The new year brings with it many things. A chance to start fresh. A new beginning. A sense of hope. This rings true for one of PHS’s very own, Resource Aide Denny Followell. Followell has been a friendly face throughout the halls of the high school as well as Throop Elementary for a number of years, his enduring smile never quite letting onto what he was going through outside of the classroom.

In December 1999, after a typical Friday working as a substitute teacher at PHS, Followell was unprepared for what the coming Sunday would bring. He woke in the morning feeling more ill than he ever had up to that point, his sickness so severe he had to be taken to the hospital where he nearly lost consciousness.

“I knew something was wrong,” said Followell.

This incident led to a diagnosis he hoped to never get: cancer. More specifically, rectal cancer that had affected his colon as well. Followell underwent a surgery where doctors discovered his cancer was stage four, the most aggressive type it could have been.

“The kind that if they didn’t get it taken care of, it would move quickly and in less than a year, I would be dead,” said Followell.

For the best chance of survival, Followell had to undergo a grueling treatment plan which lasted for over six months. He went through 28 radiation treatments, “a breeze” when compared to the seven different rounds of chemotherapy he also had to endure.

Followell found himself growing sicker with each treatment, in so much pain at times that he screamed. With the hardships piling up and his well-being, both mental and physical, declining, Followell reached a point where he thought there was no coming back — where he thought he was going to die.

“I grabbed [my wife] a couple times and said, ‘I don’t think I’m gonna make it.’ I really didn’t. And I said, ‘I want you to grab [our daughter]. Hold onto her and go on with your life because I don’t think I’m gonna be here.’ That’s how close I came,” said Followell.

Followell lost hope. He was battling not only cancer, but depression that came on as a result of his struggles. In particular, Followell grappled with his confinement to a hospital bed and inability to work with students. The thought of returning to the classroom was what kept him going, the possibility that he would get to do what he loved again if he just beat his cancer.

“I said, ‘Hey, I’m gonna beat this thing. I want to get back to my kids,’” said Followell.

Followell met his goal and has slowly but surely been getting back to normal. He has been able to reintegrate PHS into his life now that his health has improved.

In remission as of July of last year, 2023 holds endless possibilities for Followell’s future.

He is still keeping his health in check with regular scans and tests and will have to do so for the rest of his life, but for him, it is a small price to pay to get to live as he had previously.

Followell wants to extend his gratitude to those whom he believes he could not have gotten through this fight without: his wife, daughter, medical team, colleagues, students and God.

“I give God the credit. He put these doctors here. He put the school here. He put the kids here. I love you guys tremendously,” said Followell.

This story was originally published on PHS Media News on February 8, 2023.