When East Stroudsburg University freshman Madison Siggins was in fourth grade, what started as a stomach virus spiraled into a frightening, months-long medical crisis that left her unable to eat, walk or communicate effectively.
Now a member of ESU’s women’s basketball team after a standout high school sports career, Madison’s long road to recovery not only gave her a second chance at life, it also inspired her brother, senior ESU football player John Siggins, to pursue a degree in nursing so he could make a similar impact in the lives of others.
“She was pretty close to not making it,” said John, who was in eighth grade at the time. “Being around that experience really affected me and so I decided I wanted to help people out the same way my sister was helped out.”
Madison said her ordeal began innocently enough. She caught a stomach virus that refused to go away. As doctors searched for answers, her condition worsened. Migraines followed and the pain from swallowing became so intense she struggled to eat.
“I was just bones,” Madison said. “It was not good.”
Months went by with no improvement. Madison underwent frequent tests but found no definitive explanation for her symptoms. She was eventually sent to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), where she was placed on a feeding tube. Soon, her illness began to affect her memory and her ability to walk and talk.
Madison said though she never learned an exact cause, doctors believe it was a type of conversion disorder, a neurological condition that affects the nervous system but features symptoms that can’t be explained by a neurological disease or other medical condition, according to the Mayo Clinic.
As time went on, Madison and her family shifted their focus from seeking a cause to finding a solution. After receiving treatment and being released from CHOP, she entered Good Shepherd Rehabilitation in Allentown, where she took on the arduous process of relearning how to move, speak and feed herself.
The recovery was a long, difficult journey – it wasn’t until her junior year of high school that she felt like herself again – but Madison refused to give up on her goals by letting her condition win, she said.
“I wanted to be in my family’s life,” she said. “I wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to play college basketball. I wanted all those things for myself and so I knew if I kept pushing every single day and relied on the people I love to support me, I would make it to where I am now.”
On Madison’s worst days, John was determined to be a distraction, he said. One day while she was still at CHOP, he took her in her wheelchair to an outdoor basketball hoop at the hospital so she could shoot around with him.
“I knew I just needed to be there for her and get her mind off all the negativity around her,” he said.
That thoughtfulness is one of the qualities that makes John the right fit for a career in nursing, Madison said.
“He wants the best for other people,” she said. “He wants them to be successful and healthy, and he’s going to work his hardest behind the scenes to make sure he has all the tools to make that happen.”
Pursuing a nursing degree while playing football was no guarantee. John said the combination was discouraged by other colleges he visited due to the major time commitment required by each. He was grateful to ESU, the football program, and the College of Health Sciences for giving him the freedom to do both.
“I’m able to be where I am today thanks to the help of everyone in the nursing program, and I’m just so blessed I was given this opportunity by ESU to do two things I love,” he said.
Thanks to the knowledge and skills he gained in the nursing program, which included a recent externship at Lehigh Valley Hospital Pocono, John recently accepted a full-time nursing job at Lehigh Valley Hospital Cedar Crest.
Madison, meanwhile, is majoring in elementary education with a minor in special education. John expects her to excel in the role.
“She’ll make a great teacher because she really cares about the people whose lives she’s affecting,” John said.
Both siblings credited their sports backgrounds for instilling in them the mindset to get through Madison’s health scare, particularly their success at Parkland High School near Allentown.
There, Madison finished her high school basketball career with 1,214 points, was a two-year captain of her team and was named Parkland Female Athlete of the Year. John earned honors in basketball, volleyball and football, including being named Parkland Football MVP and Parkland Male Athlete of the Year.
“We’re hard on each other but I think that’s what makes us good athletes,” John said. “She pushes me, and I push her because we both see what the other is capable of.”
With Madison and John each at opposite ends of their college careers, both are looking forward to spending their lone year on campus together rooting for one other – in athletics and in everyday life.
“I just want him to have all the success because he deserves it so much,” Madison said.
“She gave my life a purpose,” John added. “I can’t wait to see the person she is going to become.”