BILLINGS — Kenna Pfeifle plays softball, and sports in general, with a fierce competitive drive, but her toughest opponent is one nobody can see.
Two years ago, as Billings Skyview's girls basketball team was climbing off the bus after returning from Bozeman, Pfeifle's life changed, possibly forever.
"All of a sudden I wake up and I'm on the ground. And I hear my JV coach and he's on the phone and is like, 'Kenna just had a seizure,'" Pfeifle recalled.
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A sophomore at the time, she had collapsed near the team bus. Then came an emergency room trip and, later, a diagnosis.
"Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. I call them tics, or jerks. In my wrists, my ankles and my neck, I'll have, like, a little jerk," Pfeifle said.
The grand mal seizure revealed a condition she may have to deal with for a lifetime — one she had unknowingly dealt with since elementary school.
"There was one time I was in class, and I was holding a computer and walking around, and all of a sudden my wrist twitched and I threw it across the room and wasn't really sure what was going on," Pfeifle recalled with a smile.
She now takes daily medication to control the episodes.
Pfeifle is no stranger to adversity. She played a full basketball season with a fractured leg suffered in soccer. She felt discomfort, but the fracture was not revealed until later.
Through it all, she has earned a softball commitment to the University of Jamestown for Division II competition.
"It's such a cool program and their facilities are really nice. And I'm really excited to continue my education, especially," she said.
Pfeifle plans to pass the CPA exam and become an accountant. She is ready to conquer any challenge after already learning to live with epilepsy.
