Submitted photo / West Branch senior Maria Manley walks with her 7-month-old daughter, Elena, on the Warriors’ soccer field.

BELOIT — West Branch soccer senior Maria Manley has been through more in the past 7-8 months than most high schoolers go through in their entire four years.

In February, Manley was expecting the birth of her daughter. Then on Feb. 20, little Elena was born. Barring complications, the pair were set to be discharged two days later.

However, Manley developed a fever and her doctors opted to keep her in the hospital. Her fever then led to several hours of seizures, which required her doctors to put her into a medically-induced coma.

Manley’s doctors diagnosed her with MOGAD (Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease), which is a neuro-inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system — in Manley’s case, inflammation of her brain stem.

“I woke up (from my coma) I think about eight days later,” Manley said. “I couldn’t move anything — I was paralyzed.”

But on Sept. 21, just months after being unable to move or walk due to her paralysis, Manley entered the Warriors’ game against Alliance, playing five minutes in West Branch’s 1-0 win over the Aviators. Manley started as a defender for the varsity team her sophomore and junior years, and it was her first game action since the team’s season-ending sectional final loss to Canfield last October.

“She had a big smile on her face and one of the other seniors, Kingsley Briceland, was next to her on the field and they just looked at each other and gave each other this really big hug,” West Branch head coach Cheryl Ficco said. “Then, Kingsley lifted her up off the ground and really took in that moment. It was really, really special to see (Manley) out there.”

Manley’s road to getting back on the field has been far from easy.

After the diagnosis, Manley’s doctor recommended that her parents take her to Atlanta to an inpatient rehabilitation and recovery facility called Shepherd Center, which helps people of all ages with temporary or permanent neurological disabilities to “rebuild their lives,” according to its mission statement.

“I was there for four months,” Manley said. “When I started there, I couldn’t walk or anything and then I came out and I was able to walk. I met so many people down there.”

Manley’s recovery process at Shepherd Center consisted of working with physical therapists and rehabilitation specialists so that she would be prepared for what she would have to deal with when she was discharged to return home.

Manley kept a positive attitude throughout her recovery, while drawing a ton of support from the West Branch and Beloit community back home.

Despite the mental and physical tribulations she fought through, Manley was able to experience a lot of new things for the first time.

“I didn’t even think about it like it was a bad thing,” Manley said. “It was cool being down there because I had never been to Atlanta. I love baseball, so we went to a Braves game. My aunt and uncle live there, so we got to see their house for the first time and I got to meet a lot of my second cousins for the first time and my cousin’s wife for the first time. So I got to meet a lot of my family.”

But throughout her whole ordeal, perhaps one of the toughest parts for Manley, was being away from her newborn daughter for an extended period of time.

“My mom’s sister, my aunt, took care of her while my parents were down there (with me),” Manley said. “But I knew (everything I was doing) was just so that I’d be able to take care of her when I got home.”

Manley was away from Elena for the first couple months of her recovery, but her aunt did bring Elena down to visit her a few times after that.

When Manley transitioned from inpatient care to the day program, Elena came along.

“We had a pack-and-play for her and she was there with me and we had our own room,” Manley said. “It was good because we had our own room and my mom had her own room and we had a kitchen. It was just so I was prepared so that when I went home, I was able to take care of her.”

After coming home this summer, Manley said she currently doesn’t have any physical limitations. She just has to complete a driving evaluation and then the doctors will release her.

“I can basically do everything,” Manley said. “I can carry the baby up and down the stairs and I can play with her. But sometimes school can be a little hard because I don’t remember much.”

Since her return home, Manley has continued to coordinate her follow-up medical care with the Cleveland Clinic.

Now that she’s been cleared by her doctors to play, Ficco said she hopes for Manley to continue to get some more minutes for the Warriors as the team finishes out the regular season and gets into postseason play.

“We just have to take it day-by-day with Maria and how she’s feeling and keep an open line of communication with her,” Ficco said. “If she’s feeling well, we’re happy for her to play. Her perseverance has been admirable. She’s been with us all summer. Regardless of whether or not she’s playing, she’s always been present. She always enthusiastically has a big smile on her face and is ready to help her teammates in whatever capacity she can.”

“We weren’t sure that it was going to be able to happen, but seeing that actually be a reality was really, really amazing.”

Manley’s enthusiasm, leadership and positive attitude are the reasons why her teammates selected her as one of the team’s captains. She was also crowned West Branch’s Homecoming Queen on Friday during the football team’s win over Minerva.

NOTE: Manley isn’t the only West Branch student going through a difficult time. Grace Leask and Mayze Craig were in a serious car accident over the weekend and both are in the hospital. Manley said that the community raised so much extra money to support her, that she wants to give the money to Leask and Craig’s family to help them with their hospital bills.

“Everyone’s just so supportive here, this community is amazing,” Manley said.