In 2014, Full Count Softball posted over 1,200 articles and we continue our look back at what we feel were the Top 10 stories of the year, ones that had emotional impact, great human interest and drama or significance to the sport.

Today’s Article: Aidan Falk: A Sister’s Greatest Gift

Ranking: #3

First Published: May 27, 2014

What It’s About: One of the best stories of family love I’ve ever encountered, this feature had the quote of the year in my opinion… more on that in a second. Aidan Falk had a remarkable senior year in 2014 as the infielder shattered several New York state high school records including most home runs in a season (19 in only 22 games) and most career home runs (46). She was named the Class A Player of the Year and won national awards including Full Count Softball (then StudentSportsSoftball.com) 1^st team All-American honors. But as good as she was on the field, her love for her sister, Emma, blew away her softball successes. Emma developed Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and, though it was a long shot, Aidan was a perfect bone marrow match. “She was our only hope for an exact match,” the athlete’s mother, Jodi, said, “but by the grace of God she was.” However, the process would prove to be excruciatingly painful and included a three-hour operation to extract bone marrow. It wasn’t until five months later that all the pain was gone and Aidan could be at full athletic speed, but looking back she beautifully encapsulated the love she has for her sister 15 months older than her: “The pain was absolutely worth it because of how much the transplant helped Emma and I would do it a hundred more times if she needed it.”

Update: Aidan finished up her amazing high school career and then had a strong summer for the Finesse club team out of Michigan. She’s now at the Univ. of Michigan getting ready to play her freshman season with the Wolverines’ softball team. Says her father, John: “Aidan loves the softball program, the school and its academics.”

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ORIGINAL STORY:

Aidan Falk: A Sister’s Greatest Gift

Her club coach calls her Roy Hobbs from the movie “The Natural” (you youngsters, go check it out… it’s one of the greatest baseball movies ever).  He also says she’s the best first baseman he’s ever coached.

Some in her hometown of Rochester, N.Y. compare her to Bryce Harper, the young phenom with the Washington Nationals.

Whatever the comparisons, there’s no denying that Aidan Falk, a senior at Our Lady of Mercy High School, is big-time.

Aidan had two dream schools and was offered by both—she ultimately chose Michigan over Notre Dame.  She has set both the New York state career records for home runs (45 so far) and the single season New York state record for home runs (19 in only 21 games this year). Last year she was a 2^nd Team NFCA All-American and 1^st Team All-State honoree.

You name it, she’s done it and for all she’s accomplished on the field you’d say she’s already achieved a lot of success, athletically and academically as she has a 95 GPA and has pulled in a 93% every semester of high school.

But all that’s happened between the lines and in the classroom can’t compare to what she was able to do within her own family—essentially, Aidan has been the instrument in saving the life of her older sister, Emma.

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SIGNS OF TROUBLE

You don’t have to look far to see where the athleticism came from for Emma, who would grow to become a standout volleyball and softball player, and Aidan, her younger sister by 15 months.

Their parents, John and Jodi, played multiple sports in high school and their father would play baseball at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y. and their mom would compete in volleyball at Cornell University.

Emma took to volleyball and softball like a duck to water and younger sister Aidan followed in her fastpitch footsteps.

“My earliest memory as an athlete,” remembers Aidan, “would have to be playing catch in my backyard with my dad and sister.”

In July of 2007—the summer before Emma entered the seventh grade – her parents noticed she had a swollen lymph node in her neck.  Several visits to the doctor turned up nothing as she had no other symptoms until a diagnosis came in that no parent is prepared to hear—Emma had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a cancer of lymph tissue.

She underwent three months of chemotherapy and, fortunately, was in remission by October 2007.

Emma resumed her athlete career and began to excel on the volleyball court and softball field, playing varsity in both until the summer of 2011 when a bruise on her leg wouldn’t heal and she noticed that she was bruising easily elsewhere.

“We assumed she might have an iron deficiency,” says her mother, Jodi.  “Blood tests indicated a deficiency in her cell counts and further testing proved she had Acute Myeloid Leukemia and would require a bone marrow transplant. The leukemia was thought to be an after-effect from the chemotherapy she received for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.”

Aidan vividly remembers that scary time from nearly three years ago.

“My sister and mom went to a doctor’s appointment and they didn’t come back when they said they would. I gave it about 30 minutes and then called Emma and she didn’t pick up her phone. Then I called my mom and she didn’t answer either. So I called my dad hoping he would know what was going on, but there was no answer.”

“I probably ended up calling each of them four times and still had no reply and I became really nervous. Right as I began to really panic, my dad’s car pulled into the driveway and I ran out to see what was going on. I could tell from his face that something wasn’t right and this is when my mom and sister pulled into the driveway and they were both crying.”

“My dad walked up to me and hugged me and said, ‘It’s back. Emma has leukemia.’ I was in shock and then began to cry. Emma and my mom came over to us and we all just sat there crying and holding each other.”

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ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT

Within less than a week, Emma began chemotherapy treatments at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester and the search began for a bone marrow donor.  Finding a match can be difficult and, even within a family that has the same DNA, siblings have only a one in four chance of being an exact match.

And with Aidan being the only sibling, the odds weren’t good.

“She was our only hope for an exact match,” her mother says, “but by the grace of God she was.”

The younger sister remembers getting the news that she could help save her sister.

“I had just gotten home from school and my phone rang,” Aidan begins. “It was Emma and her voice sounded really strong—stronger than it had been in weeks.  She goes, ‘Guess what?’ And before I could answer she said, ‘You’re a match! You can be my donor!’”

“Once again I was in shock because the chances of me actually being a match seemed so little. I was so happy, I had a moment where I got scared, but that was quickly overtaken by my joy in finally being able to help her get better and the chance that she would get better and maybe even be able to get back to normal.”

Emma went to Children’s Hospital in Boston for additional chemotherapy, irradiation and the bone marrow transplant.

Aidan knew being the marrow donor wouldn’t be easy, but still wasn’t prepared for how exacting it would be on her healthy, athletic body.

“I had to go to a lot of doctor appointments making sure I was physically and mentally able to be a donor, but it was nothing compared to what Emma had to go through,” she explains.

“The operation took about three hours. They made two big holes in each hip bone in my lower back, then went in each hole about 60 times extracting bone marrow. I was unconscious during the operation, but when I woke up I felt like I had been hit by a bus.”

“I had absolutely no energy and couldn’t move without severe pain in my lower back. The pain lessened as time went on and went away after about four weeks unless I was doing any type of physical activity. I wasn’t allowed to do any type of strenuous activity for the first three months after the surgery and once I did get cleared I still couldn’t do much jumping or pounding without feeling an ache in my lower back.”

“However, five months after the surgery the pain was completely gone. The pain was absolutely worth it because of how much the transplant helped Emma, and I would do it a hundred more times if she needed it.”

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BACK COMPETING

Emma was in isolation for six months after the transplant to give her body a chance to rebuild her immune system and she lost a considerable amount of weight being on a feeding tube and experiencing some kidney issues.

Fortunately, the transplant was a success and the older sister did not suffer from any graph versus host issues.

Amazingly, although the cancer treatment forced Emma to miss her entire junior year of high school, she had built up extra classroom credits prior to the diagnosis and was able to do in home schooling enabling her to graduate with her class on time.

This spring, Emma just completed her freshman year at Loyola University Maryland where she is a member of the volleyball team.

“Her health is good,” says her mother. “Her recovery from the bone marrow transplant has been much longer than her recovery from chemotherapy she underwent as a seventh grader for Hodgkins Lymphoma.  She is not 100 percent back to normal, but she pushes herself daily to continually improve her strength and endurance.”

Aidan just seems to get better and better in her softball career too.  The prototype lefty power-hitting first baseman/catcher, she’s led Mercy to the Sectional semis which are later today.

The senior has hit .667 with an on-base percentage of .761 and knocked in 52 RBI and scored 41 runs on those 19 homers in the team’s 21 games.

Her club coach, Donny Dreher of the Finesse team based in Detroit, Michigan, believes, “Aidan’s strength and size will allow her to have an immediate impact in Michigan’s lineup as a freshman.”

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A UNIQUE BOND

The worst – knock on wood – is seemingly behind the Falk family and with two daughters soon to be in college, John and Jodi feel blessed and fortunate to have survived the storm.

As with any adversity, there tends to be lessons learned and relationships strengthened.

One major benefit was the rallying of the community and the efforts to raise awareness and funds to battle cancer.

The spring before Emma was diagnosed with leukemia, the Mercy softball team hosted its first Strike Out Cancer event (both Emma and Aidan were on the varsity team at the time).

Emma’s story was highlighted and she threw out the first pitch.  Every year since, the event has grown especially in light of Emma’s second diagnosis.

Two weeks ago the 4^th annual Strike Out Cancer event was held and in those four years over $27,000 has been raised with all proceeds being split between the Rochester Ronald McDonald House and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

“For the past three years our event has been one of the highest producing National Fastpitch Association Member’s Strike Out Cancer events,” Jodi says proudly.

And certainly the Falk family’s unity and love have increased, particularly between the two athletic sisters.

“Emma and Aidan have a unique bond,” their mother reflects.  “We are grateful for what they have both done for each other and our family.  Emma’s illnesses never go out of our minds.  We are so very appreciative of all the excellent medical professionals that cared for Emma in Rochester and Boston, our wonderful family, friends and community.”

“We have learned how important it is to provide the prayer, thought, kind word or gesture to someone else when they are in need and today we are more thankful that we have each other and our family.