For most incoming freshman at WSU, there are challenges adjusting from home to college life. For junior Shaya Schaedler, getting prepared to go to college was only a small portion of the battle she faced.

Schaedler began feeling abnormally sick when she was 12-years-old, usually only being able to sleep up to six hours a day. Her condition reached the point that Bronchitis and the common cold became her norm.

“I got everything that went around, and I basically didn’t have an immune system,” Schaedler said.

By the time Schaedler turned 16; she was diagnosed with multiple kidney stones and suffered from lethargy and depression as her condition worsened. When Schaedler visited doctors to learn more about her illness, they couldn’t pinpoint a specific diagnosis due to the rarity of her condition.

Just weeks after she graduated high school, an MRI revealed what Schaedler and her family feared the most: a brain tumor the size of a baseball. Schaedler quit competitive swimming indefinitely, and traveled to Los Angeles, Calif. for brain surgery six months later.

After a successful surgery she began physical therapy to learn how to walk again and perform basic physical tasks without problems.

“I felt like a zombie,” Schaedler said. “I couldn’t stand up or sit down without my vision blacking out or something else happening.”

While Schaedler recovered, WSU head coach Tom Jager said the mindset didn’t change regarding her recruitment to join the swimming team at WSU. Jager and the coaching staff ended up offering Schaedler a full-ride scholarship even with the uncertainty of her long-term health.

“We treated it like every other injury,” Jager said. “We’ve worked through a lot of things with a lot of our swimmers, I took a coach’s point of view and we took it from there.”

Schaedler’s parents opposed the idea of her attending college, and believed the best decision for their daughter was to rest during the recovery process. Schaedler, adamant on making her hopes and dreams come true, made the decision to enroll at WSU and join the swimming team against her family’s wishes.

“It was a fight the whole way through,” Schaedler said. “I was supposed to be in bed for six weeks after surgery according to the doctors, but I didn’t want my illness to stop me.”

Schaedler’s decision proved to be the right one. After a series of blood tests this past summer, Schaedler is considered fully cured. Schaedler’s mother, Joyce is relieved that her daughter is back to her positive ways of living.

“Now, she’s a happy person,” her mother said. “She’s always been happy go lucky, and now she’s back to being that way.”

Schaedler has made a huge impact on the WSU swimming program, both in and out of the pool. Former WSU swimmer Emma Johansson even told Schaedler that she is her inspiration.

“When someone is diagnosed with a brain tumor, they can either feel sorry for themselves or battle through it,” WSU assistant coach Adriana Quirke said.

Schaedler said she is thankful for the team’s constant support during the process.

“They were always the best support system I could have,” Schaedler said. “This is the best team and the best coaching staff in the world to me, and I’m so thankful for that.”

Through the mountains she has climbed, Schaedler has conquered every challenge in her path. Whether it is in the pool or in the classroom, Schaedler continues to impress those around her.

“Shaya continues to excel and get better,” Quirke said. “We know the best is yet to come.”