CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - UNI men's basketball will have an additional team captain for its game against Northern Colorado, UNI freshman Jamie Straka. Jamie is battling a rare condition of Aplastic Anemia, a condition which his bone marrow stops producing the three major types of blood cells: red cells, white cells, and platelets.
Jamie was diagnosed in 2005 when he was just five years old. After researching the disease, treatment facilities and meeting with a family whose child had also been diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia, the Straka family decided the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee was going to be the best fit for their upcoming battle.