By Dani Landolt – UK Athletics
The first time Amy Kaplan hit a volleyball, she left a dent in the stage in her high school gymnasium. She was a freshman at Cary-Grove High School in Cary, Illinois, trying out for the sophomore team. She entered her coach?s office after tryouts certain she would be cut.
?He told me I was horrible, but I was an athlete so I made the team,? Kaplan said.
An athlete she is – Kaplan garnered all-state honors in volleyball, track and field and softball in high school.
Although recruited by different programs for all three sports, it was Kentucky that caught Kaplan?s eye.
?Many of the schools did not see me play in person. (Former assistant) Coach (Jaime) Gordon came to my high school to watch me practice which was basically unheard of in my town.?
The personal attention from the coaching staff and the team had a great impact on Kaplan?s decision.
?I was not sure that I wanted to go to school so far away from home, but when I came to UK on a recruiting visit, I felt really comfortable with all of the girls on the team, and Coach (Jona) Braden was so motherly,? Kaplan said.
Kaplan did not realize then how soon she would need to depend on the team and coaches as her second family.
In April of 2002, at the end of Kaplan?s freshman year at UK, her fourteen-year-old brother Jake noticed a tiny bump on the inside of his left cheek near his lower jaw. He mentioned the bump to his mother, and they set up an appointment with the dentist. The dentist believed the bump to be only a cyst and told Jake to let his parents know if anything changed. In mid-June, Jake went to his parents and told them that the bump inside of his cheek was growing. He went to the dentist again, and this time they sent the Kaplans to the doctor for a biopsy.
Amy Kaplan recalls the day that the results of the biopsy came back.
?On June 21, the doctor called my mother and asked her to come in right away. The doctor, who knew our family well, was bawling his eyes out. He told my mom that Jake had Ewing?s Sarcoma, which is a type of cancer. She came home and told all of us. It was a really bad day.?
Ewing?s Sarcoma is a malignant tumor that forms in either the bones or soft tissues of the body, and usually affects children and adolescents. The average age of its patients ranges from 10 to 20. It is very rare, with only about 150 new cases reported in the United States each year.
Ewing’s sarcoma usually develops in the arms or legs, but sometimes, it occurs in the pelvis, ribs, spine and, in rare cases, other bones or soft tissues. In Jake?s case, the tumor was partially imbedded in his gums, with the major part in his lower right jaw.
Parents Bruce and Debbie Kaplan took the time to research all of the possible treatments that were available to their son. They were hesitant to start him on chemotherapy treatments, and researched alternative medicine methods as well. They finally settled on a doctor in Mexico who practices alternative medicine.
Being the tight-knit family that they are, Kaplan was very hesitant to return to UK for preseason practice in the summer.
?I didn?t know if I wanted to come back, but it was Jake who urged me to return. He kept telling me that there was nothing that I could accomplish by staying home,? Kaplan said. ?He helped me to decide to come back.?
It was back at UK that Amy realized how her team was ready to step up and be there for her.
?I called Coach Braden and told her all of the news, and we talked for hours and cried to one another. She was there for me.?
Kaplan realized that returning to UK for school and especially for volleyball was the best thing for her.
?Volleyball was a release. When I was lying in bed at night, all I could think about was Jake. When I was out on the court, I was thinking about volleyball, and it really helped to get my mind off things even if just for a little while.?
The intensity of the situation also has made Kaplan intense on the court. Her coaches have definitely seen the effects.
?Amy works harder on the court than anyone. She has a more limited knowledge of the game than the other girls on the team because she did not start playing until so late, but she makes up for it with her passion and determination,? former assistant coach Katie Eiserman said. ?I have seen her grow both as a player and as a person since this whole situation arose. Although only a sophomore, she has really become a leader out on the court.?
The team has been there for Kaplan as well. In fact, they even tried to set up a fundraiser tournament in which teams could enter to play the UK volleyball team in order to raise money to pay for Jake?s hospital bills, but were not able to carry it through due to NCAA compliance issues. This does not stop Kaplan from noticing though.
?The team is definitely my family away from home. I was hesitant to move away from home in the first place, and especially when this whole ordeal began. They all have been great. I don?t know what I would do without them.?
Even with her family away from home, her parents and three brothers, Brian (25), Kevin (23) and Jake have all come together to make it through these tough times. Eiserman is one of many who have witnessed the closeness of the family.
?The Kaplans are an awesome family. If any family could deal with this situation it is definitely them.?
The family has made sacrifices along with Jake to make the healing process easier.
?Jake is on a cancer diet. It is all organic food, he drinks mass amounts of produce per day. We all drink it with him when we are together. We drank spinach and parsley shakes. I gagged when I drank it,? his sister said. ?He is amazing, I could never do what he has done. I have learned so much from him.?
Although the tumor in Jake?s jaw was not growing, it also was not shrinking. In December, doctors removed his lower right jaw in order to ensure removal of the whole tumor. The area was replaced by a metal plate, and when Jake is older they will remove one of his ribs and place it in his jaw. As of his last checkup, Jake was tumor free. He has even returned to school for half days, although is not allowed to take part in football or track and field, his two favorite sports. He has not given up hope though and hopes to return to the playing field some day. Until then he will be able to come watch his big sister play.
One of only three starters returning and the only returning middle blocker, the probable captain will be depended on by her volleyball family as much as by her family at home.
This year, rather than denting stages, Kaplan hopes to be denting opponents? records.
