Lily Knetl poses for a photo with her father and mother, Tim and Jenni Knetl, at Driscoll Children’s Hospital. (Contributed photo)
Lily Knetl clearly recalls her first thoughts after awaking from the anesthesia.
The Goliad High School sophomore, who in just over a week went from preparing for the Tigerettes’ district track and field meet to having to undergo emergency brain surgery, was nothing but thankful.
“The very first thing I thought was ‘God is good,’ ” the 15-year-old said. “It was like an instinctive response in my head.”
“During the whole time, she has been trusting that God has a plan in all this,” Lily’s mother, Jenni Knetl, said.
Lily’s world turned upside down during the early morning hours of March 24.
“I heard her bed rustling,” Jenni said. “It was pretty loud and persistent.”
When Jenni walked into Lily’s room, she discovered her daughter in the middle of a grand mal seizure.
“It was pretty long and she wasn’t snapping out of it,” Jenni said.
Lily was transported to a Victoria emergency room where a CT scan and bloodwork were performed. No abnormalities were originally detected, and she was sent home.
“They said she was clear,” Jenni said.
About 20 minutes after arriving back home, Jenni received a phone call from the emergency room physician where Lily was examined. Jenni was told the ER personnel missed seeing a mass and bleeding in Lily’s brain. Jenni was instructed to immediately transport Lily back to the ER.
As Jenni went to awaken Lily, her daughter was once again in the throes of a grand mal seizure.
Instead of returning to Victoria, Lily was life-flighted to Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi.
“It all happened kind of quickly,” Lily said. “I didn’t really process it until a little while later that evening. That was not how I thought my day was going to go. I was just trying to figure out why this was happening to me.”
An MRI confirmed that a marble-sized mass in Lily’s brain had recently hemorrhaged at least twice. The hemorrhaging was believed to have prompted the seizures.
Lily was sent home on strict homebound orders, and readmitted on April 2 for a craniotomy to remove the mass.
Leading up to her surgery, Lily meditated on Ephesians 3:20 from the Bible: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”
“It was kind of something that I felt really connected the experience to my life,” said Lily, whose father, Tim Knetl, is the football chaplain and cross country coach at Goliad High School.
After Lily recovered from blurry vision, high blood pressure, and headaches, the surgery was determined to be successful.
During the District 29-3A Track and Field Championships at Tiger Stadium on April 4, Lily’s surgery and recovery was announced to spectators over the PA system and received a loud ovation.
The Tigerettes went on to win their 11th straight district title. Lily had hoped to be with her teammates at Tiger Field celebrating another championship.
“I had trained so hard all season,” said Lily, who competes in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles and on relay teams. “It was kind of disappointing seeing all that hard work kind of fizzle out and having to now start over next year.”
Teammates and coaches have regularly visited Lily since she fell ill.
“She always has a smile,” Goliad track and field coach Stacy Zamzow said of Lily. “She gives it everything she has and never misses a workout. She is the true definition of a Goliad Tigerette.”
Lily was discharged from Driscoll Children’s Hospital and returned home on April 6 to begin two weeks of homebound recovery. She is expected to return to school on April 22 – her 16th birthday.
“She feels like she’s ready to get back and train, but it will be a long road,” Jenni said. “She’ll have to keep both feet on the ground for a while.”
“It’s really hard not working out,” said Lily, who competes on the Tigerettes’ cross country team as well. “I’m used to running everyday, so it’s an adjustment having to find alternatives and having to force myself to calm down and do what I need to do rather than what I’m used to doing.”
Lily said she still experiences an occasional headache after the surgery.
“Looking at her, you can’t tell she had brain surgery,” Jenni said. “It’s pretty amazing.”
Friends and family have created a Meal Train and a GoFundMe.com campaign to assist with Lily’s home recovery and medical expenses. Donations can be made at https://rb.gy/3wxmph.
“The support we have gotten has been amazing,” Jenni said. “People we don’t even know have been supportive in so many ways. Her first day in the hospital, we had half the town there.”
Jenni said she has already seen a silver lining from the harrowing experience.
“Lily goes ‘full speed ahead’ in all areas of her life,” Jenni said. “So it’s been kind of nice to just slow down and prioritize things and see what God’s plans are.”
“I have learned that sometimes I move a little too fast,” Lily said. “I need to try to think about what’s more important, like little things that happen every day aren’t as important as how you treat other people.”