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Passing along her strength for Dad

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To meet Amanda Muckle you wouldn't know anything was out of the ordinary. She's a bubbly teenager - a junior at Cedar Park High School and a varsity volleyball player. She constantly has a smile on her face. What you wouldn't know just by looking at her or watching her play volleyball, is that Amanda's father, Bill, is in a coma.

On July 4, Bill suffered a brain aneurism and spent 61 days in the ICU. He then spent a week in rehabilitation and was recovering. “He was doing really good and he was walking again,” Muckle said.

However, an infection that went to his brain caused a stroke. Bill has now been in a coma for the last three weeks. And though he was put on life support last Friday, the family received some good news on Monday.

“The doctor said he is in a semi-coma now,” Muckle said. They plan to put a shunt in his head in the coming days to help. He is able to open his eyes a little bit, she said.

Through it all, Muckle has stayed strong and hasn't lost hope. “He's a fighter and I know he'll make it through,” she said.

In between school and volleyball, Muckle visits her dad every day and keeps him updated on how she's doing with volleyball and school. “He has always kept up with my grades and wanted me to make good grades,” she said.

Rebekah Hajduk-Almanza, Muckle's volleyball coach at Cedar Park, said she is amazed at Muckle's strength and that she can handle it so well.

“She handles it a lot better than most adults or anyone could,” she said. “I'm probably more emotional about it than she is.”

One way of dealing with the stress has been through volleyball. “It definitely helps me and I can block everything else out,” Muckle said.

Even with volleyball though, Muckle has a constant reminder of her dad because she writes “Dad” on her wrist before every game.

“I play for him all the time,” she said. “I'm always looking down at it and it keeps me strong.”

Muckle, known as Shmo to her dad, also looks to her network of friends, her coach and her family for support. “Hajduk has been here for me and my friends are always here and sometimes go to the hospital with me,” she said.

The trying times have taught Muckle a lot, including to “cherish everything you have because you never know what will happen.”

Though the road to recovery for her dad could be a long one, Muckle is looking forward to the days when she can watch football games with him or play a round of golf like they used to do. She also looks forward to waking up at his apartment on a Saturday morning and finding the two Krispy Kreme donuts he got her.

“I hope to be able to do [all] that again,” she said. “I just have to keep positive for him.”

E-mail jenn@hillcountrynews.com

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