Central/West's Zolla hopes for return to field after Leukemia diagnosis
Apr. 14—Every high school baseball player starts a new season with a goal. Some want to lead their team in hitting, others want to make the All-State team in their division. Then there are role players who want to do whatever they can to help their team make the playoffs or win a championship.
Wilson Zolla's goal is a modest one. All he wants is to get some playing time during a game — any game — this season.
Talent isn't holding Zolla back — he's versatile and one of Manchester Central/West's top pitchers. This issue is health. Zolla was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this year, and at least for now his role during games is restricted to keeping the scorebook or entering the correct information for GameChanger.
"He's definitely working hard to make it to the field," Central/West coach Ernie Yerrington said. "We have to listen to the medical people, but whatever he wants to do we will certainly do our best to accommodate. I'm hoping it can and will happen. That would be great for him and for all of us."
Zolla, a junior, said he first suspected something wasn't right in February, when he was going through an offseason pitching workout and felt pain in his left leg.
"I figured it was a muscle injury," Zolla said. "But I noticed that the pain was getting worse every day instead of getting better. I couldn't sleep through the night."
Zolla made an appointment to get X-rays on his left leg. He was told he may have an infection in his hip and it was suggested that he go to the emergency room, which he did. They took blood, discovered Zolla's white blood cell count was extremely high and sent him by ambulance to Boston's Children's Hospital.
"They hooked me up to all these machines, I got a room and when I woke up the next morning I fell because I had lost all feeling in my left leg," Zolla explained. "They did an MRI on the leg and that's when they discovered it was a hematoma. All the bad blood from the cancer kind of clumped up in that leg and pushed against a nerve and that caused me not to have mobility in my leg. So it started in my hip and went all the way down. Within 24 hours they confirmed it was CML, which is chronic myeloid leukemia."
Zolla said he felt "relieved" when he found out he wouldn't have to have chemotherapy. Instead he has to take daily medication.
His hospital stay in Boston lasted 10 days. He lost about 20 pounds from his 6-foot-2, 168-pound frame during that time.
"The way I look at it now is it's a good outcome for a bad situation," Zolla said. "The nurses at Boston's Children's were amazing. I can't thank them enough.
"The question I kept asking the nurses is, 'Will I be able to play baseball?' That's what I care about. They were doubtful at that point because I still had no feeling in my leg."
Zolla has been going to physical therapy twice a week and said he's regained most of the feeling in his leg, but still can't feel anything in his quad. He stopped using crutches about two weeks ago, and has regained about seven of the 20 pounds he lost during his time in Boston's Children's Hospital.
"They told me it would be roughly three months (to regain feeling in his quad) and I think I'm in the one-month phase," he said. "I'm hoping that I can play, but the issue is my running. Right now I can't run and I don't have the best balance. I'm able to throw, I just don't have any mobility.
"The leg has to get better. Other than the leg I'm feeling better. Before (medication) I was really tired all the time and just didn't feel like myself."
In addition to pitching, Zolla can play first base, third base and the outfield. A return at one of those positions might be possible since it would be less stressful on his leg than if he took the mound.
He's not able to practice, but Zolla was in the dugout for each of Central/West's first two games this season.
"Show up on game day and do anything I can," he said. "I like being around the team. They've been awesome. Very supportive."
Although playing travel baseball this summer might be a more realistic goal for Zolla than playing for Central/West, Yerrington said he's hoping Zolla can get into a high school game at some point this season.
"I certainly can't expect him to do much, but even if he could take an at-bat I think it would just give him a shot of adrenaline," Yerrington said. "If he gets on the field that will be an unbelievable moment. There won't be a dry eye in the place."
According to Zolla, he's ahead of schedule in terms of his progress. He said his medical people originally told him he might still be in a wheelchair at this point. Still, he wants to have that moment on the field.
"Just gotta wait it out," he said. "I've stayed pretty positive. I feel very blessed. Very fortunate.
"I'd rather be playing though. That's my goal."
