From Wheelchair to State Bowling Finals

Bill Kalaytowicz has rolled six 300 games in his life and even bowled professionally at one time. But according to his daughter Christina, he didn't really expect to see her follow in his bowling shoes.

"I used to bowl for fun,'' Christina Kalaytowicz said. "He didn't think I would like it. But I wanted to. That was before I got sick."

Sick in this case meant flu-like symptoms in October 2009.

"I had trouble breathing,'' Christina said. "I had trouble walking upstairs."

It was off to the hospital. What they heard next was every parent's worst nightmare.

"We were then told that she had a large tumor in her chest,'' Bill said  "She had to undergo procedures for a biopsy and to remove fluid and later was put on dialysis."

The bowler was diagnosed with T-Cell Lymphoblastic Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.

"I had pains my side,'' Christina said. "I had a sinus infection the week before. So I stayed home for a few days from school. But then I couldn't even walk."

School and the bowling team were out of the question. Christina was in a battle for her life.

"The first few months were very bad,'' Bill said. "She lost 61 pounds and had a seizure because of a blood pressure spike. And as a result of the seizure, which was cause by PRES syndrome, she was unconscious and delirious for about a week. They had to put her on a feeding tube to keep her alive."

Christina was told her tumor was the size of a football.

"I was so out of it,'' Christina recalled. "I lost so much strength. I was losing all of my weight. I was in a wheelchair."

By this time, the high school junior was beginning to get frightened.

"I was freaking out,'' she said. "I wouldn't let the doctors look at me."

It was time to fight the tumor. Chemotherapy was administered and it began to help. Of course, there were side effects.

"That was my lowest,'' she said. "It was those meds to kill the tumor. When I was in the hospital, I would let my phone die. And when I turned it on there were 20 messages."

By January of 2010, she began to improve. But school and bowling were still not possible.

"I had a tutor at home,'' she said. "I wasn't at school at all last year and I hated it. I missed all my friends."

Later in January, Bill and Christina visited the bowling team at the conference meet. Christina was still in her wheelchair.

"All of the schools gave her posters and flowers,'' Bill said  "This was very touching."

There was still much ground to make up as the tumor began to shrink.

"I went to physical therapy over the summer,'' she said. "Then I moved to a walker and took a few steps. That freaked my mom out."

As she improved, she tried to return to the bowling alleys.

"Over the summer, I was shooting in the 60s with a seven-pound ball,'' she said. "Then I moved to a 12-pound ball. And this year to a 14-pound ball."

Kalaytowicz returned to the this winter. Amazingly, she rolled a respectable 516 series at Cherry Bowl in Rockford. Her final game of her interrupted high school career was a splendid 220.

This clearly is a cancer victim who has fared tremendously well because of her medical care.

"Her oncologists, Dr. William Goodell and Dr. John Kwon, are my heroes and kept us informed during every step,'' Bill said. "Dr. Goodell calls Christina his “record breaker.” He had never seen anyone with worse numbers survive and he shares Christina’s case with medical students."

And maybe because of her brush with death, Christina has found something to do with the rest of her life.

"I know one thing it has done,'' she said. "It's helped me make a career choice. I want to work in child life and volunteer to help out kids."

Kalaytowicz knows she has to stay close to home for college.

"I still have take chemo once a month,'' she said. "And have a spinal tap every three months."

Her father, Bill, is obviously still shaken by the whole ordeal.

"I worry about losing Christina every day,'' he said. "And I won’t rest easy until her treatments are complete and her doctors tell us that she’s cancer free. I am 100 percent convinced that God has big plans for her because her recovery has been nothing short of miraculous."