Against her most formidable foe, Hill won't quit

So athletic and powerful, she could go "Roy Hobs" on a softball.

So competitive and strong, Kariann Hill could tear a rebound away from the hands of an opponent, send the poor girl crashing to the court and make her cry. Happened once, actually.

So young, still. An athlete, still.

Which explains why she recently took up Jujitsu and Muay Thai boxing at Team Curran in Crystal Lake.

"I fell in love," she says. "Everything about it was amazing. I couldn't get enough of it and then, unfortunately, this happened."

Kariann Hill - 26 years young, a top cop and former high school three-sport star - has "this."

Breast cancer.

So hard to comprehend.

But as anyone who ever watched her pound a volleyball, protect the lane or whistle a riseball into the gap knows, she doesn't know the word quit.

"I think that is the best way to describe me," the 2007 Grant graduate says with a laugh, liking an observer's assessment of her. "I don't know the word quit."

A Thursday story in the Daily Herald's Neighbor section by Abby Scalf detailed Hill's story. Engaged to fellow Village of Round Lake Beach police officer Tim Schuster, Hill was diagnosed with stage-one breast cancer in March. A head-shaving fundraiser will be held from noon-8 p.m. today at Buffalo Wild Wings in Round Lake Beach. Fifteen percent of all food purchases, excluding alcohol, will go toward helping offset Hill's medical costs. A coupon can be downloaded from the police department's Facebook page or picked up at the police station.

For the former Daily Herald's Lake County female athlete of the year, it's game on.

Kariann Hill vs. Cancer.

"I think it's beneficial being an athlete if you have cancer because you always have that determination, that drive and that perseverance," she says. "It's only going to benefit me during such a hard time in my life."

After graduating from Grant, Hill headed to Converse College in South Carolina to play Division II basketball.

"Like an idiot," she says with a laugh of her college sport selection. "I wish I would have (played softball, initially). I was just so burned out from it. Just nonstop travel ball. I lost the spark. I played two years (of college basketball) and then I was like, 'All right, I miss softball.' "

So she transferred to tiny Blackburn College in southern Illinois, where she played softball and basketball for two years, graduating with a degree in criminal justice. On the softball field, she was still Kariann Hill. She homered three times in one game, she recalls.

She's been with the Round Lake Beach police department for the last three years. Last year, she was named officer of the year.

"I absolutely love it," she says. "Even with this (cancer) going on, I still have so much to be thankful for. Being a cop is probably the coolest thing in life. It's just like that 'Cops' TV show (laughing). It's so fun."

Once the athlete, always the athlete.

About a year ago, Hill got together with some of her old Grant teammates - Ashley Arff, Becka Gonyo, Heather Ruetsche, Autumn Gaylor - and played in a basketball league at the Libertyville Sports Complex.

Just like ol' times.

"That was the thing," Hill says. "We didn't lose that spark that we had. We just meshed so well. It was like we were back on the court in high school together."

A couple of weeks ago, she had her first of six scheduled chemotherapy treatments. For one of the few times in her life - maybe the first time - she got whipped.

"That week was easily the worst week of my life," she says. "I imagined how bad it could really be having chemo. That would have been a cakewalk. I couldn't get out of bed. I was battling a 103-degree fever right out of the gate and constantly throwing up. It was miserable."

That's where fiance Tim comes in. As former ESPN anchor Stuart Scott said before losing his bout with cancer, when you can't fight anymore, let someone else fight for you.

"Thankfully," Hill says, "I have the most amazing fiance in the world. He didn't sleep for a whole entire day, just putting ice packs and washcloths on me, getting my fever down and making sure I was drinking fluids when I absolutely did not want to even think about consuming anything."

So she keeps fighting, hour to hour, day to day. Friday, she was feeling good enough to be up walking around.

"It gets easier every day," she says. "Today is a good day. I'm not nauseous or lying in bed crying because my stomach hurts so bad."

Today should be a great day at Buffalo Wild Wings. Hill will put her game face on, but you might not recognize it. To protect herself from getting sick, due to the chemo severely weakening her immune system, she will a surgical mask.

"I got some really cool face masks that I ordered online, like a Ninja Turtle one," she says with a laugh. "I'm such a dork."

No, Kariann. You're a fighter.

jaguilar@dailyherald.com

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