Lehigh University Athletics
Nothing Can Get in Chesson’s Way
5/9/2019 9:24:00 AM | Softball, Student Athlete, Features
By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications
Things were going well for Jaelynn Chesson this fall. As a freshman on the Lehigh softball team, she was getting acclimated to her first semester of college.
Then, things changed.
They changed quickly.
"It was in October," said Chesson. "Everything was perfect. I played fall ball and was going to school, then I got sick. It was bad.
"Come to find out, my appendix had been burst for three and a half days," she continued. "You're supposed to go the hospital the first day, but I didn't know it's what I had.
"I went to the hospital, had immediate surgery and was there for two weeks. The doctor told me that based off how sick I was, I probably wouldn't be able to play the coming spring season. He said I would probably get right back into things and start practicing right around our first game."
Seven months later, it's fair to say that Jaelynn has far exceeded the doctor's projections.
On Tuesday, Chesson was named a first team All-League honoree and currently leads the Mountain Hawks in home runs (5) and RBI (30), while hitting .357 with a .571 slugging percentage.
Things are great now, but there was a significant period of time when Chesson was literally fighting for her life.
"They put tubes inside of me to essentially clean out my system," she said. "Since my appendix had been burst for so long, the bacteria was everywhere. They couldn't send me home until the tubes drained out all the bacteria. My white blood cell count was extremely low and I couldn't leave the hospital until it reached a certain point.
"I had the tubes in for about a week and they realized it wasn't working well enough," Chesson continued. "I was getting better, but it was a very, very slow process. I didn't walk for a week. I couldn't eat for days. I couldn't even drink water.
"My diet was ice chips."
For Chesson, it wasn't a simple process of surgery, recovery and head home.
"The doctors had to get my diet back up," she said. "They had to get my system working because everything shut down. My lungs had partially collapsed. I couldn't keep anything down. Nothing was working in my body."
Eventually, Chesson was allowed to leave the hospital.
"I had been walking around the hospital floor taking laps. I couldn't walk all the way, but I walked enough," she said. "They sent me home with the two drains inside me, so I came to school for several weeks – probably three weeks – with two tubes inside me."
After missing so much time and dealing with such a significant health crisis, getting back into the swing of things was challenging, but the support system around Chesson helped her through.
"I got out of the hospital on a Saturday and went back to class on Monday, but I had to be driven around," she said. "I'd go to one class a day at first. Then, I'd go to two classes. I'd pick and choose my classes so it was well balanced."
For many people, dealing with what those circumstances may have forced them to withdraw for the semester.
Not for Chesson. With some slight tinkering of her schedule, she made it work.
"It was gradual, but by the time I came back from Thanksgiving, I was going to all my classes."
When Chesson traveled home from Lehigh, she headed to Franklin, Tennessee. It's a place Jaelynn currently lives, but not where she has always lived.
While Chesson's freshman year of college has been far from typical, so has been her road to this point in her life.
"I started playing tee ball around age six," said Chesson. "I started softball around 10, but my dad is in the military, so we moved overseas to Sri Lanka (country in South Asia). They didn't have softball, so I played soccer for a couple years."
Chesson remembers her time in Sri Lanka very clearly.
"It was a very big jump because I was homeschooled all throughout middle school," she said. "When I moved to Sri Lanka, I went from home schooling to a straight private school. One of the things I loved the most was the diversity; there were around 20 of us in my freshman class and there were two Americans, one Canadian, three or four Sri Lankans and everybody else was from a different country.
"To this day, I have friends from Saudi Arabia, England, Canada, Mexico, India, Sri Lanka and different parts of America," Chesson continued.
Chesson's father was planning on traveling the world as part of his military business, but the family eventually came back to America during Jaelynn's sophomore year of high school. That's when, despite several years not playing softball, she began playing again.
The seed was planted for stardom.
"I started up softball in high school, not thinking I could play in college," said Chesson.
"My coach and I became close and she said I had the potential to play in college. The summer coming into junior year, our pitcher was graduating and we didn't have a pitcher after that so I became the starting pitcher. My coach realized that I had literally never pitched before and was having success."
Once again, Chesson's coach reminded her she could play in college.
By then, Jaelynn was convinced.
"I realized I was actually doing pretty well for not playing for a few years," she said. "So I started the process."
That's where Lehigh steps into the picture, which as Jaelynn describes: "…had every single thing on my dream list. It had my major and my minor. It has a great coach and it was everything I wanted in my dream school."
Lehigh also has tremendous people, and that's something Chesson learned first-hand this fall. She quickly learned that her teammates are family.
"They were very supportive," she said. "As soon as I was in the health center, it was the middle of the day and I texted my team asking if someone could take me to the hospital. Instantly, everybody jumped up and said yes. What's wrong?
"They stayed with me for hours while I was in urgent care," Chesson continued. "They called my mom, they called my dad, they called Coach Troyan, they made sure everybody was updated and they told the team what was going on.
"They came in the earliest they possibly could and stayed as long as they could. I was in the hospital for a long time, but at least one person came every single day. They took turns to come in, say hi, talk to me and help decorate my room since I'd be there for a while."
As the head coach of the Lehigh softball program, Fran Troyan couldn't be more proud of what he witnessed.
"The team was absolutely amazing," he said. "Before Jaelynn's surgery was over, the leaders of the team had put together a Google Sheet and everyone took times to visit with her in the hospital."
"Lehigh softball has always cultivated a tight-knit, family-like atmosphere," said junior Emily Preble. "Time and time again, this group has proved to be a tremendous support network for one another, and when Jaelynn got sick, everyone dropped everything to make sure she was taken care of. We know she would have done the same for us."
"The fact of the matter is we are a family," said Troyan. "It is clear that there is a bond now between Jaelynn and her teammates and coaches that cannot be broken."
That bond has allowed Chesson to thrive. As a freshman jumping into a successful program, there could have been feelings of resentment from upperclassmen, but not with the Mountain Hawks.
Jaelynn has been empowered to be her best self, and has made the most of it.
"Jaelynn is stubborn," said Troyan. "Once she sets her mind to something, she sets out a game plan and attacks the game plan. She did it in the recruiting process as well. She was so persistent in wanting to come to Lehigh that it was hard for us to say no."
That persistence proved important for Chesson after she got sick this fall.
"When I went home for Christmas break, I told my dad I wanted to start up softball," she said. "About three weeks into break, I was hitting off the tee a bit and feeling great. About a month in, I started training and doing softball then by the time I came back to school, I was probably about 80 percent ready to go."
It's safe to say that percentage quickly jumped to 100 because Chesson hasn't missed a beat.
"I am so proud of Jaelynn and the way she has overcome such adversity," said sophomore Payton Alsobrooks. "She was incredibly optimistic throughout the entire recovery process and was refusing to let this tragedy affect her game. She is one of the hardest workers on the team, has the sweetest personality and her positivity radiates through the whole lineup."
Chesson admits that she didn't expect this much success, especially this early in her collegiate career. She is soaking it all in and enjoying every minute, especially after what she went through this fall.
"I've learned a lot," she said. "It's only my freshman year and I'm thinking, what else could go wrong next year? This year for me feels like the building blocks for the next three years at Lehigh. I can always look to this year and think, I got through it. Whatever happens next, it's nothing compared to what happened."
"In a single year, Jaelynn has been forced to battle more hardships than most athletes do in their entire college careers," said Preble. "But her ability to look on the bright side and dig her feet in helped her bounce back and compete with a ferocity unlike anyone I've ever seen."
"I almost died and here I am," said Chesson. "It just proves to me that nothing can get in the way if your mind is set towards a goal."
Things were going well for Jaelynn Chesson this fall. As a freshman on the Lehigh softball team, she was getting acclimated to her first semester of college.
Then, things changed.
They changed quickly.
"It was in October," said Chesson. "Everything was perfect. I played fall ball and was going to school, then I got sick. It was bad.
"Come to find out, my appendix had been burst for three and a half days," she continued. "You're supposed to go the hospital the first day, but I didn't know it's what I had.
"I went to the hospital, had immediate surgery and was there for two weeks. The doctor told me that based off how sick I was, I probably wouldn't be able to play the coming spring season. He said I would probably get right back into things and start practicing right around our first game."
Seven months later, it's fair to say that Jaelynn has far exceeded the doctor's projections.
On Tuesday, Chesson was named a first team All-League honoree and currently leads the Mountain Hawks in home runs (5) and RBI (30), while hitting .357 with a .571 slugging percentage.
HOME RUN ALERT! Lehigh's third of the day and second of this game two. Freshman Jaelynn Chesson with the long fly to give the Mountain Hawks a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning at Lafayette.
— Lehigh Softball (@Lehighsoftball) March 23, 2019
Watch: https://t.co/nDj0hSZYcz pic.twitter.com/EyTeO23SzO
Things are great now, but there was a significant period of time when Chesson was literally fighting for her life.
"They put tubes inside of me to essentially clean out my system," she said. "Since my appendix had been burst for so long, the bacteria was everywhere. They couldn't send me home until the tubes drained out all the bacteria. My white blood cell count was extremely low and I couldn't leave the hospital until it reached a certain point.
"I had the tubes in for about a week and they realized it wasn't working well enough," Chesson continued. "I was getting better, but it was a very, very slow process. I didn't walk for a week. I couldn't eat for days. I couldn't even drink water.
"My diet was ice chips."
For Chesson, it wasn't a simple process of surgery, recovery and head home.
"The doctors had to get my diet back up," she said. "They had to get my system working because everything shut down. My lungs had partially collapsed. I couldn't keep anything down. Nothing was working in my body."
Eventually, Chesson was allowed to leave the hospital.
"I had been walking around the hospital floor taking laps. I couldn't walk all the way, but I walked enough," she said. "They sent me home with the two drains inside me, so I came to school for several weeks – probably three weeks – with two tubes inside me."
After missing so much time and dealing with such a significant health crisis, getting back into the swing of things was challenging, but the support system around Chesson helped her through.
"I got out of the hospital on a Saturday and went back to class on Monday, but I had to be driven around," she said. "I'd go to one class a day at first. Then, I'd go to two classes. I'd pick and choose my classes so it was well balanced."
For many people, dealing with what those circumstances may have forced them to withdraw for the semester.
Not for Chesson. With some slight tinkering of her schedule, she made it work.
"It was gradual, but by the time I came back from Thanksgiving, I was going to all my classes."
When Chesson traveled home from Lehigh, she headed to Franklin, Tennessee. It's a place Jaelynn currently lives, but not where she has always lived.
While Chesson's freshman year of college has been far from typical, so has been her road to this point in her life.
"I started playing tee ball around age six," said Chesson. "I started softball around 10, but my dad is in the military, so we moved overseas to Sri Lanka (country in South Asia). They didn't have softball, so I played soccer for a couple years."
Chesson remembers her time in Sri Lanka very clearly.
"It was a very big jump because I was homeschooled all throughout middle school," she said. "When I moved to Sri Lanka, I went from home schooling to a straight private school. One of the things I loved the most was the diversity; there were around 20 of us in my freshman class and there were two Americans, one Canadian, three or four Sri Lankans and everybody else was from a different country.
"To this day, I have friends from Saudi Arabia, England, Canada, Mexico, India, Sri Lanka and different parts of America," Chesson continued.
Chesson's father was planning on traveling the world as part of his military business, but the family eventually came back to America during Jaelynn's sophomore year of high school. That's when, despite several years not playing softball, she began playing again.
The seed was planted for stardom.
"I started up softball in high school, not thinking I could play in college," said Chesson.
"My coach and I became close and she said I had the potential to play in college. The summer coming into junior year, our pitcher was graduating and we didn't have a pitcher after that so I became the starting pitcher. My coach realized that I had literally never pitched before and was having success."
Once again, Chesson's coach reminded her she could play in college.
By then, Jaelynn was convinced.
"I realized I was actually doing pretty well for not playing for a few years," she said. "So I started the process."
That's where Lehigh steps into the picture, which as Jaelynn describes: "…had every single thing on my dream list. It had my major and my minor. It has a great coach and it was everything I wanted in my dream school."
Lehigh also has tremendous people, and that's something Chesson learned first-hand this fall. She quickly learned that her teammates are family.
"They were very supportive," she said. "As soon as I was in the health center, it was the middle of the day and I texted my team asking if someone could take me to the hospital. Instantly, everybody jumped up and said yes. What's wrong?
"They stayed with me for hours while I was in urgent care," Chesson continued. "They called my mom, they called my dad, they called Coach Troyan, they made sure everybody was updated and they told the team what was going on.
"They came in the earliest they possibly could and stayed as long as they could. I was in the hospital for a long time, but at least one person came every single day. They took turns to come in, say hi, talk to me and help decorate my room since I'd be there for a while."
As the head coach of the Lehigh softball program, Fran Troyan couldn't be more proud of what he witnessed.
"The team was absolutely amazing," he said. "Before Jaelynn's surgery was over, the leaders of the team had put together a Google Sheet and everyone took times to visit with her in the hospital."
"Lehigh softball has always cultivated a tight-knit, family-like atmosphere," said junior Emily Preble. "Time and time again, this group has proved to be a tremendous support network for one another, and when Jaelynn got sick, everyone dropped everything to make sure she was taken care of. We know she would have done the same for us."
"The fact of the matter is we are a family," said Troyan. "It is clear that there is a bond now between Jaelynn and her teammates and coaches that cannot be broken."
That bond has allowed Chesson to thrive. As a freshman jumping into a successful program, there could have been feelings of resentment from upperclassmen, but not with the Mountain Hawks.
Jaelynn has been empowered to be her best self, and has made the most of it.
"Jaelynn is stubborn," said Troyan. "Once she sets her mind to something, she sets out a game plan and attacks the game plan. She did it in the recruiting process as well. She was so persistent in wanting to come to Lehigh that it was hard for us to say no."
That persistence proved important for Chesson after she got sick this fall.
"When I went home for Christmas break, I told my dad I wanted to start up softball," she said. "About three weeks into break, I was hitting off the tee a bit and feeling great. About a month in, I started training and doing softball then by the time I came back to school, I was probably about 80 percent ready to go."
It's safe to say that percentage quickly jumped to 100 because Chesson hasn't missed a beat.
"I am so proud of Jaelynn and the way she has overcome such adversity," said sophomore Payton Alsobrooks. "She was incredibly optimistic throughout the entire recovery process and was refusing to let this tragedy affect her game. She is one of the hardest workers on the team, has the sweetest personality and her positivity radiates through the whole lineup."
Chesson admits that she didn't expect this much success, especially this early in her collegiate career. She is soaking it all in and enjoying every minute, especially after what she went through this fall.
"I've learned a lot," she said. "It's only my freshman year and I'm thinking, what else could go wrong next year? This year for me feels like the building blocks for the next three years at Lehigh. I can always look to this year and think, I got through it. Whatever happens next, it's nothing compared to what happened."
"In a single year, Jaelynn has been forced to battle more hardships than most athletes do in their entire college careers," said Preble. "But her ability to look on the bright side and dig her feet in helped her bounce back and compete with a ferocity unlike anyone I've ever seen."
"I almost died and here I am," said Chesson. "It just proves to me that nothing can get in the way if your mind is set towards a goal."
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