Volleyball senior Sarah Rose fights cancer
2/9/2021 9:32:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
#Gold4Sarah and Fight For 4 campaigns started to support Rose
Marquette's athletic teams will wear gold jerseys and/or shoelaces in their contests Feb. 17-21 in support of women's volleyball player Sarah Rose, who is undergoing treatment for Ewing's Sarcoma, a form of bone cancer. All are encouraged to use the hashtag #Gold4Sarah to post their support on social media throughout the week. Those wishing to donate to those families affected by pediatric cancer can consider the Go4theGoal Foundation (qgiv.com).
Often, doctors deliver the hardest words for athletes to hear.
For Marquette volleyball's Sarah Rose, that came true in September.
"I started getting really bad back pain and then it went down into my legs and I started having numbness in my legs and shooting pain that I had never really felt before," Rose said. "I got into the team doctor, and he immediately thought something was wrong because he was poking at my legs and I couldn't feel anything."
Later that night, the doctor informed Rose he had found a soft tissue tumor on her spine. After a visit with her parents to the Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic, a biopsy revealed it was Ewing sarcoma, a pediatric strain of cancer.
Rose then had to make the decision to move back to Illinois for treatment and miss her senior volleyball season.
"I was devastated," Rose said. "It was really, really hard for me because it was supposed to be my senior season, and I was really excited to play with all my teammates again."
Head coach Ryan Theis and his staff had a long relationship with the Rose family. Theis recruited her older sister at his previous coaching stop and assistant coach Meghan Keck coached Sarah at the club level for more than a decade, which made the news even more difficult.
But words from Rose's father gave Theis confidence.
"It was very hard to hear but the very first phrase out of Sarah's dad's mouth was, 'It's treatable and curable,'" Theis said. "When we heard those words, there was hope."
In the fall, Rose was finishing her undergraduate degree in communication studies with a marketing minor, all while undergoing different forms of chemotherapy eight days a month.
"Some days it's all-day, could be 10 hours or one of my treatments is 20 minutes," Rose said. "It just depends."
In total, Rose will have nine months of treatment, including six weeks of radiation.
From the very start, Rose has had the backing of the entire Marquette community.
"When I was leaving campus in September, Bill (Scholl) and Danielle (Josetti) told me that my health was the most important thing and not to worry about anything else," Rose said. "All the teams have been really supportive throughout this. They've sent me cards or gifts and video messages wishing me good luck with treatment."
Coach Theis and the volleyball program have made it a goal to speak with Rose as much as possible, often Zooming her in for practice or FaceTiming just to talk.
"We're just keeping her mind occupied, bringing some smiles to her," Theis said. "Whenever we can get her near us watching practice on a video, we will. Or we passed her around the bus when she had her last radiation treatment so that everyone could tell her congratulations."
Theis said the calls help him and his team as much as it helps Rose.
"She's just awesome. When she gets on the phone with you, it really brightens your day to see someone going through what she's going through with a smile on her face," Theis said. "When we feel disappointed in a loss, we can assure ourselves that she's dealing with a whole lot more, and that keeps us pretty grounded."
Now, Marquette Athletics is taking the support a step further. From Feb. 17-21, all Marquette teams will be wearing gold jerseys and shoelaces as part of a campaign titled #Gold4Sarah.Â
"I was so excited and really honored that they were doing this for me and pediatric cancer," Rose said. "It just meant so much to me that all of Athletics was doing this in support of me. I just felt so much love."
When Theis approached other coaches about the weekend, other coaches instantly supported the idea.Â
"Immediately the answer was, 'Yes, absolutely.' They were happy to chip in and help and make it feel extra special," Theis said. "Marquette's really special that way. It is a really close-knit environment where you have strength coaches and athletic directors who know virtually all 300 people's names on every team. When one of those 300 has something like this happen, it's a big movement in the whole department."
Rose will be present for the volleyball matches on Feb. 19 and 20, and Theis is hoping to carve out a special role.
"We might have to have her as a guest coach," Theis said. "I'm not sure if NCAA rules will allow a celebrity appearance, but we've got to make her a part of it for sure."
In addition to the jerseys, the volleyball team has been wearing bracelets and shoes with "Fight for 4" written on them as a tribute to Rose's roster number.
"I put my bracelet on every day, my kids were wearing them even though they don't fully understand all of it, but they know it's for Sarah," Theis said. "This bracelet is actually my third one because the shower wears them down, but it reminds me every day that we should be happy because some people have it a lot worse than you do."
Not only is Marquette participating, but rival Creighton, volleyball's opponent during the #Gold4Sarah weekend will be involved as well.
"Creighton is taking part in it, they've got some gold shoelaces they're going to wear," Theis said. "Right when we did the 'Fight for 4' on our shoes, I sent the Creighton coach a picture of it, and the first thing she said was, 'Do you want us to do that too?'"
No matter what, Rose knows that she has the Marquette network to rely on.
"They are so supportive," Rose said. "My teammates are always checking on me and giving me a lot of support. They're telling me to be strong and they know I can do it, which is good and really reassuring."
Rose has progressed well through her treatments so far and the long-term prognosis is looking promising, which is what really matters to Theis.
"It stinks to not have her on the volleyball court with us and be around us on a daily basis," Theis said. "But when we heard those words 'It's curable,' there was hope. We knew she'd fight, and that's what she's done. She's doing a great job."
Keep up with the Marquette University women's volleyball program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteVB) and Instagram (@MarquetteVB) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteVolleyball).
