Lake Zurich teams up in support of Cecala

Michaela Cecala will be filled with emotion May 31 when she joins her classmates in the field house at Lake Zurich High School for the annual graduation ceremony.

Just the fact Cecala receives her diploma on time is a tribute to modern medicine, coupled with her intense dedication and determination, and a resolve that is awe-inspiring, to say the least. She has had unwavering support from the school, particularly the girls lacrosse team, which features many of her closest friends.

The Bears have dedicated their 2015 season to Cecala, who's serving as a team manager this spring. She also has words of encouragement to reflect on from a guidance counselor who simply didn't want to see Cecala quit, and told her so.

Jump back to March 2014, when Cecala, then a junior, was on medication for acne treatment. During a routine checkup, she learned that her white blood cell count was drastically low, directly affecting her immune system. At the same time, her knees were hurting, such that she actually collapsed at times.

She went to a doctor for her knees and had an MRI. That doctor then sent her back to her regular doctor, who then sent her to a specialist.

"Once I told the specialist about (all of) my symptoms and what the other doctors had seen and said, he immediately knew what it was," Cecala said. "But we still did further tests."

Within three days, she was back at the specialist's office for an 8 a.m. appointment, joined by her older sister, Lauren, and her parents, Yvonne Korbel and Lee Cecala.

Cecala learned she had acute myeloid leukemia.

Days later she was at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, seeing a renowned pediatric oncologist. And days later, Cecala was checked in to the hospital for her first chemotherapy treatment.

Treatments lasted for about five months.

She left school at the beginning of April 2014 and didn't return to Lake Zurich until late-November.

"That was hard, to say the least - knowing that I was (getting) behind in school work and seeing all of my friends enjoy all of the normal school activities that I was missing. That wasn't fun to watch," said Cecala, who was a competitive cheerleader for eight years, yet had to quit the activity due to her knee problems.

As Cecala battled leukemia full force last summer, she came down with pneumonia, which pushed her into a coma for more than a month. "Waking up from (the coma) was the hardest thing I've ever experienced," she said.

Cecala returned to school in mid-November. But that was simply to tell school officials that she was officially leaving, that she instead was going to pursue her GED, then eventually look at college options.

She had, after all, missed almost two months of her junior year and the first three months of her senior year.

"When I went in to drop out of school, my counselor actually talked me out of it," Cecala said. "So, instead of dropping out of school, I picked up my senior classes - and started the next day. I didn't think there was any way I'd be able to catch up (after missing so much.)"

But guidance counselor Lauren Kasdorf had other thoughts.

Said Cecala: "She said that's not who she thought I was, and that (dropping out was) the easy way out, and that I wouldn't be happy with that (decision) later in my life."

Cecala, 18, has worked tirelessly for about six months to complete her education requirements. She is heading to Santiago Canyon College in California in the fall, and then, hopefully, to USC after two years.

But not before receiving her high school diploma.

And not before the girls lacrosse team honors her this Wednesday before the team's annual Senior Night game. The Bears will wear "I Play For Her" shirts to show their support for their teammate.

"Even if I wanted to now, I couldn't (participate in) sports," Cecala said. "My lung capacity, for one, is not 100 percent yet. It's maybe at 85 percent. It's definitely been a roller coaster of emotions."

Since last Oct. 4, her leukemia has been in remission.

"It was a relief, the best news that anyone could tell me," she said.

The Bears' have had one of the best seasons in school history. They are 11-4 overall, 5-0 in conference play, including the school's first win over perennial powerhouse Lake Forest.

Cecala is "a big motivator for the team," said Lake Zurich coach Megan Pender, in her second season as the school's varsity head coach.

"She's a fighter, and has been ever since the day she was diagnosed," Pender said. "She really is an amazing kid."

Cecala has supported the team at almost every game this season, and she also attends many team practices.

In return, it was senior team captains Kirsten Brown and Jessica Kwak, among others, who were regular supporters and visitors when Cecala was in the hospital. In fact, even when Cecala was in ICU, they were doing homework in her hospital room.

"I couldn't ask for better friends," Cecala said.

Or better teammates.

"I feel so honored that they've accepted me on to the team," she said, "even though I don't play."

Instead, she fights.