HUNTINGTON — Front and center, there they are every Thursday night through the fall.
Michael Dean, Todd Williamson and a group of fellow thirtysomething buddies gather at Gino’s Pub for pizza and wings. The main event, however, is good old football talk headed by Marshall University football coach Mark Snyder, conducting his weekly call-in radio show from an elevated stage.
“Todd from Kenova” normally offers the first question, while Dean takes it all in. Win or lose, Dean is a call-in show constant.
It’s simply made sense, then, that Dean was on the receiving end of the line when Snyder called the program’s enthusiastic supporter. This connection was unique and transcended the game; Snyder, at the request of “Todd from Kenova,” phoned Dean’s hospital room, where the 33-year-old was being treated for acute leukemia.
‘Cold water to the face’
It was springtime, a period when you recharge the batteries and shrug off the winter blahs. It wasn’t as easy this year for Dean, who couldn’t seem to shake repeated seemingly minor illnesses.
He thought little of it, but family gradually grew concerned. Then came first-hand concern; his gums consistently bled while brushing his teeth.
“I’m close with my mother and I kept getting sick and she thought I might have diabetes because I have it in my family, so I went to the doctor,” Dean said.
Then came the call on April 30. Dean was starting his day when his physician requested an immediate sit-down.
“I said, ‘No, I’m going to work,’” Dean said. “He said you need to get in here.”
Dean’s white blood cell count was half of the lower end’s normal rate. It’s frankly surprising that he managed to manage a daily workload; but within hours he was steered toward Cabell Huntington Hospital, trying to absorb the surreal.
“It didn’t sink in,” Dean said. “Is this really happening?
“It’s like cold water to the face when you first hear it. You’re in shock at first.”
Herd football family huddles
Family and friends felt the same. News, good or not so much, spreads fast in the Tri-State, and Dean’s circumstance quickly was a top concern.
Williamson was moved to ask Snyder for a phone call. Recognizing Dean from the call-in show front row and having helped battle cancer within his immediate family, Snyder’s response was immediate.
“He’s one of those big-time Marshall fans,” Snyder said. “And those people are special. And those who are there through the hard times – I have a very good memory. I just see his face there all the time.
“He gives up his time to be at the radio show. It’s easy for me to give up my time to send some words of encouragement and try to lift his spirits a little bit.”
Dean figured a friend was having some fun when “this is Mark Snyder” was heard from his hospital phone.
“The first thing I thought was, ‘is someone pulling my leg?’” Dean said. “I asked ‘is this a joke?’”
Mike, this is Chad
It wasn’t a joke, nor was it when Marshall men’s basketball coach Donnie Jones phoned in his support. The calls kept coming from surprising sources.
At a local T-ball game, Williamson was chatting with former Marshall football All American Aaron Ferguson. Dean’s condition was mentioned, but the conversation didn’t especially stick with Williamson.
That soon changed when Dean delivered the news: Chad Pennington called his direct line at Cabell Huntington. Pennington, Marshall’s all-time leading passer and now the New York Jets veteran quarterback, was a Herd teammate with Ferguson.
“We were taking down phone numbers — where Michael was staying — while we were talking but it didn’t dawn on me until he told me Chad had called,” Williamson said. “Then I put two and two together.”
Again, Dean first checked to make certain he wasn’t being Punk’d.
“He called that morning and said, ‘this is Chad Pennington,’ and the first thing I said was, ‘are you pulling my leg?” Dean said with a laugh.
Dean recognized the voice, and they settled into an extended conversation. Like with Snyder, Dean the fan didn’t talk the game with the former Heisman Trophy finalist.
“Chad knew everything about my condition and for 10, 15 minutes we didn’t talk football,” he said. “He asked about me and told me how concerned he was.”
Aug. 28 circled on the calendar
Dean admits to the sporadic moment of “getting down,” but remains overwhelming upbeat.
He’s in the midst of the second of what likely will be four chemotherapy treatments, and voices nothing but optimism.
“You can feel sorry for yourself or you can fight this leukemia or whatever it is and say it’s not going to get me,” Dean said. “I’ve had great support from good friends and family.”
Dean has earned that support throughout his 33 years.
In the social awkwardness that is high school life, it’s rare that a senior is drawn to buddy-up a sophomore. Williamson did just that at Ceredo-Kenova High, befriending the younger Dean.
“A lot of it just goes back to Michael,” Williamson said. “I’ve never heard a person say a bad thing about him.”
Dean, likewise, has plenty of good to say to his considerable support system. He thanks “the great staff” at Cabell Huntington, where he’s turned the corner toward recovery. Outpatient care will follow chemotherapy, but overall “things are going in the right direction,” Dean said.
That path leads to Aug. 28, Thursday evening, when Snyder will host his inaugural 2008 call-in show. Without question, Dean plans to sit front and center alongside Williamson and the crew.
“This year I want to get more involved with the questions,” he said.
“We’ve had the same discussion about that first call-in show, and I can not wait,” Williamson said. “He wants to meet coach Snyder and thank him. He doesn’t know how much that meant.
“I don’t know what to expect, but that first call-in show is something to look forward to.”
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