By Eric Morris
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WLUK) — In April, Kendall Schara was between her junior and senior seasons of playing volleyball at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Then, she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, and her whole world was turned upside down.
“My life has been surrounded by the hospital the past couple months, but all for treatment, which is good because that’s going towards bettering my health,” said Schara.
The adversity has pushed her to learn a lot about herself.
“The beginning was the worst. It’s like, my life is going to change. It’s a depressing time for sure. I feel like I’ve always considered myself a strong person, but you don’t really know how strong you are until you go through something like this and you’re put into a situation where you have no other choice,” said Schara.
Thursday night marked the start of the Phoenix’s season, and it began with a tournament newly named after Schara.
She was able to be there in attendance, and her team, along with the community, celebrated her return to the Kress Events Center.
“For us to just be able to be with her, because we’ve missed her so much, and to celebrate her — she deserves that more than anybody,” said Abbey Sutherland, the head coach of the UWGB volleyball team.
“Feeling overwhelmed with emotions. Maybe some sadness in terms of wishing my situation was different, but also so much joy in the fact that this is what it looks like for me,” said Schara.
Her team has been with her every step of the way.
“We went to visit her a couple of weeks ago before preseason started and everyone was super excited for that. Now just having her back in Green Bay is something we’re all excited about and we’re welcoming her back with open arms and just having a fun time with her,” said Kirsten Fish, Schara’s teammate.
“It was right before things actually got really rough in the hospital, but they got to see me right before all of that, and it was just super special that they took the time out of their busy preseason schedule to come and see me in [the hospital in] Chicago,” said Schara.
This difficult chapter isn’t over for Schara, but she is happy to be back in a place she calls home.
Source: UW-Green Bay and community rally to support Phoenix volleyball player battling leukemia