Stony Brook's Danni Kemp Battles Brain Cancer

Stony Brook's Danni Kemp Battles Brain Cancer

Pictured above: Danni Kemp (8) is hugged at home plate by her best friend Fallon Bevino.Editor's note: the softball community is a tight one and very suppor

Aug 29, 2016 by Brentt Eads
Stony Brook's Danni Kemp Battles Brain Cancer
Pictured above: Danni Kemp (8) is hugged at home plate by her best friend Fallon Bevino.

Editor's note: the softball community is a tight one and very supportive of its athletes and we at FloSoftball ask you to again support one of our own.

It's been a tough summer for players battling cancer and so far it's been good news for Taylor Dockins, the So Cal Choppers pitcher who is back in high school after battling liver cancer and undergoing several surgeries in the last few months.

Now, we turn our thoughts, prayers and support to another bright, vibrant student-athlete facing the biggest battle of her life so far.  Here's her story...

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Danni Kemp, a sophomore at Stony Brook University in New York, was playing club ball this summer when she was hit in the helmet while at bat. What appeared to be a concussion for the Milford, Connecticut native became more and more worrisome when Dani continued to have problems with dizziness and balance in the subsequent weeks.

nullShe recently had an MRI done at Yale-New Haven Hospital and the family was shocked to learn that the 19-year-old athlete was suffering from the effects of an inoperable brain tumor.

Over the weekend, Danni--who was a two-time 1st Team Connecticut All-State honoree at Foran High--completed two rounds of radiation with more expected this week. In all, she is expected to do treatment for six weeks.

Pictured: Danni (left) with Fallon while with the Connecticut Charmers club team.

Says her uncle, Bradley Taylor, "The team of doctors at Yale is still working to come up with the best plan of care to continue with after the six weeks of radiation.  The family is very hopeful for new clinical trials that should be available in the near future."

Taylor and Danni's family has set up a GoFundMe account where those willing to help offset Danni's substantial medical bills can make a donation. 

"Danni is the toughest young woman we have all ever met," her uncle writes on the GoFundMe.com page, "and is more than ready to fight this. Her strong and indomitable will has already proven to be more than enough to battle and beat a rare kidney disease while she was in high school. This will be a battle, but with so many people who know and love Danni and her family, they've got an army behind them."

Her best friend, Fallon Bevino, a collegiate softball player at Sacred Heart in Connecticut, has known Danni since they played Little League together. The two became fast friends as they played on the same teams at Foran High and in the summer with the Connecticut Charmers.

"My friendship with Danni Kemp all started with softball. We would've been friends through mutual friends and our tight-knit community regardless, but without softball, we wouldn't be the best of friends. Danni and I have always fed off each other, the picture perfect two-for-one package as friends and teammates."
 
"The amazing thing about Danni is that she uses the same traits in life that she uses in softball. Whether she's playing or not, her indomitable will and drive make her an amazing young woman. She pushes limitlessly to be the best version of herself day in and day out. Being around Danni makes you want to be a better person and being friends with Danni has definitely made me a better person."

nullFallon explains that this toughness demonstrated on the field is helping her in her fight against the brain cancer.

"Just as Danni lives her life and plays the game she loves, she's taken on this diagnosis with nothing but the will and determination to conquer it. The only version I've ever known of Danni Kemp is the tough version and that has not changed even in the slightest since her diagnosis."

Pictured: the Bevino family dog with Danni... says Jeff, "Our puppy is telling Danni: 'You're going to lick this cancer.'"

Fallon's father, Jeff Bevino, has also been an instrumental part of Danni's life, coaching her since her youth days and agrees that she's not one to easily back down from a fight, be it against a softball opponent or an adversary like cancer.  

"To tell you how tough she is, I was at her house last week," Jeff begins, "and she was very ill and nauseous. Danni got up on her own to go to the bathroom and her mother, being so proud of her said, 'Danni, that was so awesome you did that.' Danni turned to her mom and said, 'Mom, don't you realize I am one bad mother jammer? I'm going to kick this cancer's butt!'"

"That should tell you all you need to know about how tough she is. She is a fighter."

nullHer competitive fire and athletic skills as an infielder helped Danni start all four years in high school as she led Foran High to two state championship games while earning all-league honors three years and the SCC League MVP honors once.
 
"Coaching Danni was like coaching a Mike Trout in baseball!" he explains. "She's a five-tool player that was as smart and aggressive as any player I've ever had. I watched her grow up playing softball in the Milford town leagues hoping someday I could have the chance to coach her. I watched her play in the Little League regional finals as an 11-year-old only to lose to a great Pennsylvania team and two years later she put the team on her back and made it all the way out to Kirkland, Washington in the Senior Little League World Series."

"Danni was also one of the most coachable athletes I've ever had and her beautiful smile and fun personality could light up a room. She is like a daughter to me."

Those rallying behind Danni have also produced bracelets reading "Danni Strong #8," in honor of the jersey number she's worn most of her softball career.  

null​Pictured: the Foran High (Conn.) faculty shows its support by wearing the "Danni Strong #8" bracelets.

The athlete's uncle concludes, "Danni (and her family) will continually need all of the positive thoughts, prayers, support throughout these next few months. With a large community who loves this family, they will undoubtedly have the endless support that they need throughout this whole process."

"We ask that you please share this (GoFundMe) page on Facebook, through email, by word of mouth, etc. We want this page to reach the most people it possibly can."

"Thank you for taking the time to read this, and even if a donation isn't possible, please send prayers and positive thoughts to Danni and the Kemp family. Let's please do all we can as a community to help this family and Danni fight this battle with cancer."