Player battles disease, defenders - News

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Jul. 20, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Player battles disease, defenders

Disorder attacks joints, muscles of Palo Verde's Wayne

By TRISTAN AIRD
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

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Palo Verde basketball player Samantha Wayne, who was diagnosed in May 2008 with systemic lupus erythematosus, wipes sweat from her face Tuesday while playing basketball.
Photo by John Locher.

Samantha Wayne could have asked her doctor any number of questions after being diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus in May 2008.

But faced with an unpredictable autoimmune disease for which there is no cure, the Palo Verde High School student's thoughts turned to basketball.

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"The first thing I asked her was if I could ever play basketball again, and she told me, 'No,'" said Wayne, now 16. "I asked her, 'I have to play basketball; is there a way I can do this?'

"She just told me, 'Go at your own pace.' My life just changed from there. Everything is different now."

Wayne, a 6-foot-1-inch post player entering her junior year for the Panthers, still plays basketball.

But points and rebounds in the paint don't come as easily as they used to for Wayne, a former Fertitta Middle School star who made Palo Verde's varsity team as a freshman.

The chronic disease attacks her joints and muscles, and she's already coping with arthritis.

Wayne's hands occasionally turn blue; she has trouble breathing and suffers pain in her neck and back. She practices outdoors in the evening to limit exposure to the sun.

"It's really tough," Wayne said. "Every morning I feel pain. It reminds me, 'Hey, you're sick. You're not like everyone else.' But I try to be normal."

Though Wayne was not diagnosed until she was 15, her mother, Anne, said early signs of arthritis began appearing when she was 12.

"One doctor actually X-rayed her back one time because she complained of back pain, and he said that he saw some early signs of arthritis," Anne Wayne said. "And (when) we took her back because our insurance changed, we had to go to a different doctor, and he said he saw nothing.

"So we know it came on a lot earlier than last year."

Though it also can strike men and children, lupus mostly surfaces in women of childbearing age, according to the Lupus Foundation of America's Web site. The foundation estimates at least 1.5 million Americans have lupus.

Anne Wayne said Samantha has been treating the disease using a combination of drugs designed to fight cancer (methotrexate), malaria (plaquenil) and an overactive immune system (prednisone).

She also takes folic acid, Vitamin D and an herbal remedy called ginkgo biloba.

But a cure remains unknown.

"Every day there's a new symptom," Anne Wayne said. "She has neck pain, back pain ... this week she had swollen eyes. The doctors don't even know exactly what causes it."

Meanwhile, Samantha continues to use basketball as an outlet. She plans on continuing her career at Palo Verde and, if well enough, hopes to play in college.

"(Classmates) tell me a lot of times that it doesn't even look like I have lupus, which is a compliment," she said. "I'm a strong person, some people say."

One person saying that is longtime friend and teammate Nik-Nik Ameli.

"It's an inspiration to everyone," Ameli said. "If someone gets tired, it's like, 'Hey, Sam's playing. Pick it up.'"

Palo Verde coach Phil Clarke often used Wayne as the first post player off the bench last season.

"Some people may use it as an excuse," Clarke said. "She is very strong-willed. If I wasn't her coach and didn't know her, I would never know that she was battling a disease like that."

Wayne did not play last summer because she began taking myriad medications with possible side effects. But she eventually decided playing through the pain would be better than giving up basketball.

"She was determined in her sophomore year to come back and play in high school, and she did," Anne Wayne said.

For Samantha, playing basketball with a disease that ravages the body -- and can be fatal -- is a daily struggle.

Which is why her family and friends have formed a team that will walk on Nov. 7 at Wayne Bunker Family Park as part of Walk with Us to Cure Lupus, a nationwide fundraiser put on by the Alliance for Lupus Research.

"Even though I don't look sick, I'm fighting every day," she said.

Contact reporter Tristan Aird at taird@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203.

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background. Someone... wrote on August 03, 2009 07:40 PM: I came to Fertitta a year after Sam did... My friend Edrienne showed me videos of her playing basketball. One word... WOW.Sam if you are reading this, keep your head up and don't give up. You have amazing talent! I would love to play basketball with you one day!God bless you. ms. g wrote on July 30, 2009 12:52 AM: Sam is such an amazing person and a great student! I sure do miss having her and the rest of her classmates in my 5th period class. Know you are in my prayers and I'll be doing my part to help! Misha wrote on July 23, 2009 04:03 PM: Hi Sam , I also have (SLE).. I have been diagnoised for almost 7 years now, I am 37 now.. Everything I heard in your video is what I go through everyday as well. I will tell you that it is a day to day illness, and can be frustrating, trying, and unbareable, but do your best to keep your head up... I live here in nevada maybe I will meet you in November for the walk.. take care Linda B wrote on July 20, 2009 09:49 PM: You and your parents are an inspiration to all. To think how you have come forward to be the voice for so many. I wish you all the best and hope there is something better for you every day. And keep believing that you are not like eveyone else - you are so much more special. al harrison wrote on July 20, 2009 07:31 PM: GodBless you sweetheart, i wish this on NOBODY, i pray for you everyday, be strong and fight everyday.... Lenny Labeau wrote on July 20, 2009 06:55 PM: excellent story and video.i have known samantha all her life and watched her grow into a mature young lady that she is now.she is accepting this journey that was laid out for her and with help from friends and family and god she will fight this endlessly and conquer this disease.believe is the word that she will carry until this disease has found a cure and people like samantha can have a normal life... Linda wrote on July 20, 2009 06:26 PM: Samantha is one wonderful young lady! We need to find a cure now. I'll definitely be walking to help Sam! Anne Wayne wrote on July 20, 2009 06:05 PM: I'm Samantha's mom and want to Thank everyone for the support. To learn more about the Research for Lupus walk 4 a cure you can go to the lupusresearch.org website and click the walk 4 a cure, click NV, Las Vegas and it will give you all the information about the walk, how to join and also if you want to donate. Thanks to Tristan for a great article! Tricia H wrote on July 20, 2009 03:32 PM: This is a great story. I too have been diagnosed with SLE and you never know how you're going to feel from day to day. I think that a famous celebrity needs to either get the disease or take on the cause to help try to fnd a cure and do more research. I wasn't aware that there is a walk for the cause. Where can I find information on how to sign up? Foo Bar wrote on July 20, 2009 02:15 PM: :( This sucks. This sounds like MS-lite, and not all that lite. Read All Comments