AUBURN, Ala. – When she could no longer sail through Auburn soccer's conditioning test, Jill Sale Bracchi knew something was wrong.
"Fitness had never been a struggle for me," said Jill, who played soccer for Auburn from 1996-99. "I was thinking, 'I don't know why it's so hard for me to run this mile under so many minutes.'"
Auburn team physician Dr. Michael Goodlett called Jill's parents in Dallas, alerting them of a concern.
"He discovered that my blood counts were not where they should be," she said. "Over the summer, I had some tests run. That's when they figured out that something wasn't right."
Jill returned to Auburn for her sophomore year, redshirting in 1997.
"Over Christmas, when I came home, the doctors found that it was leukemia and I needed a bone marrow transplant," she said.
Needing a donor, the Sales first tried Jill's older sister, who lived in Dallas, but she wasn't a match. Next, they tested Jill's twin sister, Julie, whom the family had always assumed was fraternal.
"We tried her and they were like, 'Did you know you were identical?'" Jill recalled. "Sure enough, we had the same DNA and she gave me her bone marrow. It was crazy, not even a year later, I was back playing soccer at Auburn.
"The Lord gave me a twin sister and little did I know that I would need her 19 years later to give me her bone marrow. I always tell her, I owe her big time."
Bill Wilkins, who coached the Tigers' soccer program from 1994-98, welcomed Jill back to the team in 1998.
"Coach Wilkins was very gracious in letting me play," she said. "I was not the caliber that I was when I first started, but he was so sweet. He helped me with my recovery. I will give him a lot of credit.
"I wasn't as good as I was before, but I was back playing and I did fairly well," she said. "I was able to do okay with fitness, but after chemo and total body irradiation it took a toll on my body. I don't feel that I got back to the level I was at before the transplant. However, I was back playing soccer!"
After playing on Karen Hoppa's first Auburn team in 1999, Jill graduated in 2000, returning to Texas where she taught elementary school for 16 years. Jill and her husband, Auburn graduate Bryan Bracchi, are the proud parents of a 3-year-old daughter, Adalyn, and a 1-year-old son, Hudson.
"I loved the coaching staff. Coach Wilkins and Coach Hoppa were so good," Jill said. "They were wonderful and the girls on the team were so fun. Just being a part of Auburn made it easier to beat cancer. My husband went to Auburn, too, so we're big Auburn fans."
A robust support system, Jill says, strengthened her during her cancer diagnosis, treatment and recovery.
"Everyone was there," she said. "I was part of Pi Phi sorority at Auburn. They were so helpful. My soccer team, Dr. Goodlett and all of the athletic trainers there. My parents still ask about Dr. Goodlett. When we're watching Auburn football, we're all looking at the medical staff. We'll say, 'Hey, is that Dr. Goodlett?' He was such an instrumental part of my healing.
"The Lord, He got me through it. I had a church family that was so supportive. Friends from Campus Crusade, my sorority and of course my teammates and coaches. It's so important to have that community surrounding you. Being at Auburn and away from home and going through this, I never felt that I was alone or scared for my life, because I had all of that support."
Early detection and financial support for local patients are the pillars of AUTLIVE, Auburn basketball's fight against cancer.
"What Coach Pearl is doing, that is such a great foundation for these patients who are struggling fighting for their lives, and yet they know they can do it because they have that support, and what he's doing is awesome," she said.
Jill Sale Bracchi outlived cancer to become a teacher, wife and mother. She's quick to credit her faith, family, doctors, coaches, teammates, and most of all, her identical sister Julie's life-saving gift.
"She is such a giving person. She would have it no other way," Jill said. "It was such a blessing. We're very close. I thank the Lord every day for her."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer