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4.27. Really? No one was too big for him to attack.. If it were a game of touch football, he still would have scored. Though only 5-foot-7, 164 pounds, Wedemeyer played wide receiver and blocking back at Michigan State and took part in the Spartans' memorable 10-10 tie with Notre Dame in 1966, the first game local fans saw televised live from the Mainland. Today he remains coach of the freshman-sophomore team at Los Gatos despite being unable to speak. All these people who look perfect and yet are broken inside.. But all of them boil down to this: He always made people feel more joyful being around him despite the incurable amyotrophic lateral sclerosis that trapped his fully functioning brain inside a totally limp body. Those plans changed when Wedemeyer found himself drawn toward helping kids. When its time to leave, Wedemeyer is hoisted into the van by three people, including a nurse who holds a portable air bag to his throat until his respirator is plugged into the vehicles generator. She would eventually see a specialist at the Cleveland Clinic, who told her it was triggered by the virus causing COVID-19 a very rare condition called Post-COVID Viral Gastroparesis. Charlie Wedemeyer was the Hawaii prep athlete of the decade in the 1960s after starring in football, basketball and baseball at Punahou High School. As he moves from the strong athlete to a man whose degenerative disease causes slurred speech and a loss of motor skills, Nouri gives this role a quiet dignity. But while the procedures fortified his body with food and oxygen, they cost Wedemeyer the ability to speak, eat and breathe on his own. The Honolulu Advertiser's Hawai'i Prep Athlete of the Decade. When the cheerleading coach broke the news to Katrina Kohel that she was the only one left on the cheer squad, Kohel was determined to compete anyway. But after the prayer, she said, it was in full bloom. Charlie and Lucy Wedemeyer wrote his autobiography, Charlie's Victory, with Gregg Lewis. In November, she began requiring intravenous fluids for additional nutrients for 12 hours each day, a process called total parenteral nutrition (TPN). Between Two Women. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Three Bay Area men, including justice reform activist, plead guilty in Norteo RICO murder case, Californias hardest to book campground isnt in a famous park. February 1978: Diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrigs disease, and given two to three years to live. After the marrying Lucy, his high school sweetheart, the couple moved to Northern California where Wedemeyer took a job as a teacher and football coach at Los Gatos High School. While working at the school, Wedemeyer was diagnosed at age 30 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. His whole ego and sense of accomplishment were all wrapped up by what he did on the field. I met him. Goodbye, Columbus. I learned a lot from him.. Somehow, the barriers always come down, dismantled by a man who cant even talk. He's not finished. Maybe he doesnt know any other way. Insurance once covered 16 hours a day of home care, but the Wedemeyers now struggle to maintain 11 or 12. Through 41 years of marriage, Lucy has remained funny, upbeat, vivacious and strong, even if she privately struggled at times to cope. He went to see to Dr. Frank Griffin, the team physician for the Wildcats, and the news was frightening. Charlie Wedemeyer and Lucy Dangler, people with drastically different backgrounds, met at the bookstore on the first day of their sophomore year at Punahou There are times when practice gets hard, hot double days, struggles that you face both on and off the football field, Edwards told The Times last fall. But each season the San Francisco 49ers remind Bay Area fans the importance of a high school coach. In October 2020, 22-year-old Samantha Cercena was looking forward to finishing her senior year at Ohio University and graduating in the spring with a nursing degree, her childhood dream. For a 32-year-old man with incredible athletic skills, it was difficult news to accept. He went on to star for coach Duffy Dougherty at Michigan State University, where he represented the Spartans in the East-West Shrine Game and the Hula Bowl, and marry his high school sweetheart, Lucy Dangler. 1966: Marries high school sweetheart, Lucy Dangler. As the morning sunlight melts into the living room of the Wedemeyers Los Gatos home, nurse Angela Palelei-Bustos wedges herself to the side of Wedemeyers bed. Despite her protestations in the script, Dawber's character comes off as a saint who easily handles a very difficult situation. I was the one who said, Probably two or three years. Thats what the medical books said at the time. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}330046N 800509W / 33.0126715N 80.0859218W / 33.0126715; -80.0859218. replies a convincing Charlie. Born Feb. 19, 1946, in Honolulu, Wedemeyer was a football star while growing up in Hawaii and at Michigan State University. Many of his former players consider him their most inspirational coach by far, among them Buffalo Bills quarterback Trent Edwards, who played at Los Gatos High and later Stanford University. Whenever theres an obstacle to overcome, its much easier to think how hard it would be if you were in his shoes. A lot of us dads dont know how to say, I love you,' Wedemeyer told him. Wedemeyer's story was crying to be made into a TV film. He's working on another documentary, although the past year has been more difficult for him, according to Lucy. And hed heard even more stories about his dad, Charlie Wedemeyer, Hawaiis high school athlete of the decade in the 1960s who earned a football scholarship to Wedemeyer was never going to cooperate. "From all of these experiences, she is going to be a great advocate for her patients," he says. Weakened by her ordeal, Cercena could not complete her final coursework to graduate in May. Offensively, he was honestly ahead of his time at the high school level, said Cattolico. IRS delays tax deadline for Bay Area, but California hasn't followed: What should you do? After his graduation from Punahou in 1965 he attended Michigan State University where he played for coach Duffy Daugherty. Wedemeyer, a sophomore backup quarterback and holder, was one of three Hawaiians on the Spartans 1966 national championship team along with senior kicker/punter Dick Kenney and junior fullback Bob Apisa. Cercena, of Columbus, Ohio, became ill with respiratory symptoms and body aches. He was a high school athlete and was quarterback of the Punahou The last two weeks were actually a gift to me, kind of getting us ready, his wife said. He can do it all.. 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He just gave you a look.. Theres a place in our hearts for Charlie; hes touched so many lives., Rabitz is a 1991 Los Gatos grad. Los Gatos won a sectional championship. Kyle Chandlers Wife Kathryn Chandler Professional Life The film, no doubt, had special significance to its producer and director, Roy Campanella II. Wedemeyers favorite joke: When a nervous new nurse carefully suctions his throat, he rolls his head to one side and contorts his face in agony. He was teaching in Flint, Mich., when in 1970 he accepted an educational fellowship in San Jose, and a teaching and coaching job at Los Gatos two years later. Some ALS families dont go anywhere, but lifes too short.. "And then about a week and a half in, all of a sudden, I just was not able to keep anything down at all," she recalls. "I have kind of always loved emergency," she says. I think it is our greatest accomplishment.". ", Cercena hopes to return to nursing school in the spring of 2023 and finish her training soon after, she says, "barring any other emergency situations. "Getting a second chance to play them was a gift, thanks to Roosevelt.". He cannot eat, breathe or speak on his own. Charlie Wedemeyer was more than just a coach,, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Charlie Wedemeyer was more than just a coach, so much more. We literally begged the doctor to change the order, she said. Their stories are what fuel us, Lucy said. While Wedemeyer was best known for football, Springbett said the coach was instrumental in getting a baseball exchange program going with his high school in Hawaii. There are so many great Charlie Wedemeyer stories. "Everything that Samantha's been through, at such a young age, she is going to be an amazing nurse. Its a heavy burden, Griffin said. Kaulukukui stocked Michigan States 1966 national championship roster with three Hawaiians who faced Notre Dame in the Game of the Century, Nov. 19, 1966 at Spartan Stadium. Still, restaurant excursions remain one of his greatest pleasures. Besides his wife, Wedemeyer is survived by their daughter, Carri, and son, Kale; and seven grandchildren. A memorial service will be held June 19 at Calvary Church in Los Gatos, and Wedemeyer will be laid to rest in Honolulu. The Hidden. Scott Downs, Los Gatos assistant principal and former frosh-soph football head coach, worked with Wedemeyer for nine seasons. "We've had a bit of a bumpy ride since Charlie had kidney failure more than a year ago," she said. The PBS documentary about the Wedemeyers, One More Season, won an Emmy Award. It was an absolute miracle, Lucy said. When Charlie attended games, he sat in the end zone so he could see blocking schemes. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot concedes defeat, Southern California home sales fall to all-time low, Denver just got a direct flight to this Caribbean island known for music history and vegetarian cooking, NYC Mayor Adams dismisses need to separate church and state, declares himself a servant of God, Zero-calorie sweetener linked to heart attack and stroke, study finds, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. The first was the 1988 CBS-made-for-TV movie, Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story. Michael Nouri played Charlie and Pam Dawber played Lucy. Wedemeyer was a successful coach at Los Gatos High School, even after being diagnosed at 30 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Of course they did. They would go by and touch Charlie after they were introduced before the game.. Springbett said Wedemeyer would not tolerate swearing on the field. Would dismantling Interstate 980 repair damage to Black neighborhoods? Early in his battle with the disease, he lost the ability to walk and speak. IRS delays tax deadline for Bay Area, but California hasn't followed: What should you do? Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Lucy said Daugherty stayed in touch with Wedemeyer throughout his post-Michigan State days. Wedemeyers body deteriorated. WebWedemeyer was the last of nine children born to Bill and Ruth Wedemeyer. 1977: Named head football coach at Los Gatos. "The day before I got a feeding tube, I was at clinical for eight hours giving vaccines outside in 7-degree weather," she says. Forget about it. Ive been around Hawaii athletics for most of my adult life,, said Pal Eldredge, 62, a former Wedemeyer teammate and later a coach at Punahou. Damage to Black neighborhoods amazing nurse she said, it was in full bloom Named football! School level, said Cattolico it would be if you were in his battle with the,. 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