'Miracle Girl': Simi Valley's Madsen perseveres through harrowing battle with E. coli
It was her dreams that seemed so real.
All the while Haley Madsen lay in a coma — an agonizing 21-day stretch while her body battled the onslaught of insidious E. coli — her mind was besieged by vivid dreams.
There were beaches in her hometown of Simi Valley, shadows lurking everywhere and friends and acquaintances popping up with mixed-up names. There was even a God-like presence whose face she could not see but spoke to her from a blinding, bright light.
"He asked me if I wanted to come with him," Madsen says.
Then a 15-year-old Simi Valley High freshman, Madsen said no. She must have known that a harrowing three-year journey that lay before her would ultimately produce a happy ending.
Do you believe in miracles? Her family now does. Really, make that miracles and basketball.
Madsen emerged from that coma at Los Angeles Children's Hospital — triggered by seizures that all but shut down her brain — into a virtual fog that affected her vision, kidneys and liver.
More frightening? She was robbed of almost all memories. Madsen didn't recognize her family, or where she lived. She had little recollection of the first 15 years of her life.
Three years later, she's a recent high school graduate who racked up a 3.6 grade-point average and is headed to California Lutheran University on an academic scholarship.
Turns out, Madsen never lost the will to battle and compete so indicative of her status as a top-notch youth basketball player as she grew up. The way back was treacherous, but Madsen was duly motivated to be herself again.
"I just wanted to be normal," she said. "There were so many things I couldn't do or was told I couldn't do, and that was frustrating. Sometimes I was mad. Sometimes I was angry. I wanted to be a normal kid again."
Madsen also anticipated a return to the basketball court. Her mother Shannon had been a Pioneers hoops star in the mid 1990s, would later coach the girls program for two seasons, and younger sister Faith is a gifted player on the rise.
"I wanted to play again," she said. "(Basketball) had meant so much to be growing up. I wanted to make it back to my high school team."
Madsen did that, too.
The player who had earned a starting role and had demonstrated so much potential as a freshman rejoined the Simi Valley High girls basketball team for the 2021-2022 season.
She became a starter, was named the team captain and averaged nearly six points per game though her new focus was defense and rebounding.
Among her season highlights was taking a charge from Gabriela Jaquez, Camarillo High's illustrious senior star.
"Coach told everybody that they needed to step in front of (Jaquez)," Madsen said with a grin. "She said everyone except Haley. She didn't want me to take a shot. That wasn't going to stop me. When I took that hard charge it felt so good."
If her shooting and ball-handling skills showed the rust of two years away from the game, Madsen's competitive instincts and hard-nosed attitude never wavered.
Her coaches might have flinched with every hard contact, but Madsen never did. She played with a headband for protection, but never shied away from mixing it up.
"I even got into a fight," she said with a measure of pride. "The player swung her arms at me and hit me in the head. I came out of it fine."
Madsen said she wasn't driven to tears when she made her return to competition. "I was just focused on playing hard," she said.
But her dad Dave didn't hold back as he watched from the stands.
"I knew what it meant to her and what it means to the family," he said. "There were definitely tears in my eyes."
Dave doesn't break out any water-to-win analogies. But the family can't help but marvel at the tale of darkness turning into light.
"We look at it as a miracle, considering where she was and what she went through," he said. "When we go back to the hospital that's what they call her. She's the 'Miracle Girl.' "
Stunning diagnosis
The staggering chain of events began with one meal.
It was May 2019, and Shannon stopped at a local restaurant to bring home a take-out dinner.
Haley and Shannon had the same chicken dish. Faith ordered a different meal.
That night, Haley and Shannon were each stricken with severe stomach pain, cramps and diarrhea. Faith was unaffected.
It would be several days before Haley and Shannon each opted to check in to the emergency room at Simi Valley Hospital.
Blood tests and stool samples delivered a stunning diagnosis: both had contracted Shiga toxin E. coli.
Shannon was immediately admitted to the hospital and taken to her upstairs room. Haley received emergency transport to Children's Hospital.
There was one distressing addendum to Haley's condition. She had been administered antibiotics, which tend to exacerbate the effects of E. coli.
Once at Children's Hospital, Haley suffered a severe seizure and lapsed into a coma for three weeks. The diagnosis was so dire, Dave was informed that disconnecting his daughter from life support was an option that remained on the table.
He wasn't ready for that. Instead, Dave launched into his own research and discovered a drug called "eculizumab" in which some patients demonstrated promising results.
After several days of consulting with doctors, Dave found one physician who was willing to administer the drug.
Haley's recovery was not a fait accompli occurring overnight. There was no lightbulb moments. No flicking of a switch.
"It was gradual," said Dave. "One step at a time."
Haley was released from the hospital after 42 days, and was eager to do so.
Doctors said she couldn't go home until she showed she could walk on her own. There were times when she'd get up for the nurses, take a couple of steps, then grab the wall when they looked away.
Her father remembers her coming home and just sitting in her room for two hours, attempting to reorient herself to the surroundings.
What ensued was days and months of physical and speech therapy, ups and downs. There would be plenty more trips to the emergency room as Madsen was still plagued by seizures, though milder and shorter in duration.
In a prodigious display of progress, Madsen made it back to Simi Valley High and the classroom for the start of her sophomore year. She was there for two classes — mathematics and history — and was home-schooled in her other subjects.
"My teachers were so patient, so helpful for me," Madsen said. "I owe them so much."
D'lorah Wismar, who teaches math, algebra and geometry, was especially impactful, Madsen said. Teachers turned into mentors that helped her to retrain her mind to learn and solve problems.
The return to school wasn't all tulips and lollipops.
When Madsen sat down near the front of the classroom on her first down back, she discovered that no one else sat within four rows of her. Like she was contagious.
In the hallway, a classmate came up to her. "She told me, 'I thought you were dead,' " said Madsen.
"You find out who your friends really are," said Madsen. "I never heard from lots of people again."
Madsen also discovered that true friends remained caring and loyal. Like members of her youth basketball teams she played on as a youngster. Among her closest friends and biggest cheerleaders is Royal High basketball standout Sophie Graves.
Madsen said she matured in a hurry these past three years. She had no choice.
"It made me grow up fast because there was so much to accept," she said. "I've relied on so many people and I'm grateful. Now I want to prove to myself what I can do on my own."
Love of the game
Basketball has been Madsen's passion for a long time.
"As long as I can remember," she said. "I was, maybe, 3 years old when I started. I've always loved it."
Her mother, then Shannon Malia, was a key component on powerhouse Pioneer teams in 1995, 1996 and 1997 that featured prolific scorer Tawnee Cooper and Dave Murphy as the head coach.
Haley, growing up, would fine-tune her game by joining boys games at nearby Lemon Park.
She'd dream of one day playing at Simi Valley High, and then in college.
The latter won't happen now. Madsen knows she must move on.
"I know I would have gotten a basketball scholarship if I had been able to play those two years and keep improving," she said. "There's no doubt in my mind I would be playing in college."
She always realizes that basketball — and it may be no exaggeration — saved her life.
"100%," she said. "I think my background as an athlete enabled me to come back as I have. I do CrossFit. I play basketball. It kept me strong, and it's played a big part for me."
Madsen made the decision to rejoin the Simi Valley girls team the summer before her senior year. It wasn't a slam dunk because she didn't want to disappoint herself.
"What I didn't want to do was embarrass myself," she said. "I didn't know how close I would be to being the player I was before. It was something I had to think a lot about."
The teammate she surprised most with her decision was her own sister.
Shannon was driving Faith to summer practice, with Haley in the car. When they arrived at school, Haley got out with her jersey in hand.
"(Faith) said, 'You're playing?' I had not yet told her," said Madsen. "I wanted to surprise her."
If college basketball isn't in the cards, a strong future is.
Madsen is still taking medicines, and likely will for a long time, but is feeling hale and chipper.
"I feel great," she said. "100%."
She also is eyeing a valuable future career. Madsen plans to major in education and become a teacher, just like her parents. Shannon was most recently an assistant principal at Simi Valley High; Dave teaches at Valley View Middle School.
"I'd like to teach elementary school children," she said. "That's now my goal."
Loren Ledin is the Prep Editor for The Star. He can be reached at loren.ledin@vcstar.com or 805-437-0285.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Simi Valley's Madsen perseveres through three-year battle with E. coli
