by Jody Kerzman  |  Submitted Photos

As many coaches do, Brent DeKok remembers life’s big moments in relation to sports.

On January 24, 2017, Brent had a seizure.

“It was the day after we played in Jamestown,” he recalls.

On February 7, 2017, he had brain surgery.

“That was two days after the Super Bowl.”

February 14, 2017, he was back on the sidelines coaching his team.

“I was back on the bench a week to the day after I had brain surgery. And we won that game against Bismarck High.”

In much the same way he reviews game film, the St. Mary’s Central High School boys basketball coach has replayed the events of those days many times.

“It’s crazy how much has changed in the last year,” he says. “The day I had a seizure I remember talking to my dad on the phone and telling him I didn’t feel well. I felt like maybe I might throw up. I was home with two of my kids, who were five years old and six months old at the time. I remember buckling my six month old into her bouncy chair and then the next thing I knew I was standing in front of the bathroom mirror wondering what had just happened.”

Brent had a cut above his eye; he’d had a seizure, passed out, and hit his head on the door jam when he fell. He was unconscious for about half an hour. In the emergency room later that day, the doctors found two tumors, one in Brent’s brain and another in his chest. Days later they would discover a third tumor above his left knee. Brent was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a form of cancer usually found in adolescents.

“It’s rare in adults,” Brent explains. “My doctor’s first words to me were, ‘You have a very rare tumor.’

“After the surgery my doctors told me I should get back to doing things that are positive in my life and things that bring me joy,” he says. “Coaching was good therapy. It gave me something else to focus on. It gave me something to pour my passion into. Yes, I had cancer, but for two hours a day I could completely forget about my health issues. That was a blessing.”

Brent’s St. Mary’s Saints pulled off an upset against Dickinson in the first round of the WDA tournament, but lost in a state qualifying game. While the basketball season came to a screeching halt, Brent says it was the beginning of a renewal of his faith.

“Faith was always something that was there, but not always at the forefront of my life. This past year was God giving me a wake up call.

“Cancer has changed my perspective, but I’ve always said a big part of why I coach is to help develop these young men. Wins are awesome, but it’s just a game and there are bigger things in life than wins and losses.”

It’s a bigger picture his players can see clearly now. When Brent was first diagnosed with cancer, all 15 of his players crowded into his hospital room.

“That meant so much to me,” he remembers. “So many former players have reached out to me and have been a huge support system. It’s amazing how many people God has put in front of me and shown me that care for me. A bunch of my fellow coaches organized a pancake breakfast for me and the number of people that showed up there was humbling. I can’t express in words how grateful I am for all those people. Just the other day a woman stopped me in the grocery store and asked if I was ‘that coach’ she had seen on TV. I said yes, and she told me she’d been praying for me. That’s just so cool and says so much about this community. High school sports are a pretty big deal in Bismarck and I’m lucky to be on this stage during this fight. I feel like I have 30,000 people supporting me and praying for me.”

Over the summer, Brent did six weeks of radiation for tumors in his brain and his leg. He has also done 14 rounds of chemo since his diagnosis in March 2017.

“I was never once nauseous or sick from those treatments. The biggest issue I had was losing my hair and some fingernails,” he says. “I’ve been very blessed. I believe that is a result of prayer. So many people praying and supporting me has brought me through this. I give all the glory to God for that.”

February 12, 2018 will be the next big day on Brent’s highlight reel of memorable days. Three days after his Saints lost to the Bismarck High Demons, Brent headed back to Mayo for a checkup, his first since October.

“My PetScan showed there are no new spots and no signs of any activity from the spot in my chest. My doctors want to remove that mass so they can get it under a microscope and determine for sure if any cancer cells remain. If so, I may end up doing radiation to that spot. If there is no cancer, I might be done with this.”

Brent’s surgery is tentatively scheduled for the week of March 12; in relation to sports, that’s the week after the state Class A basketball tournament.   

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