Former Dll Standout Softball Player Alexis Mercer Battles Hodgkin's
Former Dll Standout Softball Player Alexis Mercer Battles Hodgkin's
Alexis Mercer Former Dll Standout Softball Player Battles Hodgkin's
One look at Alexis Mercer's Instagram page and you can tell she's a physically strong young woman. If you know her story, though, it's readily apparent that she's just as mentally and emotionally tough -- if not more so.
Mercer, a former college softball player and avid body builder, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, over the summer. A few months in, the Georgia native vowed to not let it break her spirit or her body.
While going through chemotherapy, Mercer kept up with her weight regimen Daily Mail reports. She would go to the gym on the second week of her break between rounds of chemotherapy.
"I tried not to miss more than five days over the course of two weeks," Mercer said. "For the first six rounds of chemo, it was really hard, but it was much better over the last six."
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMCmvXjBbK4/?taken-by=alexismercer_fit&hl=en" hide_caption="0"]
Mercer couldn't lift the same amount of weight, but she kept up with similar workouts.
"I've always loved the gym," said Mercer, who played college softball at Armstrong State. "It's just a hobby that I love and it was really hard to not be able to do the workouts that I used to do. You know, I had these nice arms that were gone and I lost a lot of muscle. I wanted to show that if I could do it, then there were other people going out there going though the same thing I was that could do it."
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BJJ2WfuBSSS/?taken-by=alexismercer_fit&hl=en" hide_caption="0"]
Last July, Mercer noticed she had a swollen hand and shortness of breath, but didn't think much of it. She thought the breathing issue was due to asthma. Mercer figured the swelling was just sunburn. When her whole arm swelled up, she took some Benadryl and it went down. It popped up again and finally Mercer went to a doctor, who thought it was just an infection and prescribed her a steroid.
Knowing her body as an athlete, Mercer knew there was still something else wrong, so she went to her primary doctor, who sent her to the emergency room. There, she had a CT Scan of her chest performed and it showed a tumor sitting on a bronchial tube and an artery that went from her heart to her hand, directly causing the symptoms she was having.
Doctors diagnosed Mercer with Stage I Hodgkin's lymphoma, which affects the white blood cells, about a week and a half after her hand first became swollen. Mercer had none of the other potential Hodgkin's lymphoma symptoms, like itchiness, night sweats, fever and chills.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BIffgFWBv23/?taken-by=alexismercer_fit&hl=en" hide_caption="0"]
Mercer began her 12 rounds of chemotherapy in late July. Right before the second round, her hair began to fall out. She shaved her head and bought wigs until she became more comfortable.
A few months in, Mercer got comfortable enough to head back to the gym and post multiple pictures on Instagram with her shaved head. Someone she met at a bodybuilding competition began using the hashtag #FlexforLex and it caught on. Friends put it on t-shirts and money raised from sales helped pay for her medical bills.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BOY6FnxBsgn/?taken-by=alexismercer_fit&hl=en" hide_caption="0"]
"Sometimes I see people wearing the shirt who I've never even met before, but it's really cool," Mercer said.
Mercer is now with done chemo and will begin radiation in February. She's looking for jobs in pharmaceutical sales and wedding planning and recently got engaged to boyfriend Kaleb Writch, also a bodybuilding athlete.
Mercer also vows to continue going to the gym -- those arms sure have come back -- and to compete in bodybuilding and fitness competitions again.
"I'm going to go as much as I can," Mercer said. "I have to sit down a lot and I'm never really breaking a sweat, but I just love it."
Competition is what Mercer has known for a long time. She is a former Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year in 2014, when she hit .418 with 14 home runs, 41 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. Mercer was also on the PBC Presidential Honor Roll that year.
The former infielder and outfielder said the key the last few months has been positivity. It would have been easy to get down, but that just isn't Mercer's style.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BII0CnBAzN1/?taken-by=alexismercer_fit&hl=en" hide_caption="0"]
She's all about lifting things up, and not just in the gym.
"How do you react when something happens in life?" Mercer said. "You can't do anything about it, but embrace it, so I learned to stay positive no matter what."
By Marc Raimondi
Mercer, a former college softball player and avid body builder, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, over the summer. A few months in, the Georgia native vowed to not let it break her spirit or her body.
While going through chemotherapy, Mercer kept up with her weight regimen Daily Mail reports. She would go to the gym on the second week of her break between rounds of chemotherapy.
"I tried not to miss more than five days over the course of two weeks," Mercer said. "For the first six rounds of chemo, it was really hard, but it was much better over the last six."
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMCmvXjBbK4/?taken-by=alexismercer_fit&hl=en" hide_caption="0"]
Mercer couldn't lift the same amount of weight, but she kept up with similar workouts.
"I've always loved the gym," said Mercer, who played college softball at Armstrong State. "It's just a hobby that I love and it was really hard to not be able to do the workouts that I used to do. You know, I had these nice arms that were gone and I lost a lot of muscle. I wanted to show that if I could do it, then there were other people going out there going though the same thing I was that could do it."
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BJJ2WfuBSSS/?taken-by=alexismercer_fit&hl=en" hide_caption="0"]
Last July, Mercer noticed she had a swollen hand and shortness of breath, but didn't think much of it. She thought the breathing issue was due to asthma. Mercer figured the swelling was just sunburn. When her whole arm swelled up, she took some Benadryl and it went down. It popped up again and finally Mercer went to a doctor, who thought it was just an infection and prescribed her a steroid.
Knowing her body as an athlete, Mercer knew there was still something else wrong, so she went to her primary doctor, who sent her to the emergency room. There, she had a CT Scan of her chest performed and it showed a tumor sitting on a bronchial tube and an artery that went from her heart to her hand, directly causing the symptoms she was having.
Doctors diagnosed Mercer with Stage I Hodgkin's lymphoma, which affects the white blood cells, about a week and a half after her hand first became swollen. Mercer had none of the other potential Hodgkin's lymphoma symptoms, like itchiness, night sweats, fever and chills.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BIffgFWBv23/?taken-by=alexismercer_fit&hl=en" hide_caption="0"]
Mercer began her 12 rounds of chemotherapy in late July. Right before the second round, her hair began to fall out. She shaved her head and bought wigs until she became more comfortable.
A few months in, Mercer got comfortable enough to head back to the gym and post multiple pictures on Instagram with her shaved head. Someone she met at a bodybuilding competition began using the hashtag #FlexforLex and it caught on. Friends put it on t-shirts and money raised from sales helped pay for her medical bills.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BOY6FnxBsgn/?taken-by=alexismercer_fit&hl=en" hide_caption="0"]
"Sometimes I see people wearing the shirt who I've never even met before, but it's really cool," Mercer said.
Mercer is now with done chemo and will begin radiation in February. She's looking for jobs in pharmaceutical sales and wedding planning and recently got engaged to boyfriend Kaleb Writch, also a bodybuilding athlete.
Mercer also vows to continue going to the gym -- those arms sure have come back -- and to compete in bodybuilding and fitness competitions again.
"I'm going to go as much as I can," Mercer said. "I have to sit down a lot and I'm never really breaking a sweat, but I just love it."
Competition is what Mercer has known for a long time. She is a former Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year in 2014, when she hit .418 with 14 home runs, 41 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. Mercer was also on the PBC Presidential Honor Roll that year.
The former infielder and outfielder said the key the last few months has been positivity. It would have been easy to get down, but that just isn't Mercer's style.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BII0CnBAzN1/?taken-by=alexismercer_fit&hl=en" hide_caption="0"]
She's all about lifting things up, and not just in the gym.
"How do you react when something happens in life?" Mercer said. "You can't do anything about it, but embrace it, so I learned to stay positive no matter what."
By Marc Raimondi