Defying the means – Syracuse’s Mighty Megan’s early life trials and tribulations
“That one girl must have a really bad cold.”
“She sounds like a smoker.”
Remember playing across the net from that raspy Syracuse High School and Rockets VBC player? Thinking what is up with her voice?
“I can hear them say something to their teammate across the net every now and then. I’ve heard everything from being called a smoker to a 60-year-old man, but at this point, people’s reactions are just funny because in my everyday life I don’t really think about it.”
Well, known as “Mighty Megan” in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Lincoln, her story started at the very young age of 27 weeks gestation on December 30, 2001. Many didn’t think she would make it her first night, first week, first month, and here she is almost 18 years later.
Megan Wallman‘s mom was put on bed rest at 22 weeks due to a premature rupture of the membranes and eventually moved to the hospital in order to be checked by medical staff often. Parents Chris and Jacque were told that at this point the medical staff would only focus on saving mom and not the baby as the baby was not to the age of viability yet.
Megan Wallman in the NICU. Photo contributed.On the morning of December 30, 2001, ready or not, Megan was delivered in 7 minutes by the nurses because the doctor did not have enough time to get to the hospital. Megan was born at 27 weeks weighing under two pounds; the size of a ketchup bottle.
Mom Jacque recalls, “They told us if she made it through the night, she would have life-long health, learning, and mental disabilities. They were quite certain she had brain damage, she couldn’t breathe on her own and all of her organs hadn’t started working yet.”
In the NICU, Megan kept the nurses and doctors on their toes. She started growing and stabilizing and her parents were able to hold her for a few minutes at a time.
At one month of age, Chris and Jacque received that dreaded call that they needed to return to the hospital as soon as possible. Megan contracted a blood infection and pneumonia at the same time.
“When we arrived, they stopped us at the door. At this point, the nurses were like family to us. They needed to warn us how serious the situation was and how terrible the baby looked. She was a greenish-gray color; she could not breathe at all on her own and all of her organs were shutting down. Even on the ventilator she quit breathing and had to be resuscitated every few minutes. This went on for hours and hours but we are so thankful that we had experienced nurses and doctors concentrating and focusing on keeping her alive.”
Megan was given antibiotics inter-venous. Medication that was so strong to a 2-pound baby that it burned her veins from the inside out and when one vein would collapse, they would poke another. After a few days, Megan began to stabilize but could no longer breath on her own.
On very high oxygen settings on the ventilator, she lost her eyesight for a while from an advanced stage of eye disease caused by too much oxygen, but day by day Mighty Megan got stronger and healthier.
At two months old, it was determined that along with the severe lung issues Megan did not have a viable airway and would need a tracheotomy, a small hole placed in the throat to allow a tube to be inserted to help her breathe. The heart-wrenching decision to have the surgery proved to be what Megan needed. Following surgery, she was weaned off the ventilator and her shiny face was finally able to be seen.
After 100 days in the NICU, Megan was ready to go home! But home turned into a different version of a hospital room. With the trach, Megan could not be left alone for over 3 minutes in case it became plugged. Around the clock nurses in the home and some very tired parents kept a watchful eye on Megan. At home, Megan began to thrive.
Megan Wallman, 15 months. Photo contributed.As a tiny 20 pound two-year-old walking and talking with a speaking valve, it was determined that Megan’s airway was not viable and her critical events were becoming more common and more serious. A fairly new surgery was done at Children’s Hospital in Omaha that cut her airway in half and added cartilage from her rib cage. During the surgery, Megan’s vocal cords were cut in half, hence her raspy voice. In order to rest and recuperate, Megan was put into a paralytic drug-induced coma for 3-4 weeks. Of course, Mighty Megan healed quickly.
For the first time in her life, at age two, Megan was free from all wires, tubes, and monitors. Her house turned into a home again and she actually started going out in public. And then the second half of her story begins.
Megan’s fight for life in the early years affected her in a very competitive way. Megan strives to be the best she can be in everything she does and defies the early reports of health, learning, and mental disabilities.
“I vividly remember Mr. Farley (HS Assistant Coach) yelling at my freshman class that we should always try to be the hardest working kid in the gym, and I took that to heart for the rest of my high school career. I often thought of that in practice and games so that’s something that has really stuck with me.”
Megan’s high school resume includes Future Business Leaders of America State Secretary and the local chapter president, president of the National Honor Society and her class. She is well on the way to graduate in May of 2020 with a 4.0-grade point average.
Older brother Ethan comments that Megan always has to jump first into every challenge.
On the court, Megan received an honorable mention in the Capital Conference as a serving and defensive specialist and captain on the Rocket team. The two-year starter broke the school record serving in a season at 97%. Her senior season she only missed 12 serves out of 399 with a team-high 42 aces. She led her team with 230 digs. Megan played with the Rocket VBC since 6th grade.
As a team leader, Megan persevered through many challenges not apparent to the naked eye.
“I only have about 70% lung capacity so in workouts that sometimes gets to me, like in the summer when we go from weights to conditioning, to open gym, to clinics. Haha my mom won’t appreciate this, but my mom and the doctors have told me the signs of when to stop and take a break based on my voice and breathing, and I can honestly say I’ve hit that point in almost every practice or game, but I never wanted to tell anyone or take a break. I just wanted to keep playing. So, yes it limits me in a way, but I feel like my mental toughness makes up for.”
Playing with determination all the time, Megan’s vocal presence on the court was a common nature to the players around her.
“I know my teammates or I don’t think of it anymore, but I could see how an opponent would be surprised by my voice. To me, communication is a big way I can help on the court since I’m a defensive specialist, and I know that if my voice is loud enough for the other team to question, it’s loud enough for my teammates to hear me too.”
Megan does not plan to pursue a college volleyball career but instead will be studying medicine in college, location undetermined.
Dad Chris reflects, “Megan has always had a certain attitude and approach to life, academics, and sports that pretty much defines who she is. Go ahead and tell her something is out of reach or not possible and you will find out what I mean pretty quick. She understands her challenging beginnings but never has used that as an excuse or an out. She focuses on the goals she has set and how she can make them a reality.”
Now, her voice is just a conversation piece to initiate discussion on the trials and tribulations in her early years that made her the Mighty Megan she is today.
Senior Megan Wallman, Syracuse. Photo contributed.