When you’re 22 and an athlete, you don’t expect to have pill bottles lined up on your kitchen table.
But Amanda Jaskolski, of Shawano, needs the four medications in her battle with lupus nephritis, a kidney inflammation caused by a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks cells and organs.
Jaskolski, a 2010 graduate of Shawano Community High School, became ill in January 2013 while attending Thomas University in Thomasville, Georgia.
“I knew something was wrong,” she said. “I’ve been an athlete my whole life. I was sore and didn’t do anything.”
Jaskolski competed in golf, volleyball, basketball and softball in high school. She received a softball scholarship to Darton College in Albany, Georgia, a two-year school, then got another scholarship to Thomas University.
Knowing she was ill, Jaskolski went to the emergency room several times and was given antibiotics and sent home. Finally she couldn’t get in her bed at her apartment, and she was showering in her swimsuit because she needed someone to help her with nearly everything.
“I had no appetite. I couldn’t eat, but I was gaining weight,” she said. “My athletic trainer suggested I go to a clinic.”
After tests at the clinic, Jaskolski was hospitalized for more tests.
Her parents were concerned but Jaskolski told them not to come, that it was just the flu. But Jim and Linda Jaskolski flew to see her and were shocked at her swollen appearance.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Linda said. “It’s a parent’s nightmare.”
Amanda was given meds so she could fly home with her mother, while her dad gathered her things and drove her car back to Shawano.
After she returned, Amanda had trouble sleeping so she was given Vicodin, which sent her into a seizure. She was rushed to Shawano Medical Center, then transferred to ThedaClark in Neenah, where the doctors determined the mix of several drugs caused the seizures.
“The doctor said he won’t quit until he figured it out,” Linda said. “She has had very good doctors.”
In February 2013, Amanda was diagnosed with lupus nephritis, caused by systemic lupus erythematosus.
With the diagnosis and the right drugs, Amanda was up and doing things by July.
“It felt better to move than just sit there,” she said.
Linda, a hair stylist, said Amanda lost all her hair by June, but it has now grown in thicker and curlier.
Amanda thought about going back to school in Georgia but decided to stay closer to home and enrolled at Lawrence University in Appleton.
She made the softball team, was named player of the year in the Midwest Conference North Division and was selected for the all-region team. This summer she has been playing on the Wisconsin Elite softball team.
When school starts in the fall, Amanda will return to Lawrence for her junior year and her final year of eligibility for softball. She lost credits after getting sick and changing schools.
Amanda is on four medications and will probably be on some type of medication her whole life.
“It’s not curable yet, but it’s treatable,” Amanda said. “I never heard of it before I got it.”
That’s something she would like to change by raising awareness of and sharing information about the disease.
Amanda is grateful for all those who helped her through a tough time.
“I’m more appreciative of my family, my friends and everybody who helped me,” she said.
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