PIAA SOFTBALL: Rebar's success is a numbers battle
Jun. 15—Mid Valley's Courtney Rebar wasn't worried about her batting average, just the number she was hearing from the doctor: 23,000.
Stricken with rheumatoid arthritis in her jaw at the age of 5, the senior first baseman's high school softball career was, just two weeks ago, once again in jeopardy.
A trip to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia revealed a startling increase in the number of antibodies her body was rejecting, more than 80 times normal, Rebar explained.
The Humira injections that had kept her RA under control were no longer effective.
"It works like an EpiPen," Rebar said after Tuesday's 8-1 semifinal win over Palisades, a victory that sends Mid Valley into the PIAA Class 3A championship game against Juniata on Friday at 1:30 p.m. at Penn State University. "It worked until this year."
The battle's been ongoing for more than 12 years.
"I only remember parts of it," Rebar said. "I try to block out a lot of the memories because they were really bad.
"I ended up having a flare-up after soccer season. All of December and January, I was not able to walk properly. I had to get jaw surgery, inject steroids. It's still not good. I went to CHOP, talked to a rheumatologist and an eye doctor."
The rheumatoid arthritis also caused inflammation in her eye.
"It's usually fine. I go on with my day," Rebar said. "Ever since my jaw surgery, all of the meds I'm on, it's kind of hard."
It culminated in the final regular-season home game, a 5-4 loss to Riverside where Rebar spent much of the game in tears.
"I actually was crying in the dugout because I couldn't stand up properly because of the pain I was in," Rebar said. "It does wake me up a lot. I try to ignore it. When I do wake up, I take a hot shower or sit in the tub. I can't swallow pills so I take children's Motrin.
"With the jaw surgery, before I got it, I couldn't chew gum, eat hard foods. We thought it was my wisdom teeth but it wasn't. I had those out in 2021."
Unbeknownst to her, she had active arthritis in her jaw for two years, nine years after the initial surgery to treat the condition.
"My doctor is actually recommending it again because the arthritis is back," Rebar said. "Today, hitting in cages, my wrists were actually bothering me. I ignored it. We had a big game to win.
"I took my meds and went on with my day."
That day included a long two-run single, a base hit drilled off the third-base bag and another liner that was speared by Palisades' third baseman, an afternoon that raised her batting average to .451 with 30 RBIs.
"She said to me, 'I don't know if I could have caught (up to) that one,'" standout pitcher Maranda Runco said of the line drive. "I just said that she was stepping in and her stance was too closed.
"Try to think about just getting your foot out not too close to the plate and hit the ball out in front. She had two good hits to the third-base side just because she got it out in front."
She's been the team's hottest hitter dating back to the District 2 final, a 12-2 win over Holy Redeemer, with six hits — including two homers and a double — six RBIs and four runs scored in the past four games.
"I don't really look at my stats. I don't really care about them," Rebar said. "I just, I like to play.
"Maranda taught me how to fix it because she had a problem like that a couple years ago."
It was a matter of getting her feet set in a better position in the batter's box.
"Big difference," Rebar said.
Head coach Mike Piercy has been waiting for the pop in her bat to return.
"She's just having great at bats right now," Piercy said. "And you know, she's getting some left under the ball, hitting rising line drives as opposed to a lot of ground balls in the first half of the year.
"So she, you know, she made some little tweaks and adjustments and she's swinging a stick right now."
It's been a long journey from the days in junior high school when she took IV treatments at CHOP, five-hour sessions that caused her to miss school, gain weight and have trouble keeping up with her peers.
Despite her battle to succeed on the diamond, she'll be playing soccer next year at Bloomsburg University after a standout senior season as a keeper.
Now, she's setting goals instead of stopping them.
"With having arthritis and being on the team, Maranda is deaf in one ear and we kind of joke about how we each have somewhat of a disability," Rebar said. "It's kind of inspirational to know players have something invisible to the eye and they're accomplishing their goals."
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