NL_010920

38 | January 9, 2020 | the new lenox patriot sports
newlenoxpatriotdaily.com
Bendy fighting opponents after fighting cancer
6
STEVE MILLAR, Sports Editor
The rounds and rounds of
chemotherapy Anthony Bendy
underwent while beating non-
Hodgkin lymphoma twice certainly
took a toll on the New
Lenox native’s body.
Bendy, a Lincoln-Way West
graduate, was not sure if he had
the strength to compete on the
collegiate wrestling mat, but he
wanted to try.
So, after enrolling at Joliet
Junior College in the spring of
2018, Bendy approached wrestling
coach A.J. Blahut about
joining the team. Bendy had
not wrestled competitively in
three years since finishing his
high school career with the Warriors.
“I just thought it would be
good for me physically and mentally,”
Bendy said. “It’s something
that made me feel normal. I
got to be a part of a team again.”
Bendy was not sure what Blahut’s
reaction would be, but the
coach was on board with him
joining the team the following
winter for the 2018-19 season.
“Coach was for it,” Bendy
said. “I don’t know if he knew
what to expect, but I think he
knew that I really wanted to do
it and he wanted to give me the
opportunity.”
Blahut knew how important it
was to Bendy.
“Wrestling is more of a personal
challenge for a lot of
athletes and sometimes I think
they’re trying to work out their
inner demons and compete
against themselves to see where
their limits are,” Blahut said. “I
think Anthony is making sure
that he’s fighting every day, and
he’s going to continue to fight regardless
of what’s thrown at him,
so who am I to take that away?
“If students have the heart and
dedication – those characteristics
that are needed not only to be a
successful wrestler but also successful
in life – you have to let
them make their own decision.”
When last season began,
Bendy was still undergoing
treatment. He had limited opportunities
to compete and
struggled when he did get on
the mat. He won just one match,
but it gave him a little taste of
what college wrestling was like,
and he was able to head into this
season with some experience
under his belt.
Now, a little more than six
months after undergoing what
he hopes will be his final cancer
treatment, Bendy, 23, is thriving
in wrestling. With the bulk of
the season still ahead of him, he
has already won four matches
for the Wolves.
“Last year, I lost a lot and
that was really tough mentally,”
Bendy said. “I wasn’t someone
who was used to losing a lot. I
had to get my mind back to a
winning zone, believing that I
can win. I’m starting to get that
swagger back this year, so that’s
been good.
“Last year, I felt like it was
more just trying to get my body
back. It was like that at the beginning
of this year, too. But
now I feel like my body is back
and then it became about getting
right mentally. Now, I feel good
all around and I just want to
take it day by day and see where
I can go with it.”
Fighting spirit
Bendy was first diagnosed
with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in
the summer of 2016, shortly after
his freshman year at Illinois
State, where he did not compete
in athletics.
“It was pretty scary when it
first happened,” he said. “I didn’t
really know a lot about it. I had
never seen anybody go through
treatment or anything like that. It
was more of the fear of the unknown
for me.”
Bendy underwent five rounds
of chemotherapy. After going
into remission, he re-enrolled at
Illinois State for the fall 2017
Lincoln-Way West graduate Anthony Bendy (left) competes during Joliet Junior College’s Purple vs.
White Wrestle-Off scrimmage. Bendy has returned to wrestling after battling cancer and has won four
matches for the Wolves. JOLIET JUNIOR COLLEGE ATHLETICS
semester, only for the cancer to
return that October. He deferred
treatment long enough to finish
the semester, then returned home
to begin more treatment in January
of 2018.
“The second time, there was
a lot less fear,” he said. “I knew
what to expect and I was ready to
face it head on. It was definitely
more frustrating than anything.
It was upsetting, but I knew
what I had to do and I had to get
through it.”
Bendy underwent a stem-cell
transplant, utilizing some of his
own cells that were harvested
early on. He then underwent
some intense chemotherapy
sessions. With his immune system
severely compromised by
the powerful treatment, he was
hospitalized for a month at the
University of Chicago’s Comer
Children’s Hospital, then quarantined
to his house for three
months after being released.
The toughness that Bendy displayed
on the mat at West was
extremely visible as he battled
the disease.
“I remember there were times
where I felt really tired, but I just
tried to think about what was at
stake,” Bendy said. “I always
thought about all the people who
were supporting me. My mom,
[Jennifer], was always there for
me and I always wanted to have
a smile on my face for her. I was
just trying to stay tough for the
people around me.”
Along the road to recovery,
Bendy developed a relationship
with Cubs star and cancer survivor
Anthony Rizzo.
“It was really cool,” Bendy
said. “He’s someone I look up to.
You see him on TV and think so
highly of him and then to meet
him in real life and share some
similar stories, it was great. He’s
so down-to-earth and easygoing
and he does a lot of great things
for the community.”
The path back to normal
Wrestling gave Bendy a
chance to be something other
than a cancer patient. He wanted
to be an athlete again, a teammate
again, and a winner again.
He is all of those things now
for the Wolves.
“It had been three years since I
competed, plus going through all
the treatment, so it was tough to
come back,” he said. “It’s been
nice seeing my progression the
last two years, but it’s definitely
been a long road.”
Bendy is set to earn his associate’s
degree from JJC in May. He
plans to attend Governors State
next and is considering becoming
a wrestling coach. While he
still has some choices to make
about his future, Bendy knows
he made one great one to return
to wrestling.
“I feel like it’s one of the best
decisions I’ve made in my life,”
he said. “I’ve had a lot of fun,
and I’m really happy that I tried
this.
“It’s nice to be getting back on
track after everything. It’s been a
long road, but I’ve learned a lot
along the way.”