SPORTS
Saint Jo women learns to move on after deadly illness
Hannah was confused.
Last thing she remembered was her college roommate and best friend Audrey Kubis taking her to the emergency room after a few days of being sick. When her face got some mysterious blue dots, her mom, a nurse herself, insisted her roommate take her to the ER.
While waiting to get checked in she fell asleep.
When she woke up she was hooked on to machines that were helping her breathe, several of her limbs were black and her family was more happy and relieved to see her.
What happened, she wondered?
Hannah had been in a coma for 12 days and her life had changed forever.
College girl
Hannah Reyling is the 22-year-old daughter of Paulette and Chris Reyling. She was born and raised in Saint Jo where she graduated in 2021. She has an older sister named Ashley who also went to Saint Jo High School.
An active child, Hannah participated in many sports leagues in neighboring Nocona. She quickly found out basketball was not her thing and gravitated towards volleyball.
“I don’t like when people touch me like in basketball,” Hannah said. “Girls are mean, so I just didn’t like the physical part of it. In volleyball, you don’t crash into each other, or you aren’t supposed to anyway. So I just like that about it. It can be very clean, but also very messy sometimes. It should have the same pass, hit rhythm to it and kind of never gets old when it’s executed like that.”
Hannah dove into the sport growing up and played on club teams. It paid off in high school, getting her onto the varsity team by her sophomore year and helping the team to the regional tournament twice in 2018 and 2020 as an outside hitter. She was named a Texas Sports Writers Association 1A all-state honorable mention in 2018 and was the district’s most valuable player in 2020.
She was listed at 5’8”, tall enough to comfortably play at the net at Saint Jo. Hannah also had a powerful frame that could put some oomph on her spikes, though more often she was looking to place her hits.
Playing for Coach Charlie Hamilton at the time, she and her teammates helped set the standard for what modern Saint Jo volleyball teams have risen to.
“I played with a lot of good people,” Reyling said. “In 1A, there are not very many setters that are very good, but all throughout high school I had really good setters. Just playing with people who had the skills and actually cared made it a lot of fun.”
Being at a 1A school like Saint Jo, Hannah of course got talked into playing basketball for a couple of seasons, threw shot put and discus in track and was a cheerleader some years. Still, volleyball was and still is her love.
That was my last experience with Hannah three years ago, covering her exploits in sports. Interviewing her in late July at her parents’ home, I never knew she wore glasses since she never wore them when she played.
Even with the success on the court, Hannah went to college to study. Initially she went to Texas Women’s University before transferring to Tarleton State University after one semester. She was pursuing a degree in nutrition, but was not sure on the career path.
After two years of college, she made the conscious choice coming into the fall semester of 2023 to start saying yes to more things and also to be more social beyond just playing intramural sports.
She joined the sorority Phi Mu, despite jests from her father about buying friends and it paid off big time for Hannah.
“Just seeing how the girls are all together all the time,” Hannah said. “I had friends before the sorority, but they were involved and I wanted to be more involved. It was fun and I met a lot of people through it.”
On top of college classes, she now was making time for sorority activities as well as working at a coffee shop/pizza place called Cold Smoke Craft House. She kept up with her love of volleyball by volunteering to assistant coach of a club team as well as intramurals. She even had the thought about hosting a summer volleyball camp in Saint Jo.
Hannah was busy, but loving life as things looked to continue this way at the start of the 2024 winter semester.
The illness
She was coming off a sinus infection from January, but felt good and healthy enough that she was playing in a kickball sorority event in late-February. Two days of sickness followed, with her feeling weak and throwing up. When she woke with blue dots on her face going to the emergency room immediately was a decision that saved her life.
“She’s filling out my papers,” Hannah recalls. “I was really thirsty and they wouldn’t give me water, so I just fell asleep. I woke up in Parkland hospital 12 days later.”
Her mother explained during those lost 12 days, Hannah was diagnosed with bacterial meningococcal meningitis and had purpura lesions that caused blisters on her arms and legs that went as deep as the bone. The infection affects the brain and spinal cord. While in the coma she was transferred to Harris Methodist in Fort Worth. Her body went into sepsis which turned her feet and fingers black.
Her family immediately came to the hospital when things took a turn. They were unaware their lives were about to change.
“She had to be ventilated on day two,” Paulette said. “They told us right away in the emergency room in Harris they feared for her life.”
The family never lost faith even when things looked dire 11 days later and there was little hope coming from the doctors.
“They came in and told us she probably wasn’t going to make it,” Paulette said. “She was still on a vent and not waking up. They were taking her off all medication to try and get her to wake up. They brought in the chaplain and everything so it was pretty emotional at that point for us that she probably wasn’t going to wake up. They told us she most likely would have brain damage if she did wake up because of the meningitis.”
The next day the family’s prayers were answered.
“She just, woke up,” Paulette said. “She wanted the tube out. She knew what we were saying, knew who we were. I mean it was just miraculous. We couldn’t believe it. It was like she was pulling a joke on the doctor, going no I’m not going to die.”
Despite her mental capacity being fine, her body was not. On top of the rough shape her hands and feet were in, her kidneys were in bad shape and she had to be put on dialysis several times.
She also was intubated several times which damaged her vocal cords and affects her speaking voice to this day, sounding as though her voice is hoarse after a day of yelling. Her inability to raise her voice causes her annoyance when she wants to tell her dog to settle down during the interview. She has been told the damage is not permanent and says it is much better than it was months ago.
Hannah was transferred to Parkland Hospital in Dallas since her mom said the previous hospital had not expected her to live and was not equipped to deal with the aftermath of her now black limbs.
Parkland has a burn unit and even though Hannah had not been burned, her limbs were not in good shape due to the sepsis. Eventually by the end of end of March, the difficult decision to amputate both legs, her left hand and most of her right fingers was made.
“My phantom pain was really bad in my legs,” Hannah said. “I would have sensations of my toes being crossed over one another. Not necessarily painful, but just annoying, to feel that and not be able to fix it. A pulling in my Achilles, sharp pains in my legs. It really just was super weird.”
She got to save her left knee thanks to many different things, including leech therapy.
Hannah also got to keep her right thumb, which she appreciates being right handed so she can still work and be addicted to her phone like a normal college age person. She excitedly used it to show me pictures of some of the things she described during the interview, including the leeches.
In all the total amount of surgeries, including all of the skin grafts, amounts to six. Her nurses and doctors got to know her so well, they threw her a surprise birthday party since she would be released only a few days before her 22nd birthday. She got to come home on June 19, 111 days from the day Audrey took her to the emergency room and now lives with her parents in Saint Jo.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
Nocona
The Nocona Lady Indians lost their first district game at Windthorst on Tuesday night.
The Lady Trojans won 3-0, though the first two sets could have gone either way.
The Lady Indians knew this matchup was key coming into this season after getting put in a district with the usual state power. Still, Nocona was coming into the game with more healthy bodies than it has had for several months and easy wins in its first two district games.
The programs have played each other in recent years, whether in tournaments or pre-district matchups since both have had great postseason success to get ready, but his would be a match that could potentially break the others streak of district titles.
The opening set saw both teams exchange back-and-forth runs. Early on Nocona led by three points 9-6. Twenty points later it was Windthorst that had the three-point lead 19-16.
The end game went on forever, far past 25 points as neither team could win two points in a row though both had several chances to close out the set. In the end, it was the Lady Trojans that won the first set marathon 33-31 to take the lead.
Nocona libero Aubree Kleinhans took a nasty spill diving for the final point of the first set and seemed initially shaken up, but was cleared and played the rest of the match.
The second set was similar to the first one as two and three point leads were swung back and forth until the mid game when the Lady Indians seemed to grab hold of the momentum.
Down 11-9, Nocona went 7-3 to grab the lead 16-14 and then opened up a five-point lead 20-15 heading into the end game.
Unfortunately, Windthorst showed some resistance and grabbed momentum at the right time. Down 22-18, the Lady Trojans came back to tie it at 22-22 before closing the set 25-23 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Blowing that lead in set two seemed to set the Lady Indians back. Despite a good start in set three, once Windthorst took control in the mid-game Nocona could not swing momentum back. Instead the Lady Trojans lead continued to grow and Windthorst won the set 25-17 and the match 3-0.
Bowie
The Bowie Lady Rabbits started the second round of district play on Tuesday by playing one of the top teams on the road, Henrietta.
The Lady Cats won in straight sets 3-0 against the Lady Rabbits.
Bowie comes into the second round of district playing for pride after not winning a game in the first go around.
Henrietta is battling for a district title and is ranked 14th in the state in 3A in this week’s coaches polls.
The first set saw the Lady Rabbits hang tough, but unable to make up ground once the Lady Cats carved out a lead. Henrietta won 25-17.
The second set proved to be the best one for Bowie as it competed point-for-point with the Lady Cats like it knows it can when playing at its best. Unfortunately, Henrietta was able to close out the set in the end 25-22 to take a 2-0.
Unfortunately for the Lady Rabbits, they fell behind early in set three and could not come back. The Lady Cats won the set 25-13 to secure the victory 3-0.
Saint Jo vs Gold-Burg
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers took down Gold-Burg at home on Tuesday night.
The Lady Panthers won in straight sets against the Lady Bears in a quick match.
Saint Jo came in as a heavy favorite, having won its first two district matches with ease as the experienced group has expectations to go far in the playoffs. Gold-Burg had lost its first three matches of district and the young team has struggled to compete at times.
The set scores were 25-5, 25-9 and 25-6 for the Lady Panthers.
Prairie Valley vs Bellevue
The Prairie Valley Lady Bulldogs were able to win on their home floor Tuesday night against a Bellevue team that proved to be more challenging than anticipated.
The Lady Bulldogs won 3-1 against the Lady Eagles.
Prairie Valley came into the match 1-1 in district, having lost to Saint Jo to start off the previous but expecting to take down the three other teams due to its experience and skill.
The Lady Eagles were 1-2, coming off a disappointing loss to Forestburg in the previous match since they are hoping to earn at least the third playoff spot in the district.
Games are played on the court instead of in rational heads though as Bellevue came out and surprised the Lady Bulldogs in the first set, winning 25-21 to take a 1-0 lead on Prairie Valley’s home court.
This seemed to wake the Lady Bulldogs up. They went out and won set two 25-15 to tie the match up at 1-1.
Set three was a bit closer, but Prairie Valley won it 25-19 to take the lead 2-1. With all of the momentum and swagger going, the Lady Bulldogs were able to make quick work in set four, winning 25-13 to secure the match 3-1.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News. To see pictures from the Nocona game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6869525&T=1
This week all of the area schools competed at its district cross country meets.
Bowie ran at its 3A meet in Burkburnett on Monday, Nocona ran at its 2A meet in Seymour on Wednesday and the 1A schools ran at Henrietta Midway on Monday.
The Jackrabbit boy’s team finished second overall to champs Holliday. Isaac Renteria was Bowie’s top runner, finishing third overall with a time of 17:33. Brayden Willett finished one spot behind him in fourth place and was 11 second back. The two broke up the six runner Holliday sweep in the top eight.
The Jackrabbits top five runners also included Russell Anderson (12th), Monte Mayfield (13th) and Hayden Sutton (17th). The team qualified for the regional meet.
Unfortunately for Bowie, the Lady Rabbits finished just one spot outside of qualifying for regionals in fifth place. The team’s top runner was Ollie Gaston who finished 13th with a time of 13:19. Bowie’s top five runners were Laney Segura (17th), Bella Lozano (19th), Harlei Hudson (32nd) and Isabella Caswell (34th). While it was disappointing, it was the first team the Lady Rabbits had fielded in three years.
For Nocona, the girl’s team had only one runner compete, but she made it count. Bayler Smith finished first overall with a time of 13:20.
The Nocona boy’s team finished second overall after first place Windthorst. The Indians were led by Andrew Perez who finished sixth overall with a time of 19:19. Freddy Duran finished right behind him in seventh place and Corbyn Patton finished 10th overall. The final two runners for Nocona, Brady Cunningham and Anthony Burrows, finished 24th and 27th to round out the team.
All of Nocona’s varsity runners qualified for the regional meet.
Running at the 1A meet at Henrietta Midway, it was both Saint Jo teams that dominated with first place titles while Bellevue finished second.
The Saint Jo girls were led by Savannah Hill who got second overall with a time of 13:42. All of the Lady Panthers finished in the top eight as Taylor Patrick (third), Abigail Carter (fourth), Kaycee Clark (sixth) and Jordyn O’Neal (seventh) finished not far behind. Sixth runner Mercedes Diaz did not count since only a team’s top five runners are totaled, but she finished in eighth place.
The Saint Jo boy’s team was nearly as dominant as its top five runners finished in the top nine. Barrett Johnson earned first place overall with a time of 18:43, beating teammate Jayden Curry who got second place. Elijah Young and Julian Luna finished fifth and sixth while Ayden Giambruna earned ninth place.
The Bellevue Lady Eagles were led by Maddie Broussard who earned first place overall with a time of 13:07. Bellevue’s top five runners included Kaycee Conner (ninth), Brittany Gill (11th), Tristan Shook (12th) and Brooklyn Shook (13th).
The Bellevue boy’s team was led by River Trail who finished third overall with a time of 19:10. The Eagles top five runners also included Evan Chavez (14th), Ryan Jones (15th), Brycen Bancroft (21st) and Cowyn Langford (24th).
Several area schools were not able to field full teams, but had individuals finish in the top 10 which qualified them for the regional meet.
In the girl’s race Linzie Priddy from Prairie Valley finished fifth overall with a time of 14:30 to qualify for regionals.
In the boy’s race, Josh Stout from Prairie Valley finished fourth overall with a time of 19:20. Jesse Wadsworth from Forestburg earned seventh place with a time of 20:54.
Not every runner and school qualified for district.
Gold-Burg fielded a boy’s team and finished fourth overall. Efren Villegas was the team’s top runners as he finished 13th overall with a time of 23:21. The Bears top five runners were Jorge Montes (19th), Brady Allen (22nd), Mason Marshall (23rd) and Ryan Newman (25th).
To see results for all area varsity runners, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
For pictures from Bowie’s meet, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6869523&T=1. For pictures from the 1A meet, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6869524&T=1
Bellevue vs Forestburg
The Forestburg Lady Horns won at Bellevue on Friday night in a match that could have playoff implications down the line.
The Lady Horns won 3-1, bouncing back after losing the first set to win the next three against the Lady Eagles.
Forestburg came into the match with a 1-1 district record and was hoping it could withstand further recent lineup changes to try and keep its position as the district’s third best team.
Bellevue came into the match 1-0 in district and was hoping it could jump a Lady Horns team for possible third place at home.
The first set saw the Lady Eagles get out to a good start, winning 25-19 while feasting on Forestburg hitting errors and winning long rallies.
The Lady Horns found their footing in the second set, putting more balls down on aggressive hits at the net and playing more clean in the back row. Forestburg won the second set 25-21, which proved to be the most competitive set of the match.
The Lady Horns went on to win sets three and four with more and more room for comfort 25-17 and 25-14 to secure the victory 3-1.
Bowie
The Bowie Lady Rabbits played a bye-game on Friday at home against one of the top teams in the state in 1A, Harrold.
The Lady Hornets won in straight sets 3-0 against the Lady Rabbits, giving Bowie a tough challenge to get ready for the second round of district.
The Lady Rabbits were unable to get a win in the first round of district and needed a match to try and get back on track.
Unfortunately, the smaller program was not just going to give it to them.
Harrold showed why its favored to get back to the state tournament, beating Bowie with set scores 25-17, 25-9 and 25-14.
Prairie Valley vs Gold-Burg
The Prairie Valley Lady Bulldogs won at Gold-Burg on Friday night to earn their first district win.
The Lady Bulldogs won in straight sets 3-0 against the Lady Bears.
Prairie Valley was coming off a disappointing loss to district favorite Saint Jo earlier in the week. Gold-Burg had lost its first two district matches and were hoping it could compete against the more experienced team.
The two teams had played earlier in the season and the Lady Bulldogs won easily in three sets. The first two sets mirrored that match as Prairie Valley won with scores 25-10 and 25-17.
The third set saw the Lady Bulldogs pull back and the Lady Bears played their most competitive stretch of the match due to scrappy play and preying on Prairie Valley to make hitting errors.
In the end, the Lady Bulldogs were able to pull out the win 25-21 and earn the 3-0 victory.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News. For pictures from the Bellevue/Forestburg game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6869462&T=1
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