Whitney Evers’ doctor diagnosed her with ulcerative colitis in 2004 and told her she would never play volleyball again.

Her surgeon removed her large intestine after more than 13 hours of surgery and also told her she would never play collegiate volleyball again.

New Mexico State volleyball coach Mike Jordan had seen the disease in athletes before and told Evers – once more – that her volleyball career was over.

But Evers, now in her senior year with the CMU volleyball team, found motivation in those words. She wanted to prove them all wrong.

“The doctor originally said ‘you can’t go to college and you will never play volleyball,’” said Shelley Evers, Whitney’s mother. “Nothing makes Whitney want something more than telling her she can’t do it or can’t have it. She said flat out that she was going to college and she was going to play.”

‘WHY ME? WHY NOW?’

Whitney Evers played volleyball, basketball and ran track at Little Chute High School in Little Chute, Wisc., earning at least three letters in all three sports.

Then, in the spring of 2004, before her first year of college at New Mexico State, she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a disease that causes chronic inflammation of the abdominal tract.

“I was shocked. I had never been sick before. Nothing,” Evers said. “I just the thought, ‘Why me? Why now?’ It just couldn’t have come at a worse time for me.”

Evers’ basketball schedule ran back-to-back with her volleyball schedule her senior year of high school. When she began to get exhausted while playing, she blamed it on the lack of a break between the two sports.

The exhaustion only was the first symptom. Soon, she began losing weight and finding traces of blood in her stool.

That April, the situation worsened. Evers broke down and decided to go to the doctor. He returned the diagnosis and suggested that she put off going to college and have a surgery that would remove her large intestine.

“I figured people live with this disease for their whole lives,” Evers said. “It can be controlled by medication. I didn’t believe I needed the surgery. I thought he was feeding me a bunch of crap.”

FIGHTING THE DISEASE

Evers already had committed to playing volleyball at New Mexico State. Therefore, she passed on surgery and traveled to Las Cruces, N.M.

Evers initially tried using medication to handle the disease, taking upwards of 35 pills per day. Some of the medication attacked her immune system, adding pancreatitis and impetigo, a skin infection, to the list of ailments.

Evers began to regain control over her life after joining the volleyball team at New Mexico State. Her doctor had found a combination of medicines that seemed to work for her disease.

However, early in the season, Evers found herself back on the sidelines again.

“The more stress you are under, the more it flares up,” Evers said. “After moving across the country, starting college volleyball, and starting college classes, I got sick again. I flew home to see a surgeon who told me I had to have surgery over Christmas break.”

THE SURGERY

Evers had made the traveling squad at NMSU, but decided to cut her season short when she learned she would need surgery. Having only played in a few games, she still was eligible for a medical redshirt. The surgery was scheduled to take place in mid-December 2004.

“At that point, I had come to terms with it,” Evers said. “I knew I was sick and I wasn’t getting any better. I knew it was necessary, but I was excited about it to say the least.”

Evers lost 30 pounds by the date of the surgery.

“She was so weak and so beaten down that she could hardly walk,” Shelley Evers said. “She couldn’t eat. It was a struggle. It was very hard as a parent to watch her go through it.

“We didn’t know if she would ever play volleyball again, or even be able to have a normal life.”

The procedure generally takes three to four hours to complete – this one took 13.5. Evers was stuck in hospital for two weeks after the surgery.

“My parents stayed strong so that I wouldn’t have to,” Evers said. “They were unconditionally supporting and nurturing. They were there for me the whole time.”

Mike Jordan, Evers’ coach at NMSU, told her she would never be able to play again, after talking with her doctor. He had seen an athlete struggle with the disease before. He still wanted her on the team, but on the sidelines only.

“I went from challenging for a starting spot as a freshman to never playing,” Evers said. “It really bothered me that he would never give me another chance, so I wanted to go somewhere where I could contribute to the program and move closer to my family in Wisconsin.”

CENTRAL HEART

Central Michigan scouted Evers during her senior year of high school and was in the top five of her list when she chose New Mexico State.

Jordan contacted coach Erik Olson about Evers’ decision to transfer.

“I knew about her condition, and I knew about the risk,” Olson said. “But I thought the risk was worth it. I felt there was something about her.

“She just had a vibe, a confidence on her visit that I just liked about her. This program needed some of that.”

Evers, now in her fourth year with CMU, has competed in every match since joining the team.

She has recorded 1,036 kills in her career and is 33 away from placing in the top 10 in school history. She also has blocked 394 shots and will move into the top five for CMU with five more. Her 118 service aces place her fourth all-time at CMU.

Evers still feels the effects of her experience.

“I still suffer from chronic dehydration,” Evers said. “I have had to go to the hospital a couple times because of it. I just have to train smart and know what my body can handle.

“Other than that, I think I am pretty normal.”

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