Koloski lifts the spirit of the Lady Meteors

BY JOBY FAWCETT
Times-Shamrock Writer

They told her it would be the worst year of her life.

They also said that, when it was over, she could start living again.

Maddy Koloski wanted to start living again.

She wanted to be an active teenager, one who enjoyed school and being outdoors and diving after volleyballs.

She wanted her time with her successful, loving and close family to be of the same high quality it had always been, even during the times when their talents force them apart.

Her father, John, is a school teacher at Montrose Area High School. Her mother, Diane, was a gifted athlete who competed at Syracuse University and is a school teacher at Elk Lake. Her sister Julia, was The Times-Tribune Female Athlete of the Year in 2010 and is a member of the women’s track and field team at the University of Pittsburgh. Her brother, David, is at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, making complicated math equations seem simple.

Yet as her sophomore season in volleyball at Montrose wound down, a persistent cough caused by a bout with bronchitis began to wear her down. Fatigue overwhelmed her much faster than most during practice. She fell asleep with a fever and woke up in a soaking sweat.

Doctors worked hard to make Maddy feel better. Her parents were relentless in trying to find out what was wrong.

In December, after blood work and MRIs, doctors identified a mass 12 centimeters long in her chest.

After a biopsy, more scans, and weeks of analysis from some of the top pathologists in the country, Maddy was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The worst year of her life had begun.

However, over the course of the months that followed, her fighting spirit helped her through the darkest of days.

• • •

Maddy loves to sing. She can belt out a tune. She is in the school chorus and band.

She also loves working at her volleyball skills and conditioning. It’s her passion.

“I remember, Maddy and I had kind of a girl fight, because I thought she was dogging it and wasn’t tough during workouts,” Julia said. “Then I found out, after all of this, she is the strongest girl I have ever met.”

When her energy began being sapped, her determination tried to carry her through as she felt more tired each day.

“It was very discouraging,” Maddy said. “I was trying so hard to lead a normal life. I would come home after school and fall asleep for an hour. Then I would do my homework and be in bed by 8 p.m., get a full night’s sleep and still be tired.”

After weeks of uncertainty, Maddy and her family faced their fears with strength, hope and prayer.
Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system and compromises the body’s ability to fight infection. Maddy’s was aggressive and was Stage 2.

“It’s scary,” she said. “Your first thought is how serious is it and am I going to get through this? Then, I thought, am I going to lose my hair? But at that point I was so frustrated, I was willing to do anything to feel better.”

Once she knew what was ahead, Maddy scribbled out a list. It wasn’t long, but it outlined her goals. It served as her motivation.

She wanted to drive. She wanted to visit the beach. She hoped to have a puppy. She wanted a job.
But what she really wanted was to play volleyball in the fall.

First, though, there were the trips and stays at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore for treatments once a week that were aimed at shrinking her tumor. Her mother took a leave of absence from work so she could be there to hold her daughter’s hand.

“It’s just so hard to watch your child suffer,” Diane said, fighting back tears. “You try to be a source of strength and you try to make the time you have together meaningful and happy.

“I would do the best I could to make her comfortable and keep her happy, because I knew that if she was happy, she could get better.”

Maddy took scissors and cut her own long, flowing brown hair and it was used to make her a wig.

There were brutally exhausting days during her four cycles of chemotherapy.

“She handled it better than I did,” John said. “She wanted to feel normal again. Right from the beginning, (her doctors) kept telling her it is treatable and curable. They were honest with her and explained the side effects of the chemotherapy.”

Maddy stayed positive, and reacted very well to the treatments.

“I expected to feel horrible, but I started to feel so much better after the first treatment,” she said. “It’s something you have to do. You have no choice. It’s really what anyone in my situation would do.”

• • •

Maddy kept that list of goals close by for when her treatments were through, and as she felt better, she began checking off items.

Having resisted for years, her father relented and surprised her with a Silky Terrier named Oliver, who snuggled up with her, offering comfort and compassion during her toughest nights.

She studied her courses at home. She also got tutoring from her brother.

“She proved she was strong, stronger than any of us,” David said. “Immediately after starting treatment, she was determined to get back on her feet for next year.”

Once clear of chemotherapy and a course of radiation, the family vacationed at Beach Haven, New Jersey in June.

She turned 16 and got her learner’s permit to drive.

Her hair began growing back.

She took a job as a waitress at White Oak Restaurant.

By the end of the summer, Maddy was the one begging Julia to workout.

“It was inspiring for me to see this little girl fight so hard,” Julia said. “And she had so much energy. I had never seen this Maddy before. It’s so awesome.”

Maddy’s prognosis is good. The scans have been positive. Her spirit is uplifting.

“We are so thankful for her health being restored,” Diane said. “We received so much support from the family, from the communities and the school districts we work for, it means so much.

“And Maddy has emerged from all of this a really strong girl.”

Now it’s volleyball season.

She is taking it slow, but she is as fearless as ever, diving to the floor trying to save every potential spike.

When she entered the varsity game against Lackawanna League power Dunmore recently, her parents eyes welled up with tears of joy.

Maddy is living.

“I feel great,” she said. “I am just so glad that I made it through.
“I am so thankful every day that I had a chance to kick cancer and survive.”