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EAST STROUDSBURG – Many children take up swimming at an early age simply because it can be a fun way to escape the heat on a long summer afternoon. For East Stroudsburg University graduate Kelly Buyaskas, it was the start of a lifelong effort to prove her doctors wrong.

Diagnosed as an infant with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease which puts heavy stress on the lungs and several other internal organs, Buyaskas' parents were initially told that she would be unlikely to live past middle school.

Buyaskas not only blew that prediction out of the water, she did so while thriving as a competitive NCAA Division II swimmer at ESU.

Despite facing several obstacles along the way, including a collapsed lung as a sophomore and a near-fatal case of double pneumonia during the summer prior to her senior year, Buyaskas completed her collegiate career in peak form, establishing new personal bests in all four events she competed in at February's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Swimming Championships.

Buyaskas' success extends beyond the swimming pool. The Clifton Park, N.Y., native graduated from ESU in May with a bachelor's degree in business management, and she already has a job lined up with Sanofi Pasteur as a biological sales representative beginning next month.

For her achievements both athletically and academically in the face of constant adversity, she is one of five student-athletes across the NCAA who will be honored with the prestigious N4A Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award this June.

"The moment that we heard about the award and what it was all about, we all immediately thought of Kelly," ESU head swimming coach Brie Globig said. "To be able to swim in college with cystic fibrosis, I don't know if anyone has ever done it before. I can't imagine anyone more deserving."

When Buyaskas began swimming at six years old, it was initially solely for the potential health benefits.

"Cystic fibrosis creates a thick, sticky mucus that clogs your lungs," she said. "And that mucus then captures infections and holds them in there, which lessens your lung capacity over time. Swimming was a way to keep my lungs involved and help move the mucus out."

While doctors encouraged Buyaskas to swim, they also warned her that racing competitively would be highly unlikely. The chlorine can affect her already damaged lungs, and the necessity of holding her breath during a race adds extra stress to a heart which already does not receive as much oxygen as it should.

That prognosis only fueled Buyaskas' motivation. She kept up with those around her in high school, and as she began to get recruited by ESU, she realized that her times compared favorably with other swimmers in the PSAC.

Ultimately, Buyaskas did land at ESU, and her athletic trainer, Wendy Dietrich, only realized that she had cystic fibrosis after she visited the training room hoping to receive treatment for a knee injury.

"I instantly had all of these limitations in my head of where her wall was going to be," Dietrich said. "And Kelly just blew that wall away every time. It's unbelievable what she's been able to accomplish."

Buyaskas first showed what she was capable of during her sophomore year, when she qualified for the 2015 PSAC Championships in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle, and the 100 breaststroke. Prior to February's conference meet, however, she encountered the first major medical setback of her collegiate career.

"About two months before PSAC's I got the flu," Buyaskas said. "I thought I had gotten over it, but then it relapsed and I realized I wasn't breathing correctly."

Buyaskas made an appointment with Dietrich, who quickly knew that something was wrong. She was sent to the hospital, and she would remain there for three weeks after being diagnosed with a collapsed lung.

By the time she was released, there was only one week to go before PSAC's. Though still not close to full strength, the conference gave Buyaskas a waiver which allowed her to swim time trials in the events in which she had qualifying times.

"It was not an easy recovery," she said. "But I needed to compete in that meet. It was my first time qualifying for it, and I really wasn't taking no for an answer. Luckily, I was given the opportunity, and I was able to pull out some decent times despite what had happened the previous few months."

Buyaskas repeated as a PSAC qualifier as a junior, competing in her three main events as well as the 100 butterfly. Shortly after finals that year, though, she was forced to deal with another life-threatening illness. Buyaskas was scheduled for surgery on her liver, gall bladder and sinuses all at once. Complications from those surgeries resulted in pneumonia in both of her lungs, as well as an uncontrollable 106-degree fever.

"Those three weeks were probably the hardest weeks of my life," Buyaskas said. "I didn't know what was going to happen, and that can make you think of the worst-case scenario. I hadn't been prepared for that, but I knew I had to fight and be strong to have a chance. Luckily, I was able to get through it."

The illness had a major effect on her training schedule heading into her senior season.

"She basically had to take the whole summer off," Globig said. "For any swimmer to take a full summer off leading into the season, it's tough to come back and be at your optimum level of competing."

Buyaskas was again up to the challenge. She reached the PSAC championships for a third-consecutive year, and at her final collegiate meet she managed new personal bests in all four events. Buyaskas reached the 'C' final in the 100 breast, scoring for the Warriors for the first time, and she also contributed to 200 and 400 free relay teams which placed in the top eight.

"Every time she stood up on that block she threw down another best time," Globig remarked. "And they were major best times too, large drops from what she had before. It was a perfect storybook ending for her."

The health concerns will not go away for Buyaskas after graduation, as she is dealing with a disease that remains without a cure. Buyaskas must take approximately 40 pills during hour-long treatments at the start and end of every day, with around 30 other pills mixed in throughout the afternoon. During bouts with illnesses, including another visit to the hospital after a setback this past April, those treatment-levels increase.

Buyaskas, though, never lets her cystic fibrosis get in the way of what she wants to accomplish. One of her continuing goals is to raise awareness for a disease which is not easily visible on the surface.

"This is an invisible disease," Buyaskas said. "Even though you can't tell that I'm sick, I'm still living a very sick life. I think it's important to share that not everyone walking down the street is as healthy as they may look."

Throughout her time at ESU, Buyaskas helped organize cystic fibrosis awareness days at selected home duals, and this spring she also coordinated an awareness event which was held during a home lacrosse game.

While still relatively low, life expectancy for those diagnosed with cystic fibrosis has risen in recent years, with an increase in the availability of lung transplants one of the primary factors for that increase. Buyaskas is on a waiting list for that procedure, but in the meantime she is doing everything she can to keep herself in good health.

"They said there would be a cure about 20 years ago," she said. "That still hasn't happened, but every day they're getting closer and closer. So the best thing we can do is to try to keep our lungs as healthy as we can in the meantime."

Though her days as a collegiate athlete are over, swimming will remain a vital component of Buyaskas' weekly health routine.

"Without swimming, who knows if I would be here today," she said. "I have to keep swimming in order to stay healthy. Most people just do their treatments at home, but for me swimming is one of my treatments and I plan on doing it for the rest of my life."