The start of a beautiful friendship that formed because of a health condition

The good news with having a health condition is it can create strong relationships between people even decades apart in age.

Hersey teacher and coach Joe Pardun and sophomore Ben Meek are a great example.

Both have a form of neurofibromatosis, a genetic condition that causes tumors on nerve tissue, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Symptoms often are mild but may cause numerous complications including concerns with appearance, changes in vision and, in some cases, cancer.

“We live with it and we get regular scans,” said Pardun, a Hersey math teacher, assistant football and baseball coach, and assistant athletic director. As head football coach between 2014-21 Pardun led the Huskies to a 50-27 record with three quarterfinal appearances.

By 19 he realized he had it, like his parents and two of his three siblings. In Pardun’s case it was Schwannomatosis, a form of neurofibromatosis.

Pardun had tumor-removal surgery once, and while not in the habit of broadcasting his condition, the boys on the football team knew his situation. Following the surgery an interested parent asked about it.

The parent connected Pardun with Kristin Meek, whose son, Ben, was then in seventh grade. She sought a meeting between herself, Pardun and Ben, who at 4 was discovered to have neurofibromatosis, the first in his family.

“I said, ‘Of course,’” Pardun said.

During their talks Kristin Meek asked Pardun if he’d consider getting involved with the Shine a Light NF Walk, a national fundraiser for the Children’s Tumor Foundation.

“There’s no treatment right now,” Ben Meek said, “but with donations and research we’ll hopefully get something.”

Their family had started a team, the Mighty Meeks, that annually participated in the local Shine a Light event.

This year the NF Walk will be held 9 a.m.-noon Saturday at Deer Grove Forest Preserve in Palatine, shelters 3 and 4. People can still register at ctf.org/shine-a-light.

Pardun did get involved. Since joining the Mighty Meeks, Pardun has recruited the Hersey football team, which helps set up the site and forms a tunnel for participants.

And he’s become close with Ben Meek, now a football manager who assists the team in a variety of ways in the summer, during season practices and on game day.

Meek assisted Hersey athletic trainers in the winter and helped Pardun with junior varsity baseball in the spring. He also gave a class presentation on neurofibromatosis his freshman year.

“Helping out with everything, that’s what I’m good at,” Meek said.

For Pardun the Shine a Light Walk connects parts of his life he cherishes — family and friends, Hersey football, his relationship with Ben.

It even shapes how he feels about his condition.

“It just makes you appreciate what you have. I think Ben’s the same way, we don’t ever want to feel sorry for ourselves,” Pardun said.

“I truly feel in some ways it’s a blessing. It makes you appreciate the good times you have and focus on the things you can do, and not on the things you can’t do.”

On Sept. 5, Willowbrook’s Rachel Karos was named the first Chicago Bears girls flag football coach of the week.

In its announcement on social media, Bears Outreach called the former Naperville North athlete “a pioneer and champion for girls flag football throughout Illinois.”

Willowbrook, which won the 2022 state championship while flag football still was an emerging sport, won its first four games this season by a cumulative score of 191-0. The Warriors are 10-1, their sole loss a 6-0 squeaker against Lane Tech.

“Extremely honored to be the first to receive this honor for flag football,” Karos said.

“More than anything this award has motivated me to continue to make flag football a positive impact on our athletes at Willowbrook High School, and continue to do my part to help grow the game in Illinois and across the nation.”

Tigers in the hall

The 15th class of the Wheaton Warrenville South Athletic Hall of Fame will be inducted on Friday.

It’s another talented crew entering the Tigers’ hall, which includes athletes from Wheaton Community/Central, Wheaton Warrenville and Wheaton Warrenville South.

· Kelly Crosby (WW South 1997) mashed a lot of baseballs for the Tigers, a two-time all-DuPage Valley Conference outfielder who the Detroit Tigers selected in the 25th round of the 1977 amateur draft. In football, Crosby was a two-time state champion running back in 1995 and 1996, running for 126 yards and 3 touchdowns with a 78-yard touchdown reception in his final game.

· Jack Hutchinson (Community 1962), 6-foot-6, was an all-state track and field athlete in, naturally, high jump. He also was an all-state basketball player who played for Bradley’s 23-6 NIT champions in 1963-64.

· David McDonald (WW South 2014) twice won the boys state gymnastics all-around title, his junior and senior years. A seven-time state champion in individual events, he helped the Tigers earn state titles in both 2013 and 2014.

· Hope Schmelzle-Hoffman (WW South 2013) is remembered for her third leg on the Tigers’ 2012 Class 3A 3200-meter relay, in which she ran from fourth to first place on the way to a state record of 8 minutes, 59.03 seconds. That was among seven school records for Schmelzle, who later placed fifth in 2015 Big Ten Conference women’s cross country for Purdue.

· A four-time Daily Herald DuPage County All-Area Team pick and three-time captain in girls basketball before getting a full ride to DePaul, Meghan Waldron (WW South 2014) set the Tigers’ records for points, rebounds, assists and steals. Twice she earned Illinois Basketball Coaches Association first-team all-state honors.

doberhelman@dailyherald.com