The Greatest Gift
December 25, 2009 09:36 AM | General
December 25, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The winter holidays are a special time for all and even more cherished for West Virginia University student-athletes. Generally afforded some time off, the Mountaineers are able to break from competition and class and travel home to visit with family and friends.
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| The Bieskis Amy and Patricia have a lot to be thankful for this Christmas.
Submitted photo |
Such is the case for junior gymnast Amy Bieski, but never has a holiday break been as highly anticipated as this one for the Nanticoke, Pa., resident. Last September, Bieski’s mother, Patricia, donated a kidney to a family friend, and the reprieve from Cary Gym provides mother and daughter some much needed time to spend together with family - and the organ recipient - at home.
An ordeal that began near Christmas, 2008, it heightened in drama just this past September as Amy, a speech pathology and audiology major, embarked on her third season with the Mountaineers. After several setbacks - including a near-miss on the surgery all-together - Patricia was finally cleared for the operation in late September.
"There were so many complications and obstacles," Amy recalled. "I'm my mom's best friend, so when she calls me she doesn't hide anything."
Close to the kidney-receiver as well, Amy remembers the day of the surgery as the single-most nerve-wrecking day of her life.
"Even though my mom had the best doctor in the world, I was so nervous," she said. "That's my mom. If anything would happen to her, I don't know what I would do with myself."
"It's hard to keep any detail way from her," agreed Patricia. "She tries to stay abreast of everything. She's intuitive, but also very giving. Amy just brightens you up, and I can be a bit selfish with her - she is just that type of person that makes you feel better."
Patricia's surgery was on a Wednesday, and Amy rushed to her side straight from class, something 36-year WVU gymnastics coach Linda Burdette-Good knew her pupil needed to do.
"The whole early fall, when Amy was worried about her mother, you could see it in her practice - she was a little preoccupied," she said. "The coaches were worried about that, but Amy was able to stay focused. We just kept reminding her to stay in the moment and helped her understand that what she was doing in the gym had no affect on her mother or her surgery. She couldn't change that."
Thankfully for all concerned, the surgery was a success. Amy says that the entire ordeal taught her a lesson she could never learn in the gym or in the classroom.
"This whole journey has been hard on me, but it has made me realize that when you have your health, that's all you need," she mused. "I don't think people realize this - you could be the richest person in the world, but if you don't have your health, you don't really have anything."
Patricia says her daughter's wisdom and strength awes her each day.
"She just has so much maturity," she expanded. "It amazes me how she carries herself in certain situations and can let things go and move on, and always with a smile on her face.
"She is beyond her years. I'm not saying she is perfect, because by no-means is anyone perfect, but she is just a really good kid."
Thankful to be spending this Christmas together, with the stress of surgery behind them, Amy and Patricia know that time with family is a precious commodity for all of WVU’s student-athletes, and both wish a happy holiday season for all Mountaineers.
