Before each game, Snider catcher Brittany Thurston puts on her protective gear to prepare for the battles behind the plate. That added security, unfortunately, isn't available off the diamond.
And thus the Panthers senior had to endure a year of knee surgeries, infections, disease and doctors that caused her to miss her entire junior season.
After an ACL surgery, there have been numerous doctors appointments to combat Crohn's disease, tuberculosis, infections and more surgeries on her kneecap.
"When I first tore my ACL, I was really upset because I was supposed to start varsity my junior year," she said. "It kept getting worse and worse. I was depressed for a while. It was a lot at one time to handle."
But Thurston has come back this year healthier and, more importantly, she has returned behind the plate.
"I used to play first base, and I thought maybe I could play there but then we wouldn't have a catcher," she said. "I was thinking about the rest of the team if I could get back into catching, and it's my favorite position. I love catching so much, so I was really happy I could back into this spot where I wanted to be."
The only effects from the Crohn's condition comes in the form of stomach pain when nerves are at their most before a game.
Thurston had her first surgery for the ACL in February 2010, and she goes to physical therapy about once a week. The additional ailments started soon after the surgery when she went to the doctor to get a colonoscopy for stomach problems, and it was discovered she had Crohn's disease, a form of inflammatory bowel disease that usually affects the intestines. Eventually there were infections from a possible cross-contamination and her blood, and then the tuberculosis.
"I was so worried about how she was going to handle all this," Brittany's mother, Teresa Thurston, said.
"When we got to the hospital, the doctor told us that the infection had come back as a form of (tuberculosis). He said it was not the airborne kind, and he was sort of stumped.
"We went to see an infectious disease doctor, and he seemed to think that it was a cross-contamination because the sample drawn during surgery came back with nothing, and that was supposed to be the better sample.
"I was so worried about the hard work she had put in and all the school she was going to be missing. She had missed many days from the Crohn's flaring up and from the surgeries."
Then there was more.
In November of last year, Brittany had surgery to fix a childhood kneecap problem that involved breaking her tibia and having three large screws inserted.
"When we decided to have the surgery, the doctor told us that Brit would have only about a 50 percent chance of coming back and catching, but if she didn't get it done she wouldn't be able to catch at all," Teresa said.
Brittany missed out on some senior activities because of the trips to the hospital, but still has managed to maintain a GPA higher than 4.0 and is planning to go to Valparaiso on an academic scholarship with the hopes of walking onto the softball team.
"She is holding it together pretty well," Teresa said.
"It has been a year of disappointments for her, yet a year where she has prevailed over all of the injuries, the illness and yet still going strong and still working harder than ever."
