It started even before the summer was over, and it was to become a year that would change Byron Rosen’s life.

Rosen, who will graduate with the senior class of Mercer Island High School tomorrow night, started out this school year wondering if he would even graduate.

Ten months later and after extensive rehab, Rosen is not only graduating, but he played baseball this spring.

“I’ll be thinking about everything I had to overcome, high school and all of school for that matter,” said Rosen about what he’ll be thinking about when he gets his diploma.

Rewinding to last August, Rosen was on an end-of-the-summer vacation in Sun Valley, Idaho, with fellow baseball teammate Kirby Ingram and his family. Suddenly Rosen began to feel sick, nauseous and dizzy.

“I felt sick, I had headaches, I couldn’t move my muscles very well, and I was having trouble walking,” said Rosen. Doctors in Sun Valley thought it was a very bad case of altitude sickness or dehydration, gave him IVs and sent him home. The next day, instead of feeling better, Rosen said he felt worse. So he got on a plane and went to Children’s Hospital in Seattle to see if they could figure out what was going on.

“I thought I would only be there for a few hours,” he said. “That turned into a day and then into six weeks.”

To get to the answer of what was wrong, Rosen underwent a battery of tests, including a spinal tap.

“They did a spinal tap, which was really painful,” he said. On the whole Rosen said he really doesn’t remember much, mostly because he was sedated during the process. Three weeks after going to Children’s, Rosen said doctors finally pinpointed what was going on. Acute cerebellar ataxia, or the sudden onset of uncoordinated muscle movement, was responsible for everything. While various treatments got underway, Rosen said he was basically blind, as opening his eyes made him nauseous and vomit.

“My eyes were really sensitive to light, so for the first month I was basically completely blind,” the senior said. “My muscles gave out, I couldn’t walk and I slurred a lot of my words.”

Finally, an experimental drug, IVIG (Intravenous immune globulin), proved effective. In total, Rosen spent six weeks in the hospital and missed the first month of school. He lost 30 pounds, requiring rehab to help regain the muscle he had lost during his stay at Children’s.

“I did rehab in the hospital. It was pretty painful, but it really helped with my recovery. I still don’t have some balance coordination that I used to.” But he said his friends helped him stay positive.

Throughout his hospitalization, Rosen said his friends, like Ingram, George Jiranek, Willy Reel and Jordan Richartz, would visit multiple times.

“It sucked missing out and laying in a bed in the hospital while the world was moving on,” said Rosen. He said he started school again at the beginning of October, jumping right back into his senior year.

“It was hard to readjust, especially with some of the classes that have a linear pattern; it was hard to miss the beginning,” said Rosen.

As things progressed and he got better, his thoughts turned to the spring and baseball season.

“I’ve played since I was 5-years-old,” he said. “I always had a bat and ball in hand.” But the question of whether or not he’d be able to play his senior season was questionable until just week’s before the season started.

“At first I was worried, but then I was determine to come back and play. It was scary at first with a ball that’s moving so fast.” Rosen largely plays pitcher, he said, but has occasionally played in the field.

“It was hard at first, but I got the hang of it,” he said. And so did the rest of the team. The season was a phenomenal success, with the Islanders winning their first co-KingCo title since 1998 and becoming the first team in the history of the program to go to the state tournament. They lost in the second round to Columbia River.

“It was cool to be apart of history,” he said. “We got a lot of respect from the people at school.”

As of Thursday night Rosen, along with the other seniors on the team, will walk across the stage to receive their diplomas, putting the cap on what has been a chaotic year.

“I’m going to miss the feeling of a home Friday game and the crowd in the MI section,” he said. Rosen will attend the University of Washington in the fall and plans on majoring in pre-med with hopes of becoming a psychiatrist. While his high school baseball career is over he said he plans to continue playing in softball leagues.

In his last week of classes Rosen said this year, if nothing else, has taught him about friendships.

“I learned about the value of good friends. A lot of them came to see me, especially Kirby, George, Jordan and Willy and I really appreciated it. That is a tough thing to do and they stepped up,” said Rosen. “I just live to give special thanks to Kirby and his family and Willy, George, Jordan and everyone else who was there. Teachers, counselors, principals and parents. Really the whole Mercer Island community.”