UPON FURTHER REVIEW: ILL KORRAS INSPIRES TEAMS.Byline: Ramona Shelburne Ramona Shelburne is an American sports journalist currently writing for the Los Angeles Daily News. Shelburne was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California where she was a class valedictorian. LOCAL Klly Korras' teammates used to tease her all the time about wearing pink. "Everyone calls her Barbie Barbie in full Barbara Millicent Roberts A plastic doll, 11.5 in. (29 cm) tall, with the figure of an adult woman that was introduced in 1959 by Mattel, Inc., a southern California toy company. ," teammate Joanna McCoy said, smiling. "She's smart and all, but everything she has is pink. Plus, she's blonde." Friday afternoon though, the softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' field at Chaminade High of West Hills softball field was covered in pink. Every player for Chaminade and its opponent, Mission League rival Alemany, wore a pink armband arm·band n. A band worn around the upper arm, often as identification or as a symbol of mourning or protest. Noun 1. armband - worn around arm as identification or to indicate mourning . They were only too happy to. They were only too happy Korras' was still alive. She started feeling sick on Wednesday. It felt like the flu, so she stayed home from school in the morning, but was well enough to make it in for a test in the afternoon. Then she skipped softball practice just to be safe and take it easy. By Thursday morning though, it was clear this was more than the flu. Her parents called the pediatrician pe·di·a·tri·cian or pe·di·at·rist n. A specialist in pediatrics. and described her symptoms - nausea, a splitting headache, stiff neck stiff neck stiff n → torticolis m and a strange rash - and were told to bring her to the emergency room immediately. It was bacterial meningitis bacterial meningitis Acute bacterial meningitis Neurology Meningeal inflammation caused by bacteria which, if untreated, is often fatal, or associated with significant sequelae Epidemiology 60% are community-acquired–CM, 40% nosocomial–NM Predisposing , a serious infection of the fluid in the spinal cord spinal cord, the part of the nervous system occupying the hollow interior (vertebral canal) of the series of vertebrae that form the spinal column, technically known as the vertebral column. and surrounding the brain that can be fatal in the most serious cases. A few hours later, Korras slipped into a coma. The news shocked her classmates Classmates can refer to either:
"One day we're playing softball together, and the next she's in a coma?" junior second baseman second baseman n. Baseball The infielder who is positioned near and to the first-base side of second base. Noun 1. second baseman - (baseball) the person who plays second base second sacker Danielle Zymkowitz said of Korras, a senior center fielder and pitcher for Chaminade. "It was really scary." Chaminade coach Jon Ellinghouse, his staff and the team rushed to the hospital to be with her. Practice was cancelled, life was put on hold. The prognosis wasn't good. Across town at Chaminade's Mission League rival, Alemany of Mission Hills, assistant softball coach Sandy Holm holm n. Chiefly British An island in a river. [Middle English, from Old Norse h was just happy to have a break from the weather that had rained out so many of her team's games in the early part of the season. But when she came out to practice Thursday afternoon, she found her team in tears. "They were really upset," she said. "The feeling I had when I got to practice is that my kids had lost a sister." Alemany senior Natalie Moody had grown up with Korras. They remained close friends. Half the team had played with Korras at Northridge Little League. Holm and Alemany head coach Regina Hernandez offered to let the team go home, but Moody wouldn't allow it. The Indians had a game the next day and needed to practice. "Kelly wouldn't have wanted us to quit and mope around Verb 1. mope around - move around slowly and aimlessly mope move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right" ," Moody said. Friday wasn't much better. Korras was still in a coma. The prognosis hadn't improved. Chaminade was still reeling. Players and coaches filled the waiting room outside Korras' room. Alemany still had a game to play. Holm and Hernandez filled out their line-up cards. "I played for her," Moody said. After the game, they went where they needed to be. They'd held it back long enough. "They just showed up. We were all sitting there in the hospital and Alemany comes around the corner with food for everyone and cards for Kelly," Ellinghouse recalled. "The weren't expecting anything for it. They were just being nice, you know. "It's such an intense rivalry on the field. But in our time of need, they were there for us." Korras' father Mark couldn't believe it. "It was the worst day of my life, but seeing all of them there for her, it brought tears to my eyes," he said. Holm had only met Korras in a softball context. She was the pesky left- handed slapper from Chaminade who shut her team down last year. But she'd seen enough to know about Korras' spirit. "She was tough," Holm said. "I knew she was going to make it. I had no doubt. She just had so many people pulling for her." Saturday morning, she proved Holm right. She woke up. Within a few days, she was writing thank-you notes to everyone who had come by to visit her. Tommorrow, she will be released from the hospital. Monday, she's going to try to go back to school. But this story doesn't end there. There was a softball game to be played Friday. An important one. Seems like every year, the Mission League title involves Chaminade and Alemany. Both teams wore pink armbands - Korras' favorite color - with her initials on it. At first Chaminade seemed rusty. Understandable of course, for a team that had been through so much. The team had to get on antibiotics after Korras fell ill. Two players with flu-like symptoms even had spinal taps spinal tap: see spinal puncture. over the weekend to rule out bacterial meningitis. Both were negative. This was their first game of the week. In the third inning, Chaminade committed two errors, leading to three runs for Alemany. It was probably enough to win the game behind a talented senior pitcher Jennifer Day. Alemany could've felt badly about trying to score any more and taken it easy. But that's not what Korras would've wanted. An inning later, one of Korras' best friends, S.J. Webster smacked one of her two RBI-triples to right center. Alemany led 5-0. Chaminade looked stunned stun tr.v. stunned, stun·ning, stuns 1. To daze or render senseless, by or as if by a blow. 2. To overwhelm or daze with a loud noise. 3. . The rout was on. But in the sixth, the Eagles found some life. Sophomore catcher Brittany Cervantes drove in two runs with a single to center. In the bottom of the seventh, you had a feeling they'd mount another rally. Megan Tupper led off with a single to left, Joanna McCoy worked a walk, Megan Milkovich had a bloop bloop Baseball n. A blooper. tr.v. blooped, bloop·ing, bloops To hit (a ball) into the air just beyond the infield. adj. Hit just beyond the infield. single to center. Ninth batter Emily Bliss drove in Tupper with a chopper to left. Zymkowitz hit a chopper to Sara Ramirez at short, who fired home just in time to get the force out. With one out, Briana Saraceno hit a hard grounder right to Day, who started a 1-2-3 double play to end the game. The Eagles didn't win the game. But there were no tears afterwards. They'd played hard, they'd competed. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Chaminade High softball players wear wristbands and pink ribbons in support of teammate Kelly Korras. Left, Alemany pitcher Jen Day wears a wristband wristband An identifying bracelet attached to a Pt's wrist at the time of admission to a health care facility, which may be the only identifier used during a person's stay in a hospital in support. Alex Collins/Special to the Daily News |
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