Ketcham's Helena Van Benschoten, after surviving deadly illness, returns to softball

Helena Van Benschoten strides to the plate, bat in hand and a wide smile on her face.

Heard loudly are the cheers of her excited teammates as she approaches the batter’s box, and music coming from the speakers within their softball dugout.

The song, Eminem's “Without Me,” was picked by her older sister, Isabelle. Though the song was released months before Helena was born, Isabelle thought the opening lyrics of the chorus would be fitting.

“Guess who’s back? Back again...” 

“It feels great, knowing that I’m here, that I’m back,” Helena said on Tuesday. “I’m where I want to be, doing what I love.”

The Roy C. Ketcham High School junior missed last season while recovering from a battle with DRESS syndrome, a rare and deadly illness that nearly killed her.

Helena spent almost two weeks on life support and more than a month in the hospital during a grim period when the then-15-year-old contemplated her own mortality, and her family stood vigil at her hospital bed.

Not long after returning home last spring, she was well enough to attend Ketcham softball games, bringing inspiration and some of the levity she is known for to teammates. But, at the time, she was being homeschooled and undergoing physical therapy, still attempting to regain control of her body.

Isabelle selected the song, to be used each time Helena walked to home plate, at a time last year when it was still uncertain if Helena would ever play softball again. But her sister's optimism throughout the ordeal, Helena said, helped lift her spirits as she tried to regain what had been lost.

“I just wanted to be a normal kid again,” she said.

Helena has helped the Indians to three wins in their first five games. Her swing still isn’t to her standards, she said. But, that even being a complaint, is somewhat of a blessing.

Because her being on the field at all is the fulfillment of a promise she made to herself last year. Helena had vowed then she would be healthy enough to play for the varsity field hockey team in the fall — she was — and that she would be back in the middle of the lineup for the softball team this spring.

“It’s an amazing sight; it’s great seeing the kid out there smiling and busting chops again,” Ketcham coach Scott Satterlee said. “She was still busting chops last year, but now she’s doing it on the field, too.”

Helena’s mother, BethAnne Van Benschoten, said she knew her daughter had recovered when she snapped at her and Helena quipped in response, “Oh, I must be better. I’m getting yelled at again.”

A life-threatening ordeal

Helena was prescribed a common antibiotic, Bactrim, for an infection in February 2018. But the drug had an adverse effect on her, causing immense pain, a full-body rash and difficulty breathing.

She eventually was diagnosed with drug rash with eosinophilia systemic symptoms, also known DRESS syndrome. It’s a severe allergic reaction to medication which can lead to blood abnormalities along with lung, liver and kidney failure, Dr. Stuart Feinstein, an infectious disease specialist at Vassar Brothers Medical Center, told the Journal last year.

Bactrim, a Sulfa-based medication, is commonly prescribed, but Helena has a rare and previously-unknown allergy to it.

As the rash spread and her breathing became increasingly labored, Helena was taken to an urgent care facility, then soon admitted to Vassar, before being transferred to Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in Valhalla.

By then, Helena had suffered a collapsed lung and developed acute respiratory distress syndrome, which prompted her being put on a ventilator. That wasn’t enough to help her lungs properly inflate, so after two days she was heavily sedated and put on an oscillating ventilator.

She remained on life support, essentially comatose, from Feb. 15 to 28 as her body was allowed to heal itself.

“There are days when I feel like it’s normal, and her being back here is what was supposed to happen,” BethAnne said of her daughter’s return to sports. “But then there are days when I’m like, ‘Wow. I didn’t think this would ever happen again.’ ”

By April of last year, Helena was able to sit in the dugout during her team’s games, cheering on Isabelle, who was then a senior. She also kept the scorebook and operated the pregame playlist.

She still coped with concussion-like symptoms and had to wear sunglasses outdoors. But, that aside, she seemed her usual jovial self. At least, to outside observers. 

“I was still cracking jokes and getting on people,” Helena said, “but I wasn’t quick-witted. I had to slow down and think of what I wanted to say. The thoughts just wouldn’t come to me quickly.”

Her mother said that family members noticed the frequent pauses in her speech, as she searched for words. There also were times when she would zone out, which was unusual. They knew it was a residual effect of her illness.

That continued until about last summer.

Family support

Helena admitted that “every day” was a struggle during her rehabilitation period. She grew frustrated and at times despondent.

Normalcy — or a semblance of it — required work. She attended physical therapy three times a week, for six months, focusing mostly on cardio, rebuilding strength in her legs and regaining her gait.

“I hugged her a lot and told her it was OK to cry,” her mother said. “She had every right to be angry. It was unfair for her to be going through this. I told her, she would be normal again. The doctors had told us there was nothing stopping her from eventually being herself again.”

Isabelle and a small circle of friends tried hard to keep her encouraged and hopeful.

“They stuck with me and were always pushing me to go out, go to dinner,” Helena said. “They didn’t allow me to just sulk on my own. Without them, I don't think I'd be here.”

The bond between the sisters was strengthened exponentially during Helena’s ordeal, BethAnne said.

By the time Isabelle left for school last summer — she now is a freshman at the University of Maryland — Helena had improved significantly, physically and emotionally. She was cleared for a return to athletics in July, “earlier than anyone had expected,” she said, then cleared to play field hockey in August.

She was named a captain of that team and helped it win its league title. There wasn’t much of a noticeable drop-off in her abilities, Helena said, “and it was one of the best seasons I’ve ever had.”

In softball, though, she said she still is “re-learning how to be me.” She described her swing this season as “stiff,” and not involving her legs much.

That hasn't diminished her teammates' enthusiasm for having her back.

“It’s awesome,” teammate Skylar Brandemarte said. “It’s incredible that she went through all that and is playing with us now. I’m grateful.”

Helena had introduced herself to Section 1 as a talented freshman with good power and the potential to become a slugger. The two line-drive singles she got against Fox Lane were a step in the right direction, she said, but she still is chasing her form of two years ago.

“It’ll come in time,” Satterlee said. “We couldn’t be happier for her. What’s most important right now is that she’s healthy and is able to be back out there contributing and having fun.”

'Sky is the limit'

Helena returns to a Ketcham team now on which she is one of the elders — along with senior Joanna Krumholtz. The Indians are attempting to rebuild on the fly, with a roster comprised mostly of underclassmen, including second baseman Ava Gambichler, an eight-grader. Brandemarte, their star pitcher, is a sophomore.

“I almost feel like I’m still a sophomore because I missed last year,” Helena said of taking on a greater leadership role. “But I’ve matured a lot over the year and, I think, so has the team. We'll continue to grow together.”

The Indians beat rival Arlington, 10-5, on Wednesday, rebounding from a loss to Ursuline last week. Alyssa Hughes went 3 for 3 with a home run and Amelia Wasilko was 2 for 4 with a homer and three RBI to lead Ketcham (3-2). 

The “sky is the limit,” Satterlee said of his young core. Ketcham, smitten by injuries, was bounced in the first round of the Section 1 Class AA playoffs last spring and there is a belief this team can do better. The development of players like Hughes and Wasilko, among others, will be key.

“And,” Brandemarte said, “we have our third baseman back. She’s pretty good.”

After all, it would’ve felt so empty without her.

Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4826, Twitter: @StephenHaynes4