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Rising to the challenge

  January 15, 2025

Not many can say they’ve represented their country on a world stage, where they’ve showcased their phenomenal athleticism. Or, that they did it while visually impaired, a lasting effect of a brain tumour that led to two surgeries—all while balancing university studies and keeping a positive attitude.

Meet Ashlyn Renneberg, the 19 year old from Saskatoon, Sask., who set a Canadian record by hitting a 31.48-metre distance in javelin at a World Para Athletic (WPA) Grand Prix event in Switzerland this past June, before continuing on to the 2024 Paris Paralymic Games.

Ashlyn has always been athletic, playing sports like ball hockey, softball, volleyball and basketball from a young age. She was forced to take a hiatus when she broke her arm playing softball, during the summer before she started Grade 8.

“Throughout that summer, I progressively lost my vision,” Ashlyn says. “I just didn’t realize it at the time, because I wasn’t playing sports as usual.”

Noticing a change

Ashlyn RennebergAs soon as she was cleared to play, Ashlyn took part in a recreational volleyball game with friends. She was hit in the face with a volleyball that she didn’t even see coming.

“They were like, ‘Why did you not see the ball coming at you?’” Ashlyn recalls. “In the span of three days, I’d been to a walk-in clinic, an ophthalmology clinic, and then the hospital. That’s when I found out I needed surgery immediately.”

Doctors found a subependymoma tumour, which is a benign tumour that grows from the ventricular wall into the spinal fluid spaces within the brain. It caused spinal fluid to leak into Ashlyn’s optic nerve, affecting her vision. She lost all sight in her right eye, with minimal vision in her left eye.

Her first surgery was at age 13, during which her brain tumour was successfully removed. Soon after, however, she experienced another leakage of spinal fluid and went through a second surgery to manage it.

“It was probably a month after my second surgery that I had a school field trip, and they were going swimming and rock climbing,” Ashlyn says. “I really wanted to go, and the doctors said they didn’t see why I couldn’t. So, I was doing physical activity a month after that surgery, whereas the previous one had me out of commission for a while.”

Trying something new

A year and a half after her second surgery, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ashlyn started to participate in track and field.

“It was mainly just sprinting and running outside, because we couldn’t do much at that time,” she says. “When things started to reopen, my coach was like, ‘Hey, do you think you could throw things in the air?’” That’s when I said I used to play softball, and they asked me about javelin. I thought, ‘Yeah, I can do that.’”

Ashlyn’s previous athletic experience came into play, and she qualified for the next step.

“I have this disability from my surgery and I thought, ‘Why not be recognized as an athlete with a disability?”

“I had the chance to go to Switzerland in June and then, I qualified for the Paralympics,” says Ashlyn.

A dream come true

Ashlyn RennebergAshlyn travelled to Paris, France in August 2024, placing seventh in her Paralympic debut—two spots ahead of her pre-event rank.

“It was like a dream,” Ashlyn says, of her Paralympic experience. “It was something I thought about for a long time, as a child.

“When you’re watching someone in the Olympics, you’re like, ‘Wow, I want to be exactly like that.’ And then to have the chance to be that person and for kids to think, ‘I want to be like her,’ it’s an amazing feeling.”

Next up for Ashlyn is the WPA Grand Prix in Dubai in 2025, followed by the WPA Championships in New Delhi, and—fingers crossed—the 2028 Summer Paralympics in Los Angeles.

Along with student life, of course.

Ashlyn is studying arts and science at the University of Saskatchewan, with a particular interest in neuroscience. She’s hoping to understand more about her brain tumour experience, mentioning that she’s the youngest of 14 people to have been diagnosed with a subependymoma tumour—and that she has the most vision of those diagnosed, too.

“There’s so much people don’t understand about neurology,” she says, “as in, how it can affect you in all areas of your life.”

“Our brain is the powerhouse of our body,” she continues. “I would love to teach about cognitive function and the psychology of it. That’s what I’m hoping to go into.”

Monitoring symptoms

Ashlyn RennebergThankfully, Ashlyn’s health has been stable since her second surgery. She does have a pineal cyst near her cerebellum that doctors are keeping an eye on, but her follow-up appointments have moved from every three to six months to every year.

She still has to keep an eye on her symptoms, particularly those that might signal she’s experiencing hydrocephalus again. Doctors warned that her symptoms may be less noticeable should there be a next time, such as an inability to make eye movements, rather than the enlarged pupils she had previously.

Trust the process

To anyone going through a similar situation, Ashlyn says to trust the process.

“I thought what was happening to me was the worst thing ever,” Ashlyn says. “I didn’t really think about how in the future, it would be a memory. It’s been almost seven years since my diagnosis, and I’m so much stronger than I was before.”

Reflecting on perseverance and growth, Ashlyn adds, “It’s about believing in what you can do. I hope people would look at me and be like, ‘Well, she can do it. I can do it, too.’”