Crohn's disease no match for Piketon's Andy Helton

PIKETON – Nearly a year and a half ago, Piketon's Andy Helton was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease — a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

The disease forces the body to attack healthy cells in the GI tract, causing inflammation and to create antibodies to work against itself.

Helton had a choice to make: let the disease run his life or persevere through the diagnosis and stay in control.

When most would take the easy road and hang their heads, Helton took the latter.

"It was right in the middle of soccer season when I found out and the doctors told me to quit playing sports altogether and all of that but I just couldn't give it up," Helton said. "I refused to give up. I felt terrible for the first couple of weeks and was never 100 percent in my health. But I knew that I needed to be out there. I didn't want to let my teammates down and I wanted to prove to myself that I could in fact do it."

While the disease is still very much present to this day, Helton refuses to succumb to its tightening grip. And thankfully for the Redstreaks' baseball team, Helton, one of the strongest athletes in the area — mentally and physically — is in their dugout.

"Andy is an upbeat, fun guy. He's always having fun and joking around," Piketon coach Gene Bumgardner said. "And he knows his role. When things are going bad, we look to Andy to get our guys up. That's probably more important than anything else on our team. Morale and attitude leads to effort. Without a guy like Andy on our side, things go from bad to worse. Andy has the unique ability to get our spirits up at any given time."

That support goes both ways, as Andy's teammates embrace his optimistic outlook and yearn for him to be a part of everything they do.

"I can remember when Andy tried out for the basketball team and didn't make it a couple of years ago," Bumgardner said. "The seniors went to the head coach at the time and told him to put Andy back on the team. It's one of those things where Andy is well loved by his teammates and really everybody at Piketon High School. He knows that even though he may not play everyday, he's just as important as our starting pitcher and catcher."

The Redstreaks have not only embraced their teammate but they've used his situation as a means of motivation.

"Something like that is a tough thing to handle, especially at the age he was diagnosed," Bumgardner said. "Your whole world changes. The way you eat and the way you take care of yourself. But all of the kids are aware of it and they embrace it. And it kind of drives our team. Andy is kind of like the life bud of our team."

While Helton may not always be making a diving catch in center field to save a run or the hero at the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning, he is constantly performing his assigned duties to the best of his abilities.

"I'm just always up. I never sit down," Helton said. "I'm always against the fence. As soon as our team goes out to play defense, I pump them up and I'll even give them speeches before they go out there. I'm always up and at it."

Although there are some instances where the senior does indeed excel on the field like his band of brothers. And those times are some of Bumgardner's fondest memories as a head coach.

"This year, he got his first varsity hit and that was awesome to see," Bumgardner said. "Last year, he got his first varsity at bat and he walked. As he's running down the first base line, without missing a stride, he turns and points at our dugout like he'd just hit a walk-off shot in the World Series or something. You can't help but smile. But probably my favorite story about Andy happened the other day. He texted me and told me that he'd been accepted at Shawnee State. To me, that's more important to me than all of things my guys have done on the ball field."

Through the diagnoses, the memories, the pain and the jubilation stories, Helton has had one constant: his support system.

"I call Kane Dixon all of the time," Helton said. "Right when I first found out I had Crohn's, I called him and we talked for probably and hour and a half and just talked everything out. And my mom and grandparents have taken care of me and take me everywhere. They were in the room when I found out I had the disease. There was a lot of crying and questions about how I'd get by with it and how was I going to survive with it. And I was pretty disappointed. But I've gotten through that. It's easy to get your head down. But my friends, teammates and family keep me from doing that."

His friends, teammates and family were in the stands to see Helton get his first base knock.

"When I got that first hit, I closed my eyes and hit a ball right between the shortstop and third base," Helton said. "I ran to first and fell a little bit and picked myself back up and got to second. As I was standing there, I looked at Coach Gene and said 'thank you' and he said 'you earned it'. Once I made it there, everybody was going crazy. And it just goes to show you that just because people tell you that you can't do something doesn't mean you're not able to."

Just because people tell you that you can't do something doesn't mean you're not able to.

A sentence that sums up Andy Helton's character to a tee.