For many young girls, the biggest problem with being 12 is figuring out that boys hit you because they like you. But when Kassandra Crokos, or Kandy as her friends call her, was 12, she was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis.

Autoimmune hepatitis is a disease that causes a body’s immune system to attack liver cells and cause the liver to be inflamed, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse website. At such a young age, Crokos found out she would be fighting this disease for the rest of her life.

Crokos is described by people who know her as quiet and reserved in high school, which carried over into college. Rebecca Mularski, Crokos’s Big in the Phi Mu sorority, remembers the first time she met her.

“I first met her [Kandy] at sorority recruitment and when she came through the door my Big looked at me and said, ‘Why is she here? It doesn’t seem like she should be here,'” Mularski said. “I told my Big, ‘She is going to be my Little, because she is special and no one sees that.'”

Jamie Neal, one of Crokos’s Phi Mu sisters, has fond memories of her first semester at Ashland University and a lot of that is thanks to Crokos.

“She [Kandy] lived on my floor in Myers my first semester here,” Neal said. “There were four of us that ended up going Phi Mu. We also had [Brenda] Reeves’s Lifetime Wellness class…so we cried and screamed every day about it together.”

Mularski didn’t know about Crokos’s condition for a while, but doesn’t remember exactly when she found out. She does know that she was always amazed by Crokos and her optimism.

“It’s an enlightening experience to watch her deal with everything and still laugh, still hug,” Mularski said.

Crokos came into the fall semester ready and excited for school, even though she was beginning to feel rather ill.

“She refused to take the semester off,” Mularski said. “She is the first in her family to go to college and she wants to be a teacher someday.”

Only two weeks into the semester, Crokos began feeling ill and started missing classes because she was so sick.

“Even when Kandy was on campus, she was so sick she couldn’t go,” Neal said. “Her health really went downhill fast. Classes were just not in the cards.”

Still, it took a lot of convincing before Crokos’s friends could get her to ask for help.

“Her meds weren’t working very well, but she was stubborn and didn’t want to go to the doctors,” Mularski said. “She has always had the strength to deal with things.”

Neal said she really pushed for Crokos to seek help.

“It took a lot of begging to get her to go to the Health Center the first time,” Neal said. “I had been on her about it for two weeks before she finally went.”

Crokos ended up taking quite a journey, bouncing from the Health Center, to Samaritan Hospital, to Children’s Hospital and then finally to the OSU Medical Center. Crokos was allowed to return to AU, as long as her friends kept an eye on her.

“She came back and we watched her,” Mularski said. “She started sleeping a lot and then turned yellow. We took her back to OSU.”

When the girls arrived at OSU, they were told the devastating news. Crokos needed a transplant. Her liver was failing and there was no other real alternative to saving her. Mularski asked if Crokos could just receive part of a liver, because that is the only organ in the body that can regenerate itself and it would be easier to find than a whole one. She was told no, because the autoimmune hepatitis would not allow it.

Fear and emotions raced through those who knew Crokos, especially the Phi Mu sisters. The only person who seemed to be positive and happy was Crokos herself.

“She was always positive even when she wasn’t remembering things or didn’t know what was going on – she has a great attitude,” Mularski said.

Neal agrees that Crokos is larger than life.

“She is amazing,” Neal said. “She finds the funny no matter what.”

Even though she remained optimistic, Crokos’s health continued to decline and no transplant was found. Greek Life quickly leapt into action supporting Crokos and the Phi Mus as best they could, especially the Alpha Phis, who raised money and collected gas cards to help Crokos’s friends drive to see her. Mularski said that she was calling EMTs around the county, talking about liver transplants to send to OSU, but things weren’t looking good.

Nov. 2 the Phi Mus got the call saying that Crokos had 48 hours to five days to live.

“We kept praying that she would get one [a liver],” Mularski said. “I called her every day. I went down and saw her that Friday (Nov. 5), and I was losing hope. I needed to see her one last time. There I am wearing an ugly hospital gown and gloves. All she wanted was a hug and to talk, about Phi Mu, about my art show, anything to do with the outside world.”

Nov. 6, the Phi Mus had initiation and right after it was over, the phone rang.

“She [Kandy] called my phone and we were all standing around literally five minutes after the ceremony,” Neal said. “I have never felt so much joy. She was crying and laughing and thanking everything from God to the clouds for her liver. We had her on speaker and all started to cry hearing her cry.”

Mularski said it was such an amazing feeling to have initiation and Crokos’s liver come through, all on the same night.

Nov. 7, Crokos’s liver was delivered. The Phi Mus and Crokos named it ‘Pedro’.

Crokos’s operation went very well and she was out of ICU by Nov. 15, with only minor complications.

“Her first thing was to see everybody,” Mularski said. “I know she would say she has been given such a gift, it’s overwhelming for her. It won’t change who she is. She has the ability to go to college and do this.”

Crokos may be out of the woods, but it’s going to take a while before she is AU-ready.

“She wants to come back as soon as possible and she won’t miss an opportunity to do so,” Mularski said.

Neal was asked if she thought Crokos would be coming back anytime soon.

“I wish she could but I don’t think so,” Neal said. “For a while it will be because she can’t get around, and then because of the germs…She is an ed. major and will make an amazing teacher…so I know that…she will get her degree and teach.”

Crokos is well on her way to returning to AU and continuing on with her life. And she will always be herself, Mularski said.

“She speaks for herself – she says, ‘I’m not dumb, I take it all in and respond.'”