Richards teacher named to USWNT Amputee Soccer Team

Christina Kreil, a social studies teacher at Richards High School in Oak Lawn, has been selected for the U.S. Women’s National Amputee Soccer Team. She and her teammates will compete at the inaugural World Cup in Colombia in November.

Kreil, a young wife and mother who grew up in Burbank, is the second oldest player to earn a roster spot. She is the only player from Illinois on the national team. She will work out on her own and attend training camps in New Jersey this summer and fall with her teammates to prepare for the World Cup.

Kreil has battled the extraordinarily rare disease Metastatic Giant Cell Tumor since she was 17. The disease invades bones. She broke her foot in 2015 while rocking her young son. Ultimately the disease required the amputation of her right foot.

“Last year, my leg was amputated from my disease. I thought a lot of things in my life would have to change permanently, like my love for soccer. But I was wrong. Since then I earned my spot on the US National Women’s Amputee Soccer team,” she said.

For most people, preparing for the World Cup would consume their focus. But Kreil and her family have another priority.

Due to the rarity of her disease, few experts exist. Kreil and her family have been unable to find a specialist to provide a proven method of addressing it. This summer she and her husband will travel in search of doctors who have successfully treated Metastatic Giant Cell Tumor.

The disease has spread to her lungs. It is growing and, at the moment, is inoperable.

“We’re spending the summer flying all over to see if I can find an expert,” she said.

This month they will visit the renowned Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City seeking better answers.

She’s also teaching summer school at Richards. Her surgery, recovery, and rehabilitation depleted her sick days (last September she spent 17 days in the ICU) so she’s working this summer to replace them. Her friends at work rallied around her, volunteering to take her classes at a moment’s notice.

“My real family and my work family, they’ve been extraordinary,” she said.

With a mix of pride, perseverance, and steely resolve, Kreil fights her rare disease and prepares to take the field with her new team.

“I’m going to keep fighting, teaching, and playing soccer. My disease and my team, nobody knows about. And I would like to get the word out about both,” she said.

For more: https://www.usampsoccer.org/po...