The opponent within: Othello athlete comes back from chronic illness

OTHELLO — Ethan Medina said his experiences taught him life can change in an instant. And he also learned to deal with setbacks.

Medina’s life changed one day in early June 2021, when he went to the bathroom.

Something wasn’t right. There was blood where there shouldn’t be blood. Medina said it scared him, but he wasn’t ready to say anything yet. It was close to the end of his junior year at Othello High School and, due to the discombobulation of the COVID-19 pandemic, June was wrestling time and he didn’t want to miss any of the shortened season.

“I love wrestling,” he said.

But something was wrong. Normally Medina wrestles at 170 pounds, but when he went to weigh for an upcoming match, he was down to 162 pounds. The symptoms persisted; he wasn’t eating the same way and he kept losing weight.

“I was never close to weight,” he said.

But he thought maybe he could wrestle a few pounds lighter, so he kept the symptoms to himself.

The Huskies were scheduled to wrestle a pair of important matches with Gonzaga Preparatory School and Mead High School. Going to school that morning, his backpack felt heavy, he said. He felt weak and one of his friends told him he looked pale, like he was sick.

That was the day he knew he couldn’t wrestle, he said, and he talked to his mom Emily Perez, his coach Rudy Ochoa II and OHS athletic director Jenny McCourtie. He was sent to Othello Community Hospital, and the results from his tests prompted the doctors to send him for further treatment in Spokane.

There were more conversations with doctors and more tests. He asked the doctors if he was going to be OK, but the doctors couldn’t answer. They didn’t know what was wrong yet.

Finally he got an answer. He was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, something very rare among teenagers. And it meant a lot of changes in his life.

He is gluten and lactose intolerant, among other things, so he had to change his whole diet. He had an extensive medical regimen, including medicine for ulcerative colitis, other medicines and supplements to help build back the nutrients lost to the disease.

“I was taking about 13 pills in the morning,” Medina said.

But the adjustment was just as challenging mentally. He realized he probably would be battling the disease all his life.

“‘I’m never going to be the same anymore,’” he said he remembered thinking.

“I was depressed for about a month and a half. I was just annoyed with the world at that point,” Medina said.

He didn’t really want to go back to school and face all the questions, so he switched to remote classes. His senior football and wrestling seasons were coming up, but at first he found it hard to get interested in conditioning.

Head OHS football coach Roger Hoell encouraged him to get back to training, to start lifting weights again. And after a while, he did get back in the weight room.

“I was slowly breaking out of my slump,” he said.

But he was still recovering, and it showed when he started lifting. He was still really wobbly, and he was reminded of a parallel in nature.

“I would say I felt like a newborn deer,” he said.

He kept working on it, but he wasn’t making as much progress as he wanted. He was doing squats one day at home, and it didn’t go well.

“I just fell,” he said.

That may have been the lowest point to date.

“I completely started breaking down,” he said. “I just gave up hope on everything.”

But his friends Sonny Asu, Julian Alegria and Zakary Rocha didn’t let it end there, he said. They encouraged him and supported him in the rough spots.

“I would say those three guys helped me build my strength back up; helped me build my mind back up,” Medina said.

Medina didn’t play in Othello’s first football game, but he got the call in the second game. And in concentrating on the game, something happened.

“I totally forgot about my disease. I didn’t have my disease anymore,” Medina said.

His conditioning slowly improved over the course of the football season. And as it did, he was ready to think about wrestling season.

“I didn’t touch a mat for a full year,” he said.

He wasn’t sure how wrestling would go and he wasn’t sure what his coaches thought, he said.

“I think they weren’t expecting the same me,” he said.

But like getting on the football field, his illness faded into the background once he got on the wrestling mat. He felt like himself, he said.

The Huskies football team made the state playoffs, which meant the football players got a late start on wrestling conditioning and practice. Medina lost his first match in his first tournament, but worked his way back through the consolation bracket for fourth. He came through the consolation bracket for a third place finish at the second tournament. He was improving, and even when he lost he was encouraged by his progress.

Wrestling season is almost over this year, with the district tournament followed by regionals and the state tournament. Whatever happens, Medina said he’s worked hard to get back, and did.

It was a battle, but he’s been battling all his life, he said, and this was just one more. He also had help from his family, friends and coaches and others.

“I would say God was by my side, as well,” he said.

He made the decision the ulcerative colitis would not control his life.

“I didn’t let it define who I am,” he said.

While it’s been a struggle, he also learned from it.

“My gift from God,” he said.

He knows now not to take life for granted, he said, and to know there’s a possibility of the unexpected.

“One thing can take a turn really fast,” he said.

(Editor's note: This story has been updated with the correct disease.)