Seven years ago, Stephanie Correia’s chances of playing softball again were slim.
“A lot of doctors told me that I wouldn’t see the field again, just because I’d be on so many medications,” she said. “They didn’t know if my body could take it.”
But after emerging from two battles with Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis, it will be tough separating the Cal Poly catcher from the field again.
“I don’t see myself getting away from the game, ever,” Correia said. “I feel like I will be found somewhere around the softball field.”
At a time when most teenagers worry about what they should wear the next day or who their latest crush is, Correia was fighting against her body so she would someday have a chance to play Division I softball.
After coming down with mononucleosis and then a prolonged, unknown illness, the Correia family searched for answers. The local hospital did not know what was wrong. Nor did the county hospital.
Her family even began to wonder if she simply did not want to play anymore, but that was hardly the case. She had been driven to play Division I softball for as long as she could remember.
Finally after some searching and testing, a hospital in Santa Barbara determined she had Crohn’s disease, an autoimmune disorder of which the causes and cures are unknown.
But her time spent recuperating in the hospital taught Correia more than just hardship; it inspired her to look into a career in medicine.
“Dealing with doctors, nurses — being around them every week — I just learned that I want to help people,” she said. “I want to return what they did for me and return it to other people.”
She is quick to admit that the driving force in her recovery and subsequent collegiate success is her family, but most of all her father Mike.
He was the one who, after giving up the dream of playing baseball after college, encouraged her to follow whichever path inspired her the most.
“I taught (my kids) to set their own path and follow their dreams,” Mike said. “Not necessarily following in our path, but taking the good, bad and the ugly from everything and blazing their own trail.”
That kind of support leaves Correia indebted to his support and criticism; it was just the way her father raised Correia and her brother Michael, who is pursuing his own passion by joining the Marine Corps.
“I will praise you, I’ll be your biggest fan, but when you don’t do well or do something you shouldn’t be I’m not going to sit there and say, ‘Hey, great job’,” Mike said.
Correia first picked up a bat when she was five, and said she loved the game more than all others.
She played volleyball and basketball as well, but said her 5-foot-6 frame was more suited for softball. By the time she hit high school, college scouts were already looking at her and Cal Poly was just the right fit.
Even when an 18-year-old Correia was hit with the news of her being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, after having committed to the Mustangs, head coach Jenny Condon was more than welcome to have her continue to fight her own battles while playing on the team.
And battle through she did, starting every game her freshman year on her way to a .979 fielding percentage. During her time at Cal Poly, she has worked her way up with the only other senior on the team, Mustang ace and main power threat Anna Cahn.
As a catcher, her main job with Cahn is to get her to breathe when she’s in the circle.
“Being a pitcher/catcher combo it’s always hard, but I think that over the years we’ve gotten to know each other well and we’ve gotten to become really good friends,” Cahn said. “She’s been really great to me and I think our relationship has grown. It’s gone through ups and downs, but I think right now we’re in a good place.”
Even though the Mustangs have only won 10 of 46 games, Correia said she hopes she will be able to transfer her experiences from softball into a professional career.
Most of all Correia said she hopes that if there is a girl out there looking to pursue her passions, but is limited by a sickness or disease, she can be an inspiration.
“It would be a great thing to be somebody’s role model,” Correia said. “I had role models growing up and I hope that I can be that for somebody else.”