This fall, Jessie Blanton was back on the softball field for fall practice at Ohio Wesleyan University. That simple fact represented a most unusual comeback of sorts for the sophomore, who in May of last year donated a kidney to her mom.

When Blanton arrived at Ohio Wesleyan in 2000, she knew her mom, Alice Blanton, was in bad shape. The elder Blanton had been diagnosed with hereditary polycystic kidney disease, and she had been on dialysis since February 2000. She was placed on a waiting list for a kidney, and the Blanton children volunteered for testing to see if anyone was a match.

Since the kidney disease is hereditary, there was an additional challenge. Doctors needed to be confident that any donor would not be at risk for developing the disease.

"The scary step was finding out not only whether I could donate to my mom but whether I would get the disease myself," Jessie Blanton said.

So the freshman juggled college classes, fall softball practices and tests at the hospital. She made the dean's list, earned a starting spot on the softball team and played in every game in the spring.

When the tests had finally concluded, it was good news. Blanton was a match, and the chances of her acquiring the disease herself were slim. She quickly volunteered.

The operation was set for May 8, which meant the younger Blanton had to take her examinations early, during softball season, but that date also gave her a chance to return to school on time in the fall.

Both operations went well. Doctors removed Jessie Blanton's right kidney and transplanted it into Alice.

Emotional rollercoaster

At first, everything looked good. Initial blood tests looked fine. Then the elder Blanton's body began to reject her daughter's kidney.

"When (the doctor) said that it wasn't working and they had to take it out, I felt literally that I had let my mom down," Blanton said. "They did extra blood tests to see what went wrong, but the hardest part was going through everything and then not knowing why (it didn't work)."

Alice Blanton went back on dialysis and back on transplant waiting lists.

The failure of the transplant made everything even more difficult for Jessie as she worked to recover. She had to go home and recuperate in part on her own, as her mom was still in the hospital for a month after the younger Blanton was released.

"It affected me a lot more emotionally and mentally than I thought it would, especially when it didn't work," Jessie Blanton said.

"But I've come to realize that there's a reason why it didn't work and that the doctors did everything they could. Still, it's been an emotional rollercoaster of changing emotions and feelings."

As soon as she could, Blanton began a program to recondition her body. It was tough at first, since having a kidney removed is major abdominal surgery.

"At the beginning, I couldn't even sit up. I had to roll out of bed," Blanton said.

But she kept trying. She was on her back for a couple of weeks and then still had problems with just simple activities.

"I've had to recondition the entire core of my body. I wasn't able to lift weights because I lost significant muscle mass."

It was an offseason unlike any Blanton had ever experienced.

"Usually you take the time off from softball but still do activities. But I couldn't work. I couldn't lift more than five pounds."

But Blanton had a goal in mind, and nothing was going to keep her from it.

"What kept me going was knowing what I've always wanted to do is to graduate and teach and coach."

'She'll do anything for anybody'

The determination to fulfill those goals was nothing new to former Ohio Wesleyan head softball coach Eileen Reading, who noticed that quality when she first met Blanton.

"Her ability to persevere and the consideration and concern she shows others set her apart from most college students," Reading said.

"In this regard, her decision to donate her kidney to her mother came as no surprise. Jessie saw the surgery as an opportunity to help her mother, and she jumped at it. She made the most of that opportunity, just as she is making the most of the opportunity to be a student-athlete at Ohio Wesleyan."

Blanton returned to campus in time for the first day of classes this fall, and she made it back for fall softball, where she held on to her starting position.

"Physically, I'm about 80 percent back, and the doctors have said it could be a year before I get close to 100 percent. They also say my insides are reshaping themselves and that could take up to a year or two."

Blanton's teammates were surprised when she walked onto the softball diamond this fall.

"When we first heard about Jess, everyone thought she would be out of softball forever," said Kim Dubovec, a senior third baseman.

"The fact that she comes out every day with a smile on her face, ready to give it her all, not only makes our problems seem insignificant but makes us all better players and people."

Adds teammate Tammy Blair, a junior outfielder and pitcher, "She'll do anything for anybody and she forgets about herself. She's been through more adversity than most people see in a lifetime and it doesn't faze her -- ever. She's never felt sorry for herself, and she is always optimistic, always happy."

As for Blanton, she hopes for the best for her mom, who is doing as well as can be expected with the dialysis while she marks time on a transplant waiting list. Blanton also encourages others to consider organ donation.

"I look at life a little differently now. I didn't know about (organ transplants) before," she said. "Many people get wrapped up in their own lives and don't see what's out there. But you can help. It doesn't have to be a relative or even a friend.

"I've had a lot of people call me a hero. In my own eyes, I was just doing something simple. God gave me two kidneys, and I only need one. Why not give one?"