkably scary situation has been improved by the immediate and strong support of all those in Brooke’s corner.
“Thank you for everyone’s support,” Lee says. “We’re blessed with the softball community, family and friends who have given us such unbelievable support. We are so truly blessed.”
In this week of Thanksgiving, Brooke’s father said that his daughter is “alert and if you look at her, you’d ask why she’s in ICU. She’s 100 percent asymptomatic of everything in her chart; we see all the horrible situations around us (in ICU) and we’re wondering why we’re even here.”
“The doctors have even said that, if you weren’t so athletic and in such good physical shape, you wouldn’t be doing, which is sitting up cross-legged, laughing and smiling! I talked to the Encologist and told him: how are we supposed to know something is wrong with her when she’s talking and acting like typical Brooke? But we know there’s a long road ahead and it won’t be easy. She has 18 weeks of treatment then they’ll do Cat Scans to check her body and see if the cancer is gone.”
Prior to this sudden and nightmarish medical emergency, the Michael twins were enjoying a storied softball career.
In 2019, they helped lead Ridgeview High to its first-ever Final Four appearance in any sport as sophomores and Brooke was named 6A All-State and 1st Team All-Clay County.
This year, the team was 7-1 and was on a roll after losing the season opener 1-0 in nine innings, until the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the season. Ridgeview Head Coach Casey Thompson said last night: “This year was looking even better than the Final Four year till we got shut down.”
A consistent .400 hitter, Brooke and Brittany have signed to play softball at Auburn-Montgomery, a Division II program located in Montgomery, Alabama. The twins play for the Pro Impact travel ball program under coach Tim Crickmore, who has coached the Michael sisters since they were in 12U ball and says: “They are an awesome softball pitcher/catcher combo!”
“This is an incredible kid and family,” the club coach says of his hospitalized star backstop.
“I can truly say she is one of the best catchers I’ve seen in a long time. As twins, Brooke and Brittany are best friends and inseparable, which makes this very tough on them since the hospital is not allowing visitors.”
- Click HERE to go to Brooke’s GoFundMe page
- Click HERE to link to her Facebook page “BattleforBrooke” (and be sure to leave a comment of support!)
Ashley Houston, the President of the Pro Impact club organization, adds: “I have never coached Brooke and Brittany myself, but I have coached against them. They are a true tag team who love to compete together and, noticeably, share the tightest bond on and off the field. I think they both push one another and that’s something that stuck with me when someone wrote about the incident that led to the hospital visit: ‘Brooke was having trouble breathing, but didn’t want to leave lessons because Brittany’s curve ball was not breaking to Brooke’s liking.’”
“Brooke is a true fighter and anyone who has ever been on the same field or seen them play can attest to that. When their team recently joined our organization this fall, Brooke and Brittany were the first two players that came to mind as I was considering bringing them on. Who wouldn’t be proud to have players like Brooke and Brittany represent their organization?”
“More importantly than the way they play the game of softball is how humble, how kind, and how loving they are to those in our community,” Houston finishes. “I truly believe that Brooke is already looking on the other side of this fight, grateful that God will use her faith through this difficult time to impact those around her.”
Coach Thompson, the girls’ high school coach, gets emotional when he begins: “Brooke is like a daughter to me. It’s rough going through this, but eye-opening how wonderful the softball world is in rallying behind her.”
Thompson, the younger brother of legendary Oakleaf High head coach Christina Thompson, has had offers to take baseball jobs because of his softball success at Ridgeview, but turned them down, he says, because of how much he’s enjoyed coaching players like the Michael twins.
Regarding his all-state catcher, he explains: “She is every coach’s dream athlete. Brooke is hard working, caring, dedicated, and enthusiastic about the game. In three years of playing for me, she has never once missed a practice and aims to improve herself or others every day.”
“Brooke is the type of girl that you can cut up with and she will give it right back to you. In fact, she gave me the nickname ‘T-Pain’ because she and I like to bump heads during games or practices! She is a ‘yes sir, no sir, please and thank’ type of student-athlete. Her parents did an amazing job raising both her and her twin Brittany. Each has a GPA above a 3.0 and I never hear anything but good comments coming from their teachers.”
“They have forever changed the name of Ridgeview with deep play off runs, school records, and more importantly their bright characters,” he concludes. “Lastly, they have forever changed who I am as a person because of their infectious personalities. I’m forever grateful they let me be a part of their softball family and honored I got to watch Brooke develop as a player.”
Just days after the diagnosis of cancer, those in Brooke’s circle are already being proactive in their support of her medical journey ahead.
“We are having a benefit tournament December 5th to help raise money for her and her family as they start their battle,” Coach Crickmore says. “We are still looking for 14s and high school age teams to compete.”
The travel coach has also started a GoFundMe account with the goal of raising $10,000 to help the Michael family offset medical costs. It can be accessed by clicking HERE.
Their high school coach adds: “The softball community and high school teams will also be doing #battleforbrooke videos on Monday.
And, while most of the country gathers together on Thanksgiving Day to express gratitude for various blessings, the Michael family will spend the holiday in the hospital appreciative that Brooke’s cancer was caught early and that, optimistically, she will be back to dominating on the softball fields again soon.
“She never has missed playing softball because of an injury,” Coach Crickmore says. “Brooke’s always battled through. Last weekend, she got life-changing news and it’s just a nightmare but she will win, she will go to college and she will be back and be even better!”
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball
*****
Here is the original post from Stephanie Michael detailing Brooke’s medical journey and early response from the public (edited for space) .
Lee and I want to thank everyone who has reached out with gifts, offers of food and other things but most importantly prayers for our girl. We feel them! Please keep them coming!
There is a ton of information to tell but I think most importantly I want everyone to know how sick Brooke has been and how awesome our God is. Brooke technically should not be with us.
On Sunday Nov. 15, we were at a travel ball tournament and she said she was done. If anyone knows Brooke she never backs down and never tells us that she can’t play ball. This girl eats, breaths, sleeps softball. It is her passion.
Lee and I decided then to leave Valdosta, Georgia and take her to Urgent Care to have a COVID test. That came back negative and they gave her steroids. She seemed a little better for the next few days, even playing softball up until Thursday.
Friday, while her and Britt were at pitching practice, Brooke called and told me she was really struggling to breathe. I have since learned that Brooke refused to leave pitching practice because Britt’s curve ball was not breaking to Brooke’s liking.
I left work and took her to the ER at Baptist Clay. That officially was the worst day of our lives.
I was told my girl had a chest mass and we were being transported immediately to ICU at Wolfson’s. After hearing that news, I had to make the worst call of my life and tell my husband that our child had cancer.
I can’t imagine how he felt. He was not allowed at the hospital because of COVID. We both had to process the worst news by ourselves. Then the absolute worst was having to tell her twin. That was devastating to say the least.
After letting them see each other for a few minutes, we were off to Wolfson’s Childrens Hospital. I prayed all of the way. Brooke was admitted and stable all night. Saturday morning we met the team—the team that will be saving our girl’s life.
While we are meeting them, Brooke was having a cardiac echo. Within minutes of that being done the ICU doctor brought Lee and me to the quiet room and told us that Brooke had what is called a pericardial effusion with cardiac tamponade.
I know, what the heck is that?
Well, the short story is Brooke had a large amount of fluid surrounding her heart and her heart was severely compressed because of it. Brooke was literally a walking ticking time bomb.
After telling us what they needed to do to remove the fluid, they then told us that Brooke needed to be awake for the procedure because she has a compromised airway.
After processing all of that as fast as we could they take her back. I can’t even begin to tell you how long of an hour that was. Lee and I sat out on the balcony and listened to worship music and cried.
Finally, they came and got us and the doctor said, “Your daughter is an absolute rock star.” He said she did phenomenal. I tell you all of this to tell you that I feel God. Brooke feels God. He is here with us answering daily prayers that you all are sending up.
Yes she has cancer and her life has been turned upside down. But she is alive, she can be healed, she will be healed. God is working in and through Brooke.
We can ask daily why our Brooke? That is a question that we will never have answers to. But if this can bring one person closer to God than it is worth it and that is exactly what Brooke would say.
Well, she would actually tell you, “You need some Jesus!” We ask for continued prayers, this is going to be a long journey but, I know that she can do this. She keeps telling me God has her. It truly is amazing how much your kids can teach you. So, thank you all again for the prayers. Please keep them coming!”
— Stephanie Michael, mother of Brooke & Brittany