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New Madrid County Central catcher Riley Polk continues to battle far bigger obstacles outside of softball
NEW MADRID, Mo. — No parent ever wants to tell their child those three words.
"You have cancer."
Bone-chilling words that make someone look at life from a different perspective.
For 17-year-old Riley Polk, New Madrid County Central's starting catcher was the victim of those words after being diagnosed with a desmoid tumor in November 2019.
However, when you talk to Polk, you would never know she was dealing with much of anything.
She's always smiling.
"Ever since she was a toddler, we've called her 'Smiley Riley' because that child always has a smile on her face," said Heather Polk, Riley's mother. "Her motivation comes from her faith in God. One of our families favorite Bible verses is Romans 8:28, 'And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.'"
Serving as a nurse for 18 years, Heather Polk has seen this story unfold before with patients.
Now, one of her patients is her daughter — a patient she never expected.
"I had just graduated from nurse practitioner school in May, and when the surgeon told us it was a desmoid tumor, and it was benign, I felt a sense of relief," Heather Polk said. "All I heard was benign. I soon learned that desmoid tumors are a type of soft tissue sarcoma and develop in the tissue that forms tendons and ligaments. In Riley's case, it was the right hip, and it may invade nearby tissues or organs, making them challenging to control. Desmoid tumors are rare, affecting two to four per million people per year. They occur more often in females and are more common in people 10-to-40-years-old. Riley was 15-years-old. We were then introduced to the oncologist who would be taking over her care. My sense of relief turned to fear — fear of the unknown."
To this day, Riley Polks travels to St. Louis Children's Hospital for check-ups.
She started her chemotherapy treatments in December 2020, with the night of her first treatment turning out to be one that no one in her family thought would happen.
"I slept with her that night to make sure she did OK. I noticed my nose was running, and by the next day, I had a fever," Heather Polk said. "The day after that, I still had a fever and felt even worse, and a thought occurred to me — I had COVID. That day Jeff [Heather's husband] came down with a fever, and then Riley did. We got tested for COVID, and we were all positive. I was worried about her because she had just started chemo, but she did better than the rest of us."
Suddenly, there was something else that caused concern, but it never kept Riley down.
Even with all the surgeries and obstacles, there is one certainty she falls back on to keep her mind away from the negatives — softball.
“Softball is an escape for me," Riley Polk said. "I have pain in my hip 99.9 percent of the time, but all of that goes away when I get on the field. I’m not worried about my next doctor appointment, my next chemo pill, my next move. I’m worried about softball and how I can make myself better. Softball has taught me a lot about life. You can’t give up. Even when times are tough, you have to ride them out and keep thriving.”
For the last six years, NMCC head coach Danny Baehr has been a part of Riley's journey.
He’s seen the ups and the downs, the good days and the bad.
“You talk about a kid that’s become very versatile in the sport," Baehr said. "She’s worked two solid years to get to where she’s at right now, and she’s in a good spot. She’s batting second in our lineup, and she’s done tremendous things on contact. I know Riley has been dealt a lot this year. I have watched her stare adversity in the face for many years. She is not taking each day for granted. She humbly cheers for her teammates and never misses the opportunity to stay after practice to get better.
“There are still many things she is going to accomplish.”
Like Baehr, Riley’s family continues to be honest with her, and they don’t expect anything less.
"She is a very strong young woman," Heather Polk said. "She has had to overcome so many obstacles, and she continues to do so with grace. She's undergone biopsies, surgeries, frequent lab work, MRIs every three months for over a year, and she has been nothing but positive. When she goes for MRIs, the oncologist will typically call me the next day with the results. [Riley] always wants me to call her as soon as he calls and lets me know the results.”
No one wants to hear bad news after a call from a doctor, but even when she hears them, she doesn’t let it harm her mindset.
She continues to fight and push through, with her attitude never changing.
"When you wait so long for good news, and then you get bad news once again, it’s a bummer,” Riley Polk said. “I want to question God, but then again, I have to humble myself and think. He has shown me so much grace through all of my hard times. Never once has he left me alone. He has always been there; even when I feel the worse, I constantly know I’m going to be OK.”
On Monday night, the NMCC softball team honored Riley with a "Strikeout Childhood Cancer" game against Dexter. Riley hit an RBI single that scored two runs while also drawing a walk and catching six innings.
Despite the Eagles losing 10-4, she and her family know that winning and losing comes second when there is a battle on her hands that far outweighs catching balls and strikes and framing pitches.
And she knows that she is not on this ride alone.