Cheerleader captain survives rare disease

Weightlifting, running, being captain of the cheerleading squad and attending cheerleading practices were all part of the norm in senior Todd Eager's life. He was in the best physical shape he had ever been in, but then unexpectedly, he was struck down in his prime last summer.\nEager's mother took him to his hometown hospital in Fort Wayne June 6, because he had a severe headache, dizziness, a fever, bloodshot eyes and he could barely breathe. \nHe was suffering from a rare illness called menningococcemia, which is a blood bacteria that causes blood to become toxic. \nThe hospital held him overnight and by the second day, two helicopters were flown there from Ann Arbor, Mich. to take him to the University of Michigan Hospital. Eager said he went into septic shock, when the vessels and veins dilate and the pressure drops causing the body to shut down. His liver quit working and his kidneys and lungs failed. \nBut Eager's heart never failed.\n"If they hadn't got there when they did, I wouldn't have made it another half hour or 20 minutes," Eager said.\nThe University of Michigan Hospital is one of three hospitals in the nation to have an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation machine, which is a portable lung and heart bypass machine, Eager said. \nEager's friend and roommate, junior Matt Money, said that once Eager was at Ann Arbor, he was on life support, and there was a 95 percent chance that he would die. Money said he called to check on him several times throughout the summer.\nDr. Robert Bartlett treated Eager at U of M, and he has become close to the Eager family, Eager said. Bartlett invited Eager and his family to dinner at his house with his family during the Oct. 14 Michigan football game against IU.\n"We keep in touch," Eager said. "I have blood work done every week and it's faxed to him because he wants to keep up with my stats."\nHe was released from the hospital July 10 and went home to Fort Wayne where he began physical therapy. By the time the school year began, he was in good enough health to attend classes.\n"He is a lot thinner now and he gets tired really easily, so he sleeps a lot," Money said. "People are always sending him cards and stopping by to see how he is doing."\nHis doctors believe he survived because of his muscle mass, and since he was in shape, he had enough energy to fight it, Eager said.\n"I still don't feel like myself yet, and I probably won't the rest of the year," Eager said. "This is a slow process."\nHis parents and two brothers were always there to support him, said freshman Kelly Miller, his friend and former cheerleading partner.\n"His mom was an angel," Miller said. "She was a nurse herself, so she was always making him drink protein drinks and babied him all the time."\nEager said one never knows how much family, friends and teammates matter until one has an experience like this.\n"I will never be able to tell (Miller) thanks enough, because there aren't words," Eager said. "She drove from Elkhart, Ind., about once a week and was with me at my worst. She is a very special person." \nEager now attends cheerleading practices and has accomplished one of the goals he set for himself -- to run the flag out at the IU-Michigan game.\n"Some other goals I have are to work out when I can and to push myself and try to get strong again as well as to run better and more easily," Eager said. "I want to show my family and doctors that I will beat the odds and be ahead of schedule in the recovery process."\nMiller said she is impressed with how he has stayed positive throughout the summer and how his health has improved.\n"I knew if the doctors could get him over the first hurdle that he would be fine, because he is the strongest person I know," Miller said.\nEager said he has realized that people shouldn't take anything for granted.\n"I learned no task is too small and should not be taken lightly -- like taking a shower or combing your hair," he said.\nEager is a biology major, but he is unsure with what he wants to do with his life, he said.\n"God has a plan for me or I would not be here," he said. "I don't know if I will be led to continue in a medical career or to teach at a high school since I love kids, but I am not really sure."\nHe said this last year was tough, but it was one of life's lessons.\n"My advice is to never pass off flu symptoms," Eager said. "It is not worth taking a chance"