THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 21, 1995 TAG: 9509200164
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SHIRLEY BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Long : 111 lines
DRESSED IN HER gold and maroon uniform, Rebecca Smith is happiest when she is chanting, jumping, and clapping with enthusiasm for the Bennetts Creek Warriors' football team.
A Pop Warner cheerleader for the past three years, she was co-captain of the cheering squad last season.
``I love cheering,'' said Rebecca, a freshman at Nansemond River High School. ``At 11, I tried out to be a cheerleader, although I definitely was not coordinated at first.''
Rebecca's squad recently won first-place in District competition in the Midget Division and advanced to competition in Regionals in Johnson City, Tenn. There, the team was awarded second-place for the season.
In addition to receiving a gold medallion for her squad's accomplishments, 14-year-old Rebecca was named to this year's Second Team of All-American Scholars. Less than 1 percent of Pop Warner players and cheerleaders throughout the country receive this honor, which recognizes academic excellence.
After being named first in the Mid-South Region and eighth in the United States academically among Pop Warner participants, Rebecca and her parents, Mike and Paulette Smith, were invited to attend the 35th annual Pop Warner Awards Dinner at the Contemporary Resort in Walt Disney World last spring.
Only Rebecca knows of the sheer will and determination that it takes for her to succeed, however. And only her family, teachers, and a few close friends are aware of her hard-won victories.
Rebecca was born with severe Crohn's disease, a chronic digestive disease of the small and large intestines, which has spread to involve the joints, skin, eyes, mouth, liver and heart. Due to Crohn's, Rebecca also has developed gastroesophageal reflux and Ankylosing Spondylitis, a chronic inflammatory disease of the spine and adjacent joints. Although the disease can run in families, Rebecca's brothers, Matthew Williams, 24, and Daniel Williams, 22, are not affected.
``Rebecca can be great one day and so seriously ill the next,'' said Paulette Smith. ``But most of the time she keeps going. She doesn't quit.''
When she was 6, Rebecca's doctors began to investigate her recurring health problems. After eight surgeries for a fistula that was thought to be a birth defect, she was correctly diagnosed with Crohn's disease three years ago.
``It was a nightmare from 1988 to 1992,'' Paulette Smith said. ``She was not a textbook case. But Rebecca's doctors at the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters are amazed at her determination and stamina.''
Today, Rebecca takes 30 pills daily, including oral chemo and prednisone, and sees her doctors twice a month. She suffers frequently from abdominal spasms and must adhere to a strict diet.
``I feel tired most of the time and it kills me going upstairs at Nansemond River,'' Rebecca said. ``By lunchtime, I feel wiped out. I used to feel depressed a lot, but my friends and cheering helped.''
Recently, Rebecca finally decided to tell her teachers and friends about her condition.
``Some of my friends were shocked,'' she said, ``but they've been supportive. Then, some took it the wrong way and said I used a medical problem as an excuse.''
``Emotionally, I think she's been better since she came out with it,'' her mother said.
When Rebecca first asked her mother and doctor about cheering, they refused permission.
``My doctors told me I couldn't cheer,'' she said, ``but my mother talked with the coaches and they were willing to work along with me. Before my doctor signed the permission slip, he said my mother would have to have the final say.''
Recently Rebecca and her parents passed another milestone when they agreed that she could visit Russia with a group from ``Quest for Gifted Students'' in July and August.
To become a member of Quest, a student must maintain A's and B's and successfully complete a special test.
``With Quest, I had studied Russia and the Russian language at John F. Kennedy Middle School on Thursdays,'' Rebecca said. ``At first, my mother didn't want me to go to Russia, but I wanted to, and it was a good experience. I loved the ballet, circus, and the countryside.''
Rebecca visited St. Petersburg and Moscow, carrying her ``Care Bear'' that had accompanied her through every surgery.
Acutely aware that she could become ill in a foreign country, Rebecca was alarmed when she began to run a fever one evening.
``I was scared, but I left the group, took my medicine, and went to bed,'' Rebecca said. ``The next morning, I was all right.
``Sometimes, I eat something that I know I shouldn't and I pay for it later. But what tasted the best to me in Moscow was a Big Mac from McDonald's.''
Rebecca laughed as she talked about the differences in culture.
``It was hot and there was no ice, no hot water, no air-conditioning and no screens in the hotel windows,'' she said. ``One morning, I woke up and there was a bird flying around in the room.''
Later in the school year, Rebecca plans to try out for the cheering squad at Nansemond River.
``My mom's afraid I won't pass the physical,'' she said, ``but at 15, you can no longer be a cheerleader for the Pop Warner Association. If I don't make the team during second semester, I'm going to see if I can get in at Bennetts Creek as an assistant coach of the cheerleaders.''
Rebecca's plans for the future are to maintain excellent grades, take advanced classes through high school, and enroll in Tidewater Community College to earn an associate's degree while attending Nansemond River High.
``I want to be an oncologist because I have relatives who have had cancer,'' Rebecca said. ``I want to work where I can make a difference, and maybe, even help myself too.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
``I love cheering,'' says Rebecca Smith. Her squad recently won a
second-place Regional award.
by CNB