From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
Last spring, from a hospital bed in Chicago, Elliott Kerbel watched via live stream as his Case Western Reserve University swimming & diving teammates competed at the University Athletic Association Championship wondering if he himself would ever compete in another race.
"Giving up swimming was really sad for me, but at that point, I knew I had to try to focus on my health," Kerbel said.
Swimming has been an integral part of Elliott Kerbel's life since his pre-teen years.
"When I was eight or nine, I remember my mom taking me to swim lessons outside, but I didn't like it because the pool was too cold. After that, she started taking me to the YMCA, and I loved it and hadn't stopped swimming until my junior year of college."
Swimming was also a deciding factor in Kerbel's decision to attend Case Western Reserve.
"When I was a junior in high school, all I knew about college was that I wanted to swim and study biomedical engineering. I wasn't sure Case Western Reserve was the right place for me, but after I came for an overnight recruiting trip, I knew this is where I wanted to be."
A native of Skokie, Illinois, Kerbel enrolled at CWRU in 2011 and quickly found success in all three phases of his collegiate experience.
He swam to All-UAA honors and contributed to several school record-breaking relay teams during his first two seasons as a Spartan. Academically, he earned UAA All-Academic honors. In Greek life, he became heavily involved in the Zeta Psi fraternity, of which he would eventually be elected president.
Unfortunately, his path as a thriving Spartan student-athlete would become significantly altered beginning at the end of his freshman year.
During second-semester final exams in 2012, Kerbel began to experience stomach pain and irregular bowel movements. He figured it was simply a result of a bad diet, lack of sleep and the stress of final exams. But when he returned home to Illinois for the summer, the pain did not subside – in fact, it worsened.
After a summer of tests, Kerbel was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a chronic autoimmune disease of the large intestine or the colon in which the lining of the colon becomes inflamed and develops tiny open sores or ulcers. The combination of inflammation and ulceration can cause abdominal discomfort, bleeding, diarrhea and frequent bowel movements.
Like a large percentage of individuals who are diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, Kerbel did not know what the disease was or how it would impact his life.
Nonetheless, he returned to campus in the fall of 2012 for his sophomore year and continued to perform at a high level. He swam for four school-record relay teams all while keeping his health under control with the assistance of medication.
Mainly, that medication kept Kerbel's abdominal pain in check for most of the year. But just as he was preparing to leave for a summer study abroad opportunity in Africa, his symptoms began to flare up once again. Doctors changed his medication, and Kerbel's pain was kept under enough control to make the trip.
Upon his return to campus in the fall, however, Kerbel had to make a very tough decision.
"After two weeks of practice in October, I decided I wouldn't be able to swim anymore. It was tough to give up something that had played such an integral role in my life, but I knew I had to make my health the number one priority."
Not only did Kerbel leave swimming, but other facets of his life were impacted. He no longer went out to spend time with his friends, and he could barely make it through class without extreme abdominal pains or having to run to the restroom.
When Kerbel went home for winter break in 2014, he was forced to make another tough decision as worsened symptoms kept him from returning to school.
Kerbel checked in and out of the hospital for 30 days during a two-month span during the winter as he underwent colonoscopies and various high-dose medications. His doctors informed him that his ulcerative colitis was 'one of the worst they have ever seen' and transferred him to University of Chicago Medical Center.
Ironically around that time, some of his teammates were in town to compete at the Midwest Invitational. A visit from those teammates helped to lift Kerbel's spirits.
Later on, it was decided that Kerbel would undergo a full abdominal colectomy, a surgery where doctors would remove his large intestine so the end would poke through his abdominal wall so stool could collect in a bag attached to his skin.
"After having the surgery, it has been a significant lifestyle change, but at the same time my life is now so much better than it was before," Kerbel explained. "The surgery was completely worth it to me."
Granted, learning to swim with an ostomy has been an adjustment for Kerbel, but he used the summer of 2014 as a trial period for getting back into the water. Now, after a year off from swimming, Kerbel is feeling back to normal and feeling grateful for the support of his friends and family.
"I am so happy and grateful to be back to school and swimming. I am doing things that seemed nearly impossible before the surgery because I never wanted to leave my room. It definitely helps to know you have people rooting for you in these types of situations. I have a great relationship with my coaches and teammates, and it is so great to be back."
Through the first half of the year, Kerbel is back amongst the team leaders in sprint freestyle events. He boasts the team's top time in the 50 free, and he is a member of three top Spartan relays.
Kerbel's goals for the rest of the 2015 season and beyond include focusing on the mental aspect of the sport more so than physical.
"I just need to stay in a good place mentally and not get too worked up. I need to focus on the fact that I am happy to be back because when I found out I was going to do the surgery, I didn't think I would ever be able to swim again."
Although listed as a senior, Kerbel will return for the 2015-16 school year and stay with the team while finishing his degree. He also plans to pick up an additional minor in mechanical manufacturing and design.