Julianne "Montana" Vasichek is the type of person who doesn't make enemies.  Despite her physical demeanor as a two-time All-American with the University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team as a defenseman from 2001-2005, Vasichek, now the program's equipment manager and strength and conditioning coach, makes a living out of making sure other people are taken care of.  So it might come as a great surprise to people with ties to the Bulldog program that Vasichek does have one very unforgiving enemy – her own body.

The native of Great Falls, Mont. was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2002, when she was still patrolling the ice for UMD, and then with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) in 2007.  Just one of those diagnoses drastically alters a person's life, but two all but rearranges it.

After months filled with symptoms most college kids know nothing about, Vasichek was prepping for her first colonoscopy a week before the 2002 NCAA Frozen Four.

"My teammates were at practice and I'm in the middle of choking down Fleet Phosphoda and our assistant coach called and asked who I wanted to be my roommate for the Frozen Four, " recalled Vasichek.  "Talk about realities colliding."

Vasichek remembers the toll the 2002 NCAA championship took on her physically and mentally.  She is also quick to credit the understanding of head coach Shannon Miller and assistant coach Stacy Wilson, who taught her that visualization exercises were critical helping her get through the tournament.

"I will never forget how drained I felt in the semi-final against Niagara University," said Vasichek.  "My legs and body were really feeling the affects of months of losing the ability to absorb nutrients which are important to the normal population, but especially elite athletes.  Each national championship I have been a part of has been really special and has taken a physical toll in its own way.  But 2002 will always be special to me because of the journey leading up to it.  My teammates and coaches made it possible to navigate that year."

For Vasichek, that colonoscopy showed ulcerative colitis, and luckily, the medication Asacol worked for her.  In 13 years since she was diagnosed, she has only had small issues and feels her UC is under control and well managed.

But the most devastating health news for Vasichek was yet to come.  The two NCAA titles she won with UMD in 2002 and 2003 were a part of her working resume in 2007, when Vasichek was an assistant coach at Bowdoin College.  And it was during that time, with symptoms so far reaching and life altering that Vasichek finally had a procedure on her liver with a scope down her throat into her bile ducts (called an ERCP for short).

"Two weeks prior to this procedure, I was told it would be one of three diseases, so I spent a lot of time on the internet trying to research the three," said Vasichek.  "When I was told it was PSC, I was also told I might need a liver transplant, but I would not know how soon.  It could be two years, it could be 15, but besides powdered medication to help with itching, the only other advice the doctor could give me was two wait another two months for the next appointment."

The news was crushing to Vasichek, who had been a part of the USA Hockey program for years, and was still determining if she wanted to play competitive women's hockey on top of her new coaching career.

"I initially felt a strong sense of why me?" said Vasichek.  "I had taken really good care of my body as an elite athlete and I had also in my mind beat one autoimmune disease already.  It just did not seem fair to me to have incurable liver disease that did not seem to have many answers."

With very little accurate information out there early on, Vasichek, after returning to UMD as an equipment manager for women's hockey and strength coach for hockey, soccer and softball, learned that the Mayo Clinic was one of the best hospital centers to visit for her rare disease.  After spending time at the Mayo Clinic, Vasichek teamed up with a local gastroenterologist in Duluth, and after some initial labs, had a balloon pulled through bile ducts to dilate them, as well as a temporary stent placed.

"It was in those days I understood for the first time just how sick I had been," said Vasichek.  "With my bile ducts open further, bile started to flow more normal again.  I was immediately more energetic and alert, and my digestive disturbances relinquished.  Thinking back on it, I really do not know when the PSC started to take hold of me, but I can trace the fatigue back at least to the start of 2007.  I do not doubt it had been building for possibly longer than that."

This spring will mark Vasichek's seventh year since her official PSC diagnosis.  She has had around 12-15 ERCP's to open her bile ducts, place stents and remove them four to eight weeks later over that time.  Vasichek has been admitted to the hospital multiple times, including three times last year, where she almost had her gall bladder removed.  She will casually talk about liver transplant lists as a reality for her future, but thankfully, Vasichek is not yet on a list because her score for a transplant, the model for end-stage liver disease score (MELD), would be too low.

"It's not easy to deal with at times, but it's my reality and I have chosen to accept it, wherever it will lead me," said Vasichek.  "It does not define me, however.  I think that is my personal character crossing with the fortunate experiences and relationships I have forged through having a chronic disease, especially through meeting so many courageous people through PSC Partners."

Vasichek's passion to raise awareness around the need for more organ and tissue donors, as well as to educate more people about PSC and raising funds for research, inspired her to push for the Organ Donation/PSC Awareness Night that UMD will hold Friday in connection with its game against Ohio State University.  Vasichek has taken the lead in how the night will promote the causes close to heart, and she has no issue explaining how important organ donation is to her.

According to statistics available for December through LifeSources, there were 546 people awaiting liver transplants in the local region (Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota) and 15,465 awaiting liver transplants nationally.  Contrast those statistics with only 118 liver transplants performed regionally in 2013, and the numbers show that about 21 people died waiting for a transplant every day.  Vasichek also points out that every 10 minutes, a person is added to the national transplant list, proving how great the need is for awareness of organ donation.

"I have lost many close friends, know many others that are on the liver transplant list, and learn about others diagnosed every day in our community," said Vasichek.  "I am not really the type of person to sit around and wait for something to happen, I like to make things happen and be involved in the process. While playing hockey at UMD, I had the opportunity to learn leadership and problem solving skills from great leaders, coaches and teammates that I played with. When I was first diagnosed with PSC and after a short period of adjustment to a life with a new chronic disease, I felt like I wanted to contribute to a solution for myself and hopefully many others."

Vasichek's first step in that contribution will begin tomorrow night at AMSOIL Arena, where she hopes Bulldog fans will join her in the recognition of organ donation importance and her goal of bringing PSC awareness to forefront. 

"What I want people to know that have chronic diseases is that is okay to feel worried and it some cases pretty scared about an uncertain future," said Vasichek.  "But it does not have to be paralyzing, nor does the fight against it have to be grandiose.  The next person I tell could be someone that has PSC, and the next dollar I raise could be the cure."