Haller makes surgical comeback
Sophomore returns from brain surgery
By Caroline Morris, staff writer
Posted on April 20, 2006

A scar on her head, hidden by her blonde hair and a helmet she wears when she plays are the only signs of what sophomore lacrosse player Emily Haller went through to be on the field this season.

Just five weeks after having brain surgery, Haller returned to the field to play midfield for the JMU women’s lacrosse team.

“She doesn’t draw attention to herself,” JMU coach Kellie Young said. “She doesn’t want to be treated special. It’s just something she’s had to live with her whole life.”

The midfielder from Fallston, Md., has been dealing with problems in her left ear since she was three. She’s had a total of eight surgeries in attempts to rid her of a sac of cells, known as Cholesteatoma, that can continually regrow and carry infection. She’s had tubes put in her ears, a prosthetic bone inserted and reconstructive surgery in attempt to stop regrowth of the cells and to help her with substantial hearing loss.

Nothing had been as severe, however, as what doctors at Johns Hopkins University Hospital found when she visited them over Winter Break.

“The bone between my ear canal and my brain was actually eroded,” Haller said. “So my brain was actually sitting in my ear canal. That was a really big risk, because if I were to get sick or have an infection, it would go straight to my brain.”

An emergency surgery was scheduled for Jan. 13, where doctors once again cleaned out the Cholesteatoma and removed the prosthetic bone. They took a piece of her skull and, using two metal plates to hold the skull bone in place, created a barrier between her ear canal and her brain.

Haller describes this incredible surgery as if she had just returned from a routine cleaning at the dentists. She maintained the same level of calm when she broke the news of her situation to her coach and teammates.

“There was certainly a level of shock and I don’t want to say fear, but just sort of anticipation of what one of my players was going through,” Young said about the phone call she received from Haller over break. “As it got closer and closer to the date, that’s when the fear started to set in, but I kept hearing the strength in her and obviously I had faith in the doctors working with her that everything would be OK.”

Haller returned to school a week-and-a-half after the surgery and immediately started rehab. 

“Her recovery was basically about Emily and who she is,” Young said. “It really has less to do with her lacrosse skills and more about her attitude and passion for the sport. She had done so much work this summer and also over winter break prior to finding out about her situation that, physically, her body was ready to return.”

Haller sat out a month of practice, but continually worked with the trainers to keep up her leg strength.

“The day she got cleared, we got her helmet and she got on the field,” Young said.

That day just happened to be the Dukes’ scrimmage against the University of Virginia. Haller returned to the field after having been absent for over a month and scored a goal against the Cavaliers.

“It was truly just a relief to see her back and to know that she was okay,” Young said. “It was from that point on that we were like ‘OK, how do we get you back to where you were.”

Haller said, “It’s been harder coming back than I thought it would be, but I think a lot of it has been psychological. It hasn’t been a huge obstacle, but it’s definitely something that has kind of slowed me down a little bit.”

Young estimates that Haller is at about 75 percent of where she was before she left for surgery, and about 100 percent compared to where she was last year. As of Wednesday she had scored nine goals and picked up two assists.

“I can’t explain how smooth this has all gone, and I think that’s a testament to Emily’s character and our team knowing and believing in her and each other,” Young said.