[blockquote]I recently spent some time with Glenn Helwig. Just one ordinary dad talking with another ordinary dad. At least that’s what he would say. But I think not.[/blockquote]
Last October, NASCAR great and Owensboro native Darrell Waltrip dropped in for a visit at the Helwig’s home. On February 5, Glenn and his son Jacob were able to watch the Giants and the Patriots fight it out at Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis. At the time of this interview, he and his family are preparing for a trip to the Daytona 500. Sounds great doesn’t it? Like a dad making some great memories.
“I would trade all of this away in a heartbeat,” Glenn stated to me through a gravelly voice.
This family is locked in an extraordinary ordeal. He and his wife, Tina, are caring for their only son Jacob as he is challenged with a rare form of cancer. Only one in 350,000 have Rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancerous tumor that attacks the soft tissue of the body. As rare as it is, it is the most common soft tissue tumor in children. Jacob was 16 when this was diagnosed.
It was March 9, 2011, the very day that Glenn himself was released from being treated for a gastric ailment at Owensboro Medical Health Systems. Jacob’s mom picked him up from Daviess County High School that day. She grew anxious about her son’s labored breathing and brought him to the emergency room. One thing led to another and they found themselves being flown down to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt Universiy for diagnosis and treatment. Both he and Tina accompanied Jacob and were able to stay in special lodgings for families at the Vanderbilt medical center. Still weak from his own hospital stay, Glenn and Tina met with the doctors the next morning.
Imagine being in that room when the doctor says your son has cancer.
“Of course, your first thought is, ‘Is my son going to live?’,” Glenn said. “But I immediately thought of all the new treatments they keep coming out with for cancer.”
Coping isn’t an option…it’s a necessity. But how do you cope in the pain and shock of a disease like cancer?
“We are Christians,” Glenn said. “We have a wonderful church family. We couldn’t survive, not on a daily basis, but an hourly basis without God’s shadow over us every single hour of every single day. We can’t do this on our own. We pray for God to give the doctors knowledge. We pray that God gives him (Jacob) a full life. It’s beyond us…just beyond us.”
As you would imagine, it didn’t take long for this news to spread.
“The community has been so good,” Glenn said. “They have supported us with money, gift cards, gas cards. It’s expensive traveling to Nashville and back as often as we do, having to stay in hotels and eat out.”
“But I don’t think that the community understands how God is using them to care for us. Everything good comes from God. There isn’t an hour in the day that we don’t reflect and pray. We just can’t do it without God.”
Glenn’s comments reminded me that our God is a father too. He is a God who understands the love of a parent:
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!” Matthew 7
Jacob is an A-B student and would not be able to maintain that without the support from Daviess County High School. Twice a week, a teacher/tutor visits Jacob in his home.
“This traveling teacher has been just marvelous,” Glenn said. “It’s amazing how people are when they find out that a kid’s come down with something like this. They just are so caring and they don’t prod or try to find out exactly what the bottom-line is; they just don’t ask that. They are curious about how he is doing right now. People are really concerned. Say what you want, but we see that people just step up and help each other.”
And Glenn’s employer is no different. When they discovered the challenges facing this family, WaxWorks, where Glenn has been employed for over 20 years, adjusted his schedule to accommodate Jacob’s caretaking. Instead of having to quit work and lose a steady income, they allowed him to change his hours.
“I am the only employee allowed to work at night,” Glenn said. “I go in about 3:00 p.m. and work until 11:00 p.m. When Tina gets off (she is a Teacher at Highland Elementary), I am able to meet with her for about 30 minutes and update her on Jacob. I care for him in the mornings and daytime while she cares for him in the afternoon and evenings. It’s tough, but it’s what you do.”
What about that trip to the Super Bowl? That was compliments of Independence Bank. They paid for everything; the transportation, lodging, food and tickets.
“Jacob can walk, but not for long distances,” Glenn said. “Even in Indy, all the people were so caring and helpful, accommodating his wheelchair.”
The Helwig’s trip to Daytona is through the Make a Wish Foundation. But concerns about contracting infections are always present, especially right after treatments. For various unconnected reasons, Jacob’s doctors have postponed those treatments until after the trip. But Glenn doesn’t see this as coincidence, rather as God’s providence.
In Glenn, I see a man who would do anything for his son. I see a man of courage (refer to February’s Advice from an Ordinary Dad). I see a man who believes in God’s love during a family’s most profound trial.
Even the most modest and humble parents enjoy watching their kids excel in sports or school or the arts. We love to watch our children achieve and get awards and recognition. We are so proud of our kids and that’s okay. But Glenn is a man who is proud of the son he and Tina raised because of his son’s faith, strength and courage. No state championship or class status could ever come close to that accomplishment.
“Jacob is so brave,” Glenn said. “He has never wanted to give up. Frankly, I don’t know what we would do if he ever said he’s done. God better intervene, because we just wouldn’t be able to deal with that. But I know he’s going to have such an amazing testimony to tell other teenagers, college friends and his kids someday. It’s encouraging to know he’ll be able to share his faith through this horrible ordeal.”
I spent over an hour visiting with Glenn, but it seemed like minutes. Everywhere I turned within the conversation, God was present. As powerful as cancer can be, Glenn and his family trust in a greater power. Ordinary dad…or extraordinary dad? You decide.
“People say we have been an inspiration,” Glenn said. “That’s humbling to hear but they would do the same thing. We are doing what anyone would do. I am not a hero. I am not special— just one of God’s children. God is showing me His way because I know I’d screw it all up if I did it my way.”