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Aplastic Anemia News - Return to News Menu
Looking to the future
Former SK star Nolan Soete returns after beating a rare blood disease.
Idiopathic aplastic anemia.
March 29, 2005 - In September 2002, those words sent shivers through Nolan Soete's body. The former South Kitsap High baseball and football star was preparing for his junior baseball season at Pacific Lutheran University when the life-threatening disease struck him.
One minute he was sitting in class, and 15 minutes later he was sitting in Tacoma General Hospital. Soete had been to the doctor a week before and the blood test results weren't good when they came back.
"My dad picked me up and took me to the hospital," Soete said. "I would get exhausted just walking to class. I would have to stop every 10 yards or so to get my wind back."
Doctors at Tacoma General diagnosed the 2000 South Kitsap grad with the blood disease that's similar to leukemia. The condition is defined by the failure of bone marrow to form all types of blood cells.
The next four months were the toughest of Soete's young life. He was transferred to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, where he went through an arduous recovery process. Soete underwent more than 50 blood transfusions and a grueling schedule of chemotherapy.
Soete was in dire need of a bone marrow transplant, and one night lost nearly 25 pounds as he waited for a donor. After all of the members of the family were tested, his sister, Jacinda, was deemed a perfect match. The transplant, which took place in November 2002, was a total success. By New Year's Day 2003, Soete had moved out of Fred Hutch.
Soete had beaten the disease, and his next thoughts were centered upon returning to the Pacific Lutheran baseball team. The big first baseman hit .300 as a freshman and .323 as a sophomore, starting all 34 games for the Lutes in 2002.
Soete had to sit out the 2003 season recuperating at his Port Orchard home. He returned to school at PLU the following fall determined to get back on the baseball diamond in the spring.
And he did.
Soete made a triumphant return to the field a year ago. His immune system hadn't fully recovered, but he still found a way to start 15 of PLU's 21 games. He played many games with an IV in his arm, and he took in fluids while he sat in the dugout. The effects of his sickness were apparent on the field, where Soete hit only .200 his first season back. This year he's finally healthy and looking forward to returning to the form of his freshman and sophomore years.
"I am ready for this season," he said. "I am much healthier this year and ready to go out with a bang. We have a lot of talent on this squad and I think we can go far. As long as we work hard good things will happen."
Soete has worked hard to make it back, posting some impressive weight room numbers. There aren't many players stronger than the 6-foot-2, 275-pounder, who is also an outstanding defensive first baseman. He benched 410 pounds, power-cleaned 270 and squatted 435 — all PLU team highs — in January.
"I worked hard the last six months" before the season, Soete said. "I kicked it into gear ... lifted four times a week along with playing basketball and distance running. It has really gotten me ready for this season."
Soete's one of eight seniors who have been together for the past four years.
"This is it," he said. "We got to push our chips to the middle of the table and show everyone what we are made of."
Soete's shown what he's made of.
"He is a tough guy who had a temper, but he made the players around him better," said Elton Goodwin, his former South Kitsap baseball coach. "He doesn't like to lose. He is a winner."
So far, this story has a happy ending. Soete, hitting .312 (15-for-48 with two home runs and 10 RBI), and the Lutes (13-5, 9-1 Northwest Conference) are off to good starts.
And most importantly, Soete, a physical education major who wants to become a teacher and baseball coach, is healthy after overcoming the biggest obstacle of his life.
Idiopathic aplastic anemia
Definition: Aplastic anemia occurs when a person's body stops producing new blood cells. The condition is deemed idiopathic when doctors can't determine the condition's cause — as is the case in about half of the diagnoses.
Symptoms: Fatigue, excessive bleeding, frequent or severe infections and shortness of breath.
Treatment: Blood transfusions, medications and, in severe cases, bone marrow transplantations.
Incidence: The condition afflicts about one out of every 500,000 people.
By Shaun Scott
For The Sun
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