In 2014, Full Count Softball posted over 1,200 articles and we continue our look back at what we feel were the Top 10 stories of the year, ones that had emotional impact, great human interest and drama or significance to the sport.

Today’s Article: Giving thanks: Haley’s greatest victory

Ranking: #8

First Published: Nov. 25, 2014

What It’s About: Haley Cashwell was only 10 years old when it was discovered she had Thyroid cancer and her world was turned upside down. She would go on to have a six-hour surgery to remove her Thyroid and several lymph nodes and, scarily, became very sick the night after surgery when nurses burst into her hospital room with crash carts to insert IV’s because of dangerously low calcium levels. Gradually—but not easily—she would recover fully and, as a cancer survivor, would go on to become a one of the best softball players on the East Coast.

Update: Haley has moved past the scare of five years ago to become a record-setting hitter in North Carolina and has committed to play softball at North Carolina – Wilmington. She’s earned every honor possible at the high school level including State Player of the Year (4A) and is dominating on the softball field, the volleyball court and in the classroom where she has a 4.5 GPA.

---

ORIGINAL STORY:

Giving thanks: Haley’s greatest victory

In the first of several articles this Thanksgiving week touching on gratitude and appreciation for blessings, we start with the story of Haley Cashwell, who had a record-setting freshman softball season in 2014.

The 2017 middle infielder hit .630 for her Cape Fear High team in Fayetteville, N.C. and set state records with 22 straight at-bats with a hit and also 24 consecutive at-bats reaching base as she helped lead her team to the state championship game.

She also had 63 hits and stole 24-of-24 bases to earn 4A Player of the Year honors along with being named All-State, All-Conference and All-Region.

Haley, who carries a 4.5 GPA and also plays varsity volleyball, did all this four years after surviving Thyroid cancer and, in this first-person account, the North Carolina-Wilmington softball commit talks about her medical scare and what she’s grateful for after coming through that experience…

***

I remember how excited I was the first time I reached the age to play softball so I wouldn’t have to play baseball with the boys anymore. At such a young age, I fell in love with the sport. Now, it consumes most of my time.

In fact, I was on the softball field in 2009 when a family friend found a knot on my neck that would change my life forever. We watched it for a couple of days to see if the knot would go away but when it didn’t change, we decided to go get it checked.

The doctor I went to informed me that I had a cyst on my Thyroid. I had surgery to remove the cyst and they sent that off to Pennsylvania to check it. I remember my dad taking me on a walk on our dirt path one day and he informed me that it had come back as cancer.

Being only 10 years old, hearing the word “cancer” would change everything.

At first, I was scared because I didn’t know what was going to happen next. A part of me was confident that God would take it all away and I prayed to him to heal me.

I remember going in for my second surgery where they would remove my entire Thyroid and several lymph nodes to make sure it hasn’t spread.

Pretty much the only thing I remember before surgery is seeing all of my family and friends there for me and hearing all of the prayers that they were sending to God for him to heal me.

After waking up from a six-hour surgery, even though I was still drugged up, I could see that the room was filled with people that loved me. I remember the first thing I asked for was something to drink.

The first night after my surgery was a challenge. I became very sick when my calcium levels were severely low. The muscles in my hands and feet were starting to contract and I couldn’t feel any part of my body.

My face was numb and I couldn’t control anything. All of a sudden, people were rushing in my room bringing crash carts while putting several IV’s that were pumping calcium in me.

After I recovered from that, it got a little bit easier each night. I stayed five days in the hospital, and I was so happy when I got the news that I was allowed to go home. Then, I found out that I had to go on a “low-iodine” diet before I had my body scan.

At this point I felt bad for my mom because she had to cook everything for me. That was a big challenge for me, but it was something I had to do. After not eating salt for two weeks, I took the radiation and had to stay in my room, isolated from everyone.

I wasn’t allowed to associate with anyone so the radiation wouldn’t harm their Thyroid. This was probably one of the hardest parts of the process as I had to wipe everything I touched and I had to take several showers a day.

At first, I was scared to go back for the scans. I remember driving back and forth to Chapel Hill to get all of the body scans I needed to make sure there wasn’t any cancer left. The longest scan took 45 minutes.

I went through this process twice, and the second time I was announced cancer free. I will never forget receiving that news. I was so excited that I could fully be back on the field doing my thing.

Being a cancer survivor has made the biggest impact on my life. While cancer is known to weaken the body, all it has done is strengthen my spirits. Going through cancer pushed me to be the best athlete I can be.

I am so thankful for my friends and family who helped me get through it all and also for the many prayers they sent.

I thank God for always being by my side, and guiding my doctor’s hands through all of my procedures. I also give God all of the credit for my talent of playing softball. I learned that no matter how tough the situation is, you have to keep fighting and pray to God that he will heal you in the way that he knows is best. I know that God put me through this for a reason.

I also learned that you should never take things for granted because you don’t know what is going to happen next.

I am so thankful that I can share my story with everyone and tell them how God helped me get through cancer, and how much stronger of a person it made me.

Since then, God has blessed me with a great group of friends that I’m lucky to call my teammates. This past year, we were Conference champions and I was blessed to be given the title of 1^st team All-Conference.

The Cape Fear Colts went all the way to the 4A state championship, where I was elected State Player of the Year for North Carolina.

I can’t wait to be back on the field this year with my teammates and hopefully go all the way!

Click here to see a video segment on Haley done by the ABC affiliate in Durham, N.C.