May 17, 2016

Molly Lane Fox Unit | Macmillan Cancer Support UK | Donate

Former NIU women's soccer player Amy Carr has always been a model of fitness, strength and conditioning.

A kinesiology major in her time at NIU, Carr's work ethic kept her constantly honing her craft as a goalkeeper, earning All-Mid American Conference honors in 2012 to become the first netminder in program history to earn the honor. Her diligence as a student-athlete extended to the classroom as well, earning Academic All-MAC accolades that same season.

Today in her native Hemel Hempstead, England, Carr remains disciplined in her training as she prepares for a pair of road races, a 10K and a half marathon, to raise funds for the Molly Lane Fox unit at the National Hospital in Queen's Square London and the Macmillan Cancer Support Centre where she learned first hand the medical care provided.

"DON'T ASK ME HOW TO SPELL IT"
Carr's talent as a goalkeeper took her a lot of places around the world, including DeKalb, Ill., where she started 70 matches for the Huskies, the second-most starts by a player between the sticks in program history.

Before becoming a student-athlete, Carr donned shirts for Arsenal and Chelsea ladies youth teams, travelled across Europe with England's U17 National Team and eventually to New Zealand in 2008 for the FIFA U17 Women's World Cup. With the Lionesses, Carr helped England to a third place finish and helped lay the foundation for the team's 2015 World Cup run in Canada last summer, where England again finished third.

Even as a student-athlete at NIU, soccer took Carr to South Africa as she coached soccer and cricket amongst other sports to school aged children while also teaching them English.

After exhausting her eligibility, Carr signed a professional contract with IL Sandviken in Bergen, Norway, helping the squad go undefeated, 21-0-1, and gain promotion to the top flight of the Norwegian Toppserien.

Carr signed with IL Sandviken in Norway, helping the team earn promotion to the top division after an undefeated season.

But before her senior season in DeKalb, unknown to her at the time, problems began to arise for Carr back in England.

"I had my first seizure the summer before my senior year. They didn't do any tests because I was at home," said Carr. "Then I played my senior year and had no problems."

A year later, after completing her season in Norway and on a visit back to the United States, she had her second seizure and followed up with a third in February 2015.

"(My second seizure) was in November after sitting in a sauna. I was visiting friends in Lake in the Hills and Alton, Ill., and my last was on February 3 of last year. (After my final seizure, the doctors) decided to do an MRI after I asked. (After my MRI), they got back to me on the 16th of March," Carr added.

That was the day she learned she had a benign tumor in her brain, roughly the size of a golf ball, that needed to be removed.

"In March they said it wasn't cancerous but then on the day of surgery I had to have a scan and they found that it was a bit cancerous," she added. "There were no other signs. I wasn't dizzy. I wasn't getting headaches and headaches are normally the main (symptom), but I didn't have any headaches; just the three seizures."

Carr learned she had a glioblastoma, a highly invasive glioma or malignant tumor in the brain, affecting the glial cells in the central nervous system. Glial cells help maintain homeostasis in the human body, controlling blood's acidity as well as body temperature.

After learning that it was cancerous, the doctors postponed the surgery five times before operating on July 12. After some time, Carr knew something was wrong but she never knew what to make of it.

She was set to return to the Midwest, planning to attend Hastings College in Hastings, Neb., to begin her career as a graduate assistant soccer coach. With the delay in surgery, she was forced to decline the offer which she said was "disappointing" and the thing that upset her the most because of the plans she had made. But still, she dealt with it how she does everything else: working through it.

Carr's CT scan, with her tumor in the top right corner of the photo

"I knew there was something wrong but I didn't necessarily know it was that bad," said Carr after her hearing the initial cancer diagnosis, "I still don't think it's fully hit me yet. But I don't think it's ever going to because I've gone through and dealt with it. I think it won't hit me until I've reflected on the whole thing."

THE TREATMENT
Carr underwent surgery on July 12, 2015 with two doctors performing the procedure, one specializing in awake brain surgery or Intraoperative Brain Mapping and the other in iMRI, a means of mapping the brain during surgery to reduce the risk of damaging critical parts of the brain.

"It was a 10-hour surgery and I was semi-awake, obviously on drugs," she giggled. "So they cut my skull open and put electrodes on my brain to see what was my brain, what was the tumor and what controlled what so they were able to ask me questions during the surgery," Carr recalled.

The tumor was on the left side of her brain, affecting the right side of her brain and body. The brain mapping surgeon told her during the surgery she would be paralyzed on her right side for up to six months and that it could be permanent.

"I would've been mad-panicked if I had woken up not knowing this would happen," she said of the doctor's diagnosis, "but I wouldn't have been able to express that I was mad-panicked."

After she awoke from surgery, she was paralyzed on her right side and woke up quite confused, not even able to communicate yes or no with a thumbs up or thumbs down without confusion.

"Originally I was using thumbs up, thumbs down with my left hand. I was really confused on what thumbs up meant. So I was giving thumbs up for teas and coffees and I hate tea and coffee. So this poor lady always gave me a tea and coffee because I asked for it and I couldn't say no," she laughed.

"It wasn't until the fourth day, when my parents came in and they were like 'what are you doing with this?' The woman was still there and my dad said, 'did she say she wanted this?' The woman said yeah and then my dad says, 'she hates tea and coffee.' So I was like 'oh god' but I couldn't say anything. I didn't know how to explain it," sighing with laughter.

Carr also underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments after her surgery - concluding treatments on March 31 - forcing the 25 year old to lose her hair, which Carr says was the toughest part of her treatment process.

"The toughest part for me was touching my hair, and it falling out from the radio. It had to go in the left side of my head, and out of the right side. So that was the hardest part, pulling the clumps of hair out," Carr proclaimed.

THE RECOVERY
After bouts with confusion in early recovery, Carr remained in bed and paralyzed for the first four days after recovery.

On the fifth day, she stood for the first time, beating the sixth month paralysis diagnosis from the surgeon.

"It was so weird, I had no strength. All my muscle in the right side was gone," Carr said.

This allowed her to go outside in a wheelchair with a little help from her parents, where she was able to get a breath of fresh air and go to dinner with them.

"I had to eat with my left hand and that was a disaster," she laughed.

After three days of standing, Carr was finally walking, conquering stairs and walking laps in the hospital halls on July 21 - nine days after surgery. She had lost weight being bed ridden during recovery, but after 13 days, Carr was released from hospital care on July 25.

Carr's mom, Daryl, an exercise instructor, took some time off from work to help Amy in her rehab. A day after her release, Carr jumped on a stationary bike in her living room with a little help from her mom and began her road back to active recovery.

"I didn't go gong-ho straight away," she said about her rehab, "we went on small walks and stuff like that. To this day my foot's still turned out a bit. A normal person wouldn't notice but I'm so OCD," Carr laughed. "Like I go to visit the hospital and I'm like, 'my foots still turned out.' And they're like 'Its not a big deal.'"

Daryl Carr, an exercise instructor, helped Amy in her road to physical recovery after brain surgery.

Three weeks after her release she even went back to support her beloved Huddersfield Town Association Football Club at John Smith's Stadium.

"The first time I went was like three weeks after I got out of the hospital. I had a huge headache after. I just wasn't ready, but it was good to get back out there," Carr said.

At this point, 14 months after finding out she had a tumor and 10 months removed from surgery, Carr is back on the golf course, on the tennis court, the soccer pitch with her Sunday league team and back to jogging. She'll be testing her endurance this spring and summer with a pair of races.

"On May 21 I'm running the Adrenaline Rush (obstacle course) 10K in London. (In my training right now,) I'm just trying to get my time down. I want to (finish) under an hour, but I don't really know the obstacles. I've never done anything like this," said Carr.

The Adrenaline Rush races are the United Kingdom's equivalent to the United States' Tough Mudder and Spartan Races.

She will follow up this summer with the Great North Run, her first half marathon, on September 11.

In the meantime, Carr is working for hard to train for her races and with a purpose.

"I'm doing the races to give myself a target. In my mind if I get through both of them, it means I've done it. 18 months later, I've done it. With the help of the staff on the ward and at Macmillan - the physio, the speech therapist, doctors, nurses - I'm stronger mentally and back physically," Carr said.

Though she was not able to begin her coaching career in the states as she had planned, she has dealt with her adversity and shifted her goals and plans for the future. Carr's message is simple.

"I think the main message is to appreciate the ability you've got even if you're not a college athlete. Just appreciate what you've got. I've changed my career goal to wanting to help cancer patients through exercise. So that while they're going through treatment, I can personally train cancer patients throughout treatment if they'd like to be more active," she said.

Donations to Carr's charities, Macmillan Cancer Support Centre and the Molly Lane Fox Unit at the National Hospital, can be taken on Virgin Money Giving by clicking here.

Soccer has taken Carr across the globe and back, taking her to heights that most could only dream of reaching. And though her plans were interrupted, she worked through the adversity the same way she always does: through grit and determination, grace and valor.

When race day arrives, there is no doubt that she will put her best foot forward, even if she knows in her own mind, that it's a little crooked.

She is brave. She is strong. She's a Lioness. She's a hero, inspiring others to live no matter the obstacle.

The Carr's visiting Amy in Norway (L to R): Hannah, Daryl, Amy, David