Inspiring -- Posted 11/20/00 http://www.mikementzer.com/quotesarchivenew.html
Dear Mike:
This letter of thanks is about six and a half years overdue. I started training at age 15, and like you did as a youngster, I fell in love with body building. Having decent genetics, I gained about 30 ponds in my first two years of training. I was extremely fortunate to make those kind of gains, because I didn't have clue about proper training. During my senior year in college, after six years of no meaningful progress it became apparent to me, that I knew nothing of value about exercise. I began looking for a better way, and that's when I read an article that you had written for Muscle Media 2000, and the rest you could say is history. I didn't even need to try a Heavy Duty workout to be convinced. From the moment I started reading that first article, I knew Heavy Duty, high intensity training was the answer I'd been looking for.
You were the first writer, who ever made me think, and the only writer who didn't expect me to blindly follow your advice without questioning it first. Mike, it was as if your words came off the page, grabbed me by the throat and shook all the stupid ideas about training right out of my head. After that experience, I bought Heavy Duty I, and at the same time started my own personal training business. From day one I trained all of my clients with Heavy Duty high intensity exercise. For the first year and a half, I built my clientele, and my reputation in a small neighborhood health club. Then I opened my own studio, and the business has grown in leaps and bounds. Mike, I just wanted to let you know what a tremendous positive influence you've had on my life.
I wanted to share a story with you, about one of my favorite clients. A young man came to me back in the fall of 1996, after battling leukemia all summer. His name was Stephen Matheny, and all he cared about was playing hockey. His goal was to return to the ice for his junior season. I felt a lot of pressure because we only had about eight weeks until his first practice. Stephen's body had been ravaged by the leukemia. Before he got sick he weighed about 145 lbs., but when I met him, he was down to 110. I began training him using the suggested routine from HD2, and by the time hockey started, Stephen's body weight was up to 160 lbs., and he was the strongest he'd ever been in his life.
He trained a total of ten times in eight weeks, and gained 45 lbs. His next goal was to win a state championship, which he did that year. His next goal was to become the captain for his senior year, which he did. His next goal was to win another state championship, but unfortunately his cancer came back the night before the state tournament started. His next goal was to beat cancer again, but unfortunately Stephen Matheny passed away August 1st, 1998. I was proud to hear from his dad that Stephen went out in the same manner he did every one of his workouts.
He fought to the end with as much effort as humanly possible. I can't thank you enough Mike. Without the knowledge I gained from you, I would never have been able to help Stephen achieve his goals. You helped me make his year and a half in remission, the best year and a half of his young life. Thanks for everything.
Sincerely,
Craig D. Huntington
Copyright Boston Herald Library Mar 16, 1998
Too often, people who play sports forget what it really means to win. To most, it's the number on the scoreboard that counts.
Score more than the opponent, and you're a winner. At least, that's the commonly held criteria.
The boys on Hanover High's hockey team hold a different definition. The Indians, who were at the FleetCenter yesterday competing in the Division 3 state final, know the true score.
Sure, they might have been on the short end of a 3-1 score to North Middlesex when the final buzzer sounded, and they might not have paraded around the ice with a championship trophy, but that didn't mean they were losers.
Far from it. This team came out on top in the game that really matters. It's the one called life. When senior forward Steve Matheny walked into the FleetCenter yesterday, they knew that was a victory, the one that counted most during the day.
Diagnosed with a recurrence of leukemia just before the schoolboy tournament began, Matheny, who plays on the top line, has been undergoing chemotherapy treaments.
He endured his second grueling cycle of drugs at Children's Hospital on Saturday, and somehow summoned the strength to be with his teammates yesterday.
Wearing dark sunglasses to shield his light-sensitive eyes - a side effect of the treatments - Matheny stood behind the bench, encouraging his teammates during the game.
Now, if storybook endings happen when they should, Hanover would have beaten North Middlesex yesterday. The defending state champions had dedicated the tournament to the popular senior, who serves as an assistant captain.
The players, who wore Matheny's No. 10 on their helmets, wanted nothing more than to win it for him. They wanted to do something to give him a boost as he faces a future filled with uncertainty.
But, as Hanover coach Jim Sylvia pointed out after the game, we don't live in a perfect world. If this were a perfect world, Matheny would not be fighting for his life. He wouldn't have leukemia, and he wouldn't be facing an upcoming bone marrow transplant.
"We did the best we could for him, and he knows that," said Sylvia. "He's proud of the kids, just like I am."
And Matheny made sure his teammates didn't leave thinking they had failed him. After the game, he did his talking only to his teammates, making sure they knew exactly what their ride through the tournament had done for him.
"He thanked us," said senior captain Greg Carr. "He knows we did our best to win it for him. He told us to keep our heads high. That (losing) wasn't the end of the world. That we had a great season winning the Eastern Mass. championship. That we should keep smiling."
Now, that's some teenager. Perspective, however, does that to you. And Matheny's illness certainly put a lot of things in perspective for the Hanover team.
"All we did is lose a hockey game," said Carr. "He has to fight for his life, so it's a lot harder."
Before the game, Matheny, 18, talked about his battle, and what it meant to have his teammates dedicate the tournament to him.
"It's very frustrating having this happen again," said Matheny, who learned his leukemia was out of remission after a recent routine check-up.
"But you can't sit around and feel sorry for yourself. You've got to grit it out and deal with it. You've got to keep fighting and moving forward. You can't give up hope."
While the players wore his number on their helmets, assistant coach Doug Smith wore Matheny's game jersey on the bench. The Hanover Boosters club, meanwhile, had hundreds of white T-shirts made up with the blue-lettered words, "We Love You, Steve, #10," across the front of the jersey.
The players wore the shirts under their jerseys, while many fans wore them in the stands. The proceeds from the sale of the shirts is going to the Matheny family.
"The support from everyone has been unbelieveable, just overwhelming," said Matheny, who notched 10 goals and 11 assists this season. "And it does mean a lot."
Which is exactly what he told his teammates. It didn't matter if the score didn't come up in their favor. In Matheny's mind, his teammates had already done enough. They had won where it really counted.
And coach Sylvia agreed.
"If you really look at it, what didn't they get for him?" Sylvia said of his team's quest. "They got the Div. 3 south championship for him. They got the Eastern Mass. championship for him.
"They all deserve to walk out as champions. As far as I'm concerned, we won this game as soon as (Matheny) came in with his teammates and was able to take part in the game. For us, the day was a success as soon as that kid walked in."
Indeed, it was.
Copyright Boston Globe Newspaper Mar 16, 1998
Copyright Patriot Ledger Feb 11, 1998
Copyright Patriot Ledger Mar 6, 1998
BOURNE -- There was plenty to celebrate for the Hanover High School hockey team last night.
The Indians advanced to the Division 3 South Sectional final with an 11-0 victory over Bourne as Hanover kept its quest alive to win consecutive Division 3 state crowns.
Something was missing, actually someone special was missing.
Senior forward Steve Matheny was not with the Hanover team. Matheny, who overcame a battle with leukemia to win a starting spot as a left wing on Hanover's first line, is back in the hospital, faced with the toughest battle of his life.
The Indians paid tribute to their teammate in a variety of ways, including wearing the No. 10 on their helmets in tribute to Metheny, who scored 11 goals and added 10 assists during the regular season.
The Indians paid tribute to Metheny in an even more convincing manner, they hammered the Canalmen to advance to Sunday's Div. 3 South Final at Northeastern.
"We were playing tonight for Stevie," Hanover coach Jim Sylvia said. "We were working on all eight cylinders, just the way Stevie plays every time he takes the ice."
The loss of Metheny may not have had an impact on the ice last night, but his presence in the locker room was definitely missed.
"There's a great deal of togetherness on this hockey team so when a guy like that is missing, it is felt," Sylvia said. "The boys learned a lot more this week than the game of hockey. They learned about life."
Steve Matheny was on top of the world.
His Hanover High School hockey team was wreaking havoc in the South Shore League and he was part of the hoopla.
The Indians finished another solid season in 1995-96, advancing to the quarterfinal round of the Division 3 state championship.
However, Matheny's battle had just begun.
He was diagnosed with leukemia at the conclusion of his sophomore year.
He was sluggish after practices and pick-up games. Most times, he headed home to bed.
Perhaps, his parents Steve and Alice thought, he was just a typical teenager . . .
Maybe he was run down or had a case of mononucleosis . . . Soon, they found, it wasn't either.
After testing his bone marrow and having a spinal tap, Matheny and his family prepared for the worst.
At age 17, when his friends were playing summer league hockey and hanging out at the beach, Matheny was being treated for cancer -- it was the longest 41 days of his young life.
He missed the first month and a half of his junior year, but his family, friends and teammates considered him a survivor in every sense of the word.
"I was nothing then," Matheny said. "I was down to about 120 pounds. I had half of a lung removed and I was so tired.
"Then coach (Jim) Sylvia recommended I see Craig Huntington, a personal trainer who has a business in town. He built me right back up. He helped me out tremendously. It was a long road, but then I started to skate a little."
Matheny knew he wanted to return to the ice at full strength when the high school hockey season started. He fought his way back.
"There was a point when I was lifting weights and then I couldn't walk for three or four days," he said. "Then I started to skate a little. At first, my legs were fatigued, but the more I went, the stronger I felt."
Matheny was there for the first day of Hanover hockey tryouts. He made the team and played on the third line.
"Craig got him ready, but through his own perseverance and strength, he did a great job coming 35
back," said Sylvia. "He's a credit to anyone who's ever gone through cancer and showed that dedication to himself to get back to hockey."
Sylvia remembers one game during the 1996-97 campaign that will be etched in his mind -- and the minds of his Hanover hockey squad -- for years to come.
It was a non-league game against Bishop Feehan of Attleboro. It was played in Taunton.
It was Matheny's turn to take center stage. He knew then he made the right choice to fight back.
With the Indians holding a six-goal advantage, Matheny took a pass from teammate Greg Carr and rifled home a goal. It was his first goal since returning from his cancer treatments.
"It was the greatest moment in my life as a coach," said Sylvia. "The bench cleared. Everyone went out on the ice to congratulate him.
"Then, the best thing is when the Feehan players starting banging their sticks (in unison) as a credit to him. That was a credit to their program, as well. They all knew what Steve went through and they were happy for him."
Said Matheny: "Not only my hockey team, but everyone . . . the whole town was supportive and that was a huge factor.
"Everyone helped when my family (parents and younger sister, Lynne) needed anything. It wasn't as much as a surprise with the hockey team because that's the way Mr. Sylvia runs it. He says we're a hockey family and if someone is in trouble or needs a hand, we're there."
Matheny remembers that Bishop Feehan game vividly. He said it was pandemonium on the ice.
"It was a great feeling, but there have been a lot more wonderful feelings since then," Matheny said.
Hanover went on to capture the Div. 3 state championship last year, and, after the season, Matheny was elected one of the Indians assistant captains for his senior year.
"Not only just stepping onto the ice, but winning the state championship made everything worth it," he said. "Everything I worked for . . . It was the icing on the cake."
Today, Matheny and his teammates, now 15-2, are surging toward a shot at another championship. He said hockey takes its toll on his 5-8, 150-pound body, but he loves every minute of it.
He has followup appointments every six months and has been in remission for more than a year. More important, he said he's been without a trace of the disease since his final chemotherapy session in the fall of his junior year.
"I'm positive, all around," said Matheny, who's leaning toward attending Salve Regina College in the fall. "I still like the checkups and you know you're OK. It's a litte scary not knowing.
"It just makes everything better. I didn't dwell on it. I never sat in the hospital thinking about it. I wanted to live to get back on the ice.
"I know I have a job to do on the hockey team."
It's a job well done.
Schools / State hockey championship
Even in defeat, even without a clamorous, ebullient celebration, and even with the sullen expressions and the solemnity of the moment, every Hanover player, whether it was senior captain Greg Carr or freshman defenseman Mike Columbus, remained inspired by that one ineffable moment when teammate Steve Matheny walked into the FleetCenter, and they vigorously reminded themselves that hockey is always only a game, and the notion that it could ever be anything more is simply obscene.
Yes, there was, of course, a palpable feeling of disappointment emanating from the Hanover locker room after yesterday's 3-1 loss at the hands of North Middlesex. But there was perspective, too, because Matheny, who played every game during the regular season, was informed days before the tournament began that his leukemia, first diagnosed May 23, 1996, was no longer in remission and that playing in the tournament wouldn't be possible.
"The timing was awful," Matheny said, smiling. "Two more weeks and it would have been just fine."
But the gravely serious, unpredictable disease that Matheny is struggling with wasn't cooperative and so, as their teammate started his second round with chemotherapy, Jim Sylvia's young men began the tournament, knocking off Harwich in the first round. Days later, with Matheny still hospitalized, Hanover defeated Bourne. The next game was against Martha's Vineyard and, for the first time in the postseason, Matheny was in attendance as his teammates captured the Division 3 South Championship.
Enervated by the treatment but insistent on remaining with the team, Matheny watched at Boston University as his cohorts won the EMass title with a victory over Latin Academy. Then, he rested, hoping that all the winning would have a salubrious effect, and determined to be at the FleetCenter when the puck dropped yesterday at noon.
"We won this game as soon as that kid walked into the FleetCenter as far as I'm concerned," Sylvia said. "The whole day was a success as soon as he walked in.
"Having him here, that's a reason to celebrate right there. That's the key, and I'm trying to impress that. That is the key.
"Here's a kid that was having chemotherapy and he got released just to come here. As soon as he was able to be here, to walk in here with his teammates, that was a celebration right there."
Matheny wasn't in a celebratory mood after the game. He was comforting his friends, offering solace, and reminding them that the moment would pass. Both Carr and co-captain Mike Vickery emerged from the locker room, spoke about the loss, and repeated what Matheny had said to them as the team gathered, distraught, and reflected on what exactly went wrong.
"It was an inspiration," Carr said. "Just seeing him on the bench. We tried our best but we just couldn't do it today. He thanked us, he knows we did our best, and he told us to keep our heads high. It's not the end of the world."
It didn't seem like the end of the world, either, when Matheny, who took a few minutes before the game for a brief conversation, first learned that he had been stricken with the disease. It was frightening, of course, and confusing. But he didn't panic, or retreat, or lapse into a depression. He accepted the consequences that came with leukemia, assessed the situation, and defiantly resisted any urge towards self-pity.
"The very first time I was diagnosed, I didn't really know what I was dealing with," Matheny said. "I just felt that I had to deal with what I have. I have to get through this. I really didn't know what it was and they're throwing all these terms and this stuff at you and you don't even know what the hell they're talking about. But I basically just got in there and I beat it.
"I really try not to dwell on it that much. I have so much support, too. Once in a while you catch yourself thinking about it, but you know, you just have to keep it up, keep fighting. That's all you can really do."
Matheny is awaiting a bone-marrow transplant. Currently, he has 42 possibilities, and is more than optimistic about his chances because, in the end, there is that word, embodied by his bright smile before the game and his words of comfort after the loss, that lone syllable, descriptive of a feeling, fertile and alive, that exists in every young person.
Hope.
"Once the season is over, I'll still be the same," said Matheny, who is looking at Salve Regina, Western New England, and Endicott as possible college destinations. "I have plenty of things to look forward to. I'm only 18 years old, you know?"
BOSTON -- Hanover High School hockey player Steve Matheny couldn't be on the ice as his teammates won the Eastern Massachusetts Division 3 championship last night.
He sat with his team on the bench at Boston University's Walter Brown Arena.
But he had to leave early.
The reason is that not far away at Children's Hospital he is up against a much bigger opponent.
Matheny, a senior, is undergoing chemotheraphy for leukemia.
He learned last week that the disease no longer is in remission, and he is no longer allowed to take his turns on the ice.
"We're dedicating this tournament to him," coach Jim Sylvia said after last night's emotional 10-2 victory over Latin Academy.
"We want to bring him the state trophy Sunday at Children's Hospital. This tournament is for him. That's what it's all about." Sylvia said.
Hanover is trying to repeat as the Division 3 state champs. Matheny was 1
part of the team that won last year's championship against Leominster.
And, Matheny, who plays forward, helped his team this season as it compiled a 21-2-0 record. He had to give up playing when doctors told him last Wednesday that he had to undergo more treatments.
Hanover will defend its state title Sunday at noon at the FleetCenter against the winner of tonight's North Middlesex/West Springfield game.
Walter Brown Arena was packed with Hanover fans last night -- many of whom spoke about how the team -- and Matheny -- have brought the whole school together.
"This team has bought us all together," said Dave Kemp, a senior at the high school. "We're all friends during the games. We all sit together, there is no segregation."
"Everywhere we go we seem to outnumber the other team's fans 10 to one," said Nancy McVinney, who is involved in the high school boosters.
"I think a lot of what you see here is being generated toward Steve," said Don Hulke, whose son, also named Don, was sitting out last night with a neck injury suffered earlier in the tournament against Harwich.
Still, Hulke said, the turnout was characteristic of Hanover fans.
"This is not uncommon, and not just for the hockey team. This is just a very together community, and when something townwide goes on, people want to be a part of it."
The Hanover fans included students, parents, young children, and more than a few residents without family members on the team. Some came with their faces painted, some with hair dyed, some wearing the team's hockey jerseys and helmets.
They did not lose confidence when Latin jumped out to an early lead.
By the middle of the second period, the Indians had scored seven unanswered goals.
When a Latin goal trimmed the Indians' huge lead to 7-2, Hanover fans drowned out the Latin fight song by chanting, "score-board, score-board." Midway through the third period, Hanover students were yelling, "Its all over."
Hanover senior Rob Sheldon said the buildup to Sunday's championship game began almost immediately after last night's win.
"It is going to be a big week," Sheldon said.
But, almost everyone agreed that no single game is as big as the goal Steve Matheny is aiming for.
HANOVER -- Steve Matheny hopes he'll be watching his hockey teammates from Hanover win the Division 3 state championship at the FleetCenter.
But that depends on how he feels.
"Sunday is what I'm shooting for," Matheny said Thursday night from Children's Hospital, where he is undergoing a second round of chemotherapy for leukemia. Last Wednesday Matheny, 18, found out the disease was no longer in remission.
Meanwhile, friends and family are rallying for volunteer bone marrow donors as well as blood and platelet donors. Matheny needs to find a match to his bone marrow type for a transplant. Platelet transfusions will be part of his treatment during the transplant, donor drive coordinator Don Hulke said.
"He's a strong kid, but he's going to need all the help he can get if he's going to have any hopes of a long term, period," Hulke said.
A bone marrow screening and platelet drive is scheduled March 30 to April 4 at the New England Medical 13
Center Blood Bank, 170 Forbes Road, Braintree.
Marrow donors must be between 18 and 60 and in good health, said Julie Fallon of the Blood Bank. Those who make a platelet or blood donation will be registered with the National Marrow Donor Program Registry.
Matheny's family has been tested, but no one was a match. A search of the national registry is underway, but 30 percent of patients do not find a donor through the registry, Fallon said.
For more information about the drive or to schedule an appointment, call Fallon at 1-888-223-6667.
Matheny was diagnosed with leukemia in May 1996. That summer he underwent cancer treatment, and half of one lung was removed. The cancer went into remission, and he returned to school six weeks into his junior year.
Last year, Matheny made the team that won the Division 3 state championship. He was elected an assistant captain his senior year.
"It shows you the drive and ambition the kid had," Hulke said. "If you can imagine coming back from a condition like leukemia and working your way to a highly competitive level of hockey playing."
At a routine checkup recently, a doctor spotted a rash on Steve's head, Hulke said. Blood tests showed that the leukemia had returned.
Matheny immediately started several days of chemotherapy. He attended Tuesday's Eastern Division championship game, but left after the second period because he wasn't feeling well.
Hulke's son, also named Don, has played hockey with Matheny for 10 years. Don Hulke Jr. has been one of the many visitors to Children's Hospital this week. He said the team wants to bring the state championship trophy home for Matheny.
Methany was not forgotten when the high school held a pep rally for the hockey team Friday.
Friday was dubbed "Hockey Day" at the high school, and many students celebrated by wearing school hockey jerseys and painting their faces blue and gold.
Beneath the anticipation of a second straight championship, however, the students' thoughts were of Matheny.
"With Steve, it's a lot more exciting," said Ashley Wright, a senior at Hanover. "We're drawing a lot of inspiration from him."
Joe Keating, a junior, agreed. "It's definitely a lot more hyped up this year," he said.
Inside the gymnasium, after the team was introduced, head coach Jim Sylvia stepped to the center of the floor and held up a cellular phone. Matheny was listening from his room at Children's Hospital.
"Why don't you let Steve know how much you appreciate him?" Sylvia asked the crowd.
The crowd responded by chanting "We want Matheny!" for nearly a minute.
Outside the gymnasium, volunteer and former Hanover Booster Club president Celeste Ditzel sold t-shirts with the words "We love you Steve, (NU)10."
The shirts came courtesy of Rockland Athletics. John Medlin, owner of the store, was asked last night by members of the Booster Club to print the shirts. The shirts cost $10, with all profits going to the Matheny family. Five hundred shirts were printed.
"It was a good cause," Medlin said. "Hopefully, they'll sell them all."
BOSTON -- Hanover High School didn't take home the Division 3 state hockey championship yesterday, but instead of moping, fans at the FleetCenter reflected on the team's winning season.
"I'm upset, but it was a good season," sophomore Matt Hawrilenko said. "We're all still proud of them."
Hawrilenko was one of many fans who wore T-shirts with the words "We love you, Steve, (NU)10," for Steve Matheny, the senior player who couldn't be on the ice.
Matheny was released Saturday from Children's Hospital, where for three days he underwent chemotherapy for leukemia. It was his second round of treatment in two weeks.
Yesterday, he sat with his team on the bench. The team dedicated the tournament to Matheny.
At one point, the crowd chanted, "Do it for Matheny" for several seconds.
At the beginning of the third period, North Middlesex Regional was ahead 2-0. Matheny's mother, Alice, and Judy Hamilton, whose son Matt is a forward, kept their hopes up for Hanover.
"They usually do come back in the third period," Hamilton said. "Our stomachs are all upside down, but they've had an excellent season."
But North Middlesex scored again for a 3-0 lead, and won, 3-1.
"They're just not connecting out there," Alice Matheny said. "But they're an awesome team, win or lose. They're No. 1 in my book."
Jeremy Vaille, 19, the captain of last year's state championship Hanover team, attended the game during his spring break from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla.
He wore a gold and blue team jacket with the words "State Champions 1997" embroidered across the back.
After the second period, Vaille described what the Hanover players would be feeling, win or lose.
"This is the greatest day anybody could have, a student athlete being in the state championship," Vaille said. "Steve will be happy no matter what because he knows they're out there playing for him."
HANOVER -- Hanover High School senior Steve Matheny's doctors allowed him to to attend the hockey team's annual banquet last night.
After the event, he checked back into Children's Hospital in Boston. Matheny has leukemia.
While among teammates, parents and other Hanover High School hockey enthusiasts at the American Legion Post last night, Matheny's spirits were high.
"I feel great," he said.
Coach Jim Sylvia said the customary dinner celebrated an extraordinary year. The team's climb to the state championship a year ago brought the town together. Matheny brought the players together.
"We have it every year, but these kids have earned an awful lot this year," Sylvia said.
The players were given team warm-up suits and a certificate of congratulations. The team made the playoff this year but missed winning a second straight Division 3 state title.
Matheny, 18, presented Sylvia with a plaque from the players. It featured a photograph of Sylvia and Matheny walking on the ice, Sylvia's arm around Matheny.
Jake Carr, father of hockey player Greg Carr, said the photograph, which he took, captured a part of Sylvia's character.
"What it does is bring out Sylvia's greatest attribute," Jake Carr said. "There's nobody who cares more about their kids, and I think that picture kind of summed it up."
Matheny needs a bone marrow match for a transplant. A drive for bone marrow, blood and platelet donations started March 30. Drive coordinator Don Hulke attended last night's banquet. Hulke's son, Don Jr., is also a hockey player.
Hulke said that because participation in the drive has been higher than expected it has been extended from April 4 to April 18.
"The first week 300 plus people signed up," he said. "This week we've got 200 plus. There's talk of extending it even longer, to April 25."
Matheny, 18, was diagnosed with cancer in May 1996. That summer he underwent cancer treatment and returned to school six weeks into his junior year. He played with the Hanover High School hockey team that won the state championship last year, and this year made it to the playoffs before a doctor found that his leukemia was out of remission.
In early March he underwent two rounds of chemotherapy, but watched his team from the bench in the playoffs at the FleetCenter. Three weeks ago, he had a fever and returned to Children's Hospital. It is not known when he will be released.
"It's all up in the air," he said.
To make an appointment to donate blood or platelets at the New England Medical Center Blood Bank, 170 Forbes Road, Braintree, call 1-888-223-6667. Volunteers must be between the ages of 18 and 60 and be in good health.
During the donation, a tube of blood for bone marrow typing will be drawn and forwarded to the National Marrow Donor Program Registry.
HANOVER -- Hanover High School senior Steve Matheny underwent a bone marrow transplant yesterday at Children's Hospital in Boston.
Don Hulke, a friend of the Matheny family who led a drive for bone marrow, blood and platelet donors in April, said he spoke with Matheny.
"He was very up, very positive," Hulke said. "I said to him, `You've kept your spirits up so far. Now's not the time to give up.' He laughed and said, `You've got that right.' "
Hulke said Matheny's parents told him their 18-year-old son was tired but had retained his stamina.
Because chemotherapy and radiation treatments weakened his immune system, Matheny will be in the hospital for a few months. After that, he will be confined to his house for a few more months.
He will earn a high school diploma this year but will not attend the Hanover High graduation ceremonies June 6.
The program director at MediaOne in Norwell and Hanover High School technology director William Cook considered sending the graduation telecast to Matheny's hospital room via the Internet, but doctors recommended against it, Cook said.
"His condition is going to be very delicate," Cook said. "They thought it would be too emotional to do it direct. It could be more traumatic than people realize. The kids will videotape it. He will watch it when his parents think he's ready."
Class President Tim Sullivan and others have been videotaping senior events during their last days of school. They taped the senior parade last Friday. This week during lunch, 350 students and teachers sang the group Sister Hazel's song "All For You."
"We want him to know that everything he has been going through has not distanced him from us," Sullivan said. "This is so that he knows everybody who was there for him before will be there for him after."
Matheny, co-captain of this year's Hanover High varsity hockey team, was diagnosed with leukemia in May 1996. He underwent treatment that summer and the leukemia went into remission for more than a year.
Three months ago, just before the hockey team went to the FleetCenter to try to retain the Division 3 state championship, doctors said Matheny's leukemia was back. Matheny has been in the hospital most of the time since.
Almost 800 people were added to the National Marrow Donor Program Registry in Matheny's name during the April drive. But Matheny still needs blood and platelet donations for his recovery
HANOVER -- Steve Matheny's classmates stood and applauded when 16-year-old Lynne Matheny received her brother's diploma for him during the Hanover High School commencement Saturday.
Matheny, 18, underwent a bone marrow transplant May 28 and will be recovering at Children's Hospital for several more weeks. Lynne Matheny will be a junior next year at Hanover High School.
The ovation was in character for the Class of 1998, students and faculty said. The 135 class members grew close, especially while pulling together for Matheny, valedictorian Meredith Nelson and class president Tim Sullivan said.
Matheny, co-captain of this year's varsity hockey team, was diagnosed with leukemia in 1996. He underwent treatment, but his leukemia returned this past winter.
Many students sported on their graduation caps Matheny's initials and his jersey number, 10.
"It brings tears to your eyes when you see how much everyone supports him," Nelson said before the ceremony. "This year has really topped off all four years."
The theme of this year's senior prom was "Stand by Me," Principal Thomas Nee told the audience.
"The good will and camaraderie of this class is exceptional," Nee said. "They'll stand by you. They're the most together class we've ever had."
Nee commended Sullivan for his hard work, enthusiasm and leadership during the last four years. In his address, Sullivan spoke of the class's character and accomplishments.
As freshmen, members of the Class of 1998 stamped out a senior tradition of hazing the newest members of the school, Sullivan said. They won the Hanover High School spirit award for three consecutive years and they were catalysts in the school's community service club. There also were numerous sports and academic titles earned, Sullivan said.
"No matter what it was, if it involved this school and its good name, we embraced it and spent every ounce of energy in our bodies to make it as good as it possibly could be," Sullivan said. "This, my friends, is the best thing any of us could want to hang our hats on -- if we were allowed to wear them."
The audience laughed. This year, students were banned from wearing hats in school.
To Matheny's parents, who were in the audience, Sullivan said: "Mr. and Mrs. Matheny, your son is our hero. He has been such an inspiration to us throughout all of this."
Nelson told her classmates to be the best they can be.
"True success is becoming the type of person you can face every day with a smile," Nelson said. "Becoming a success as a person is not an easy task and is forever an unfinished project. You must work at it every day."
Nelson advised them to have courage.
"Never run away from a challenge," she said. "Accept and attack it bravely because in many cases you may have no other choice. We have all been introduced to such bravery by our classmate Steve Matheny."
PEMBROKE -- Steve Matheny was no different from countless youngsters who take to the ice each year at the Hobomock Rink. He dreamed of becoming a great hockey player, maybe even a Wayne Gretzky or a Bobby Orr.
Matheny pursued his dream with passion and dedication and became part of Hanover High School's 1997 Division III state championship team.
His dedication earned him the love and respect of those who watched him live his dream while battling the leukemia that claimed his life in August.
On Saturday, his courage and dedication were recognized again as the Massachusetts State Hockey Coaches Association and The East, an Internet high school hockey publication, dedicated the first Stephen J. Matheny Award to him.
Kurt Pappalardo, vice president of public relations for The East, presented the award to Matheny's parents, Stephen and Alice, at the rink. The trophy will be displayed at Hanover High School until the end of this hockey season and then will be displayed at the winning student's high school. The Mathenys will receive a separate trophy, a version of which will be presented to the winner and two award finalists each year.
"I can't think of a better way to keep his spirit alive," Steve's father said.
"My son will live on in a lot of people's hearts," Alice Matheny said. "This just means that so many people loved him as a wonderful human being."
Steve Matheny's former team beat Hull, 11-0, after the ceremony.
The award will be given each year to a high school hockey player "who best exemplifies the qualities of Stephen J. Matheny
by displaying exceptional character, dedication and courage in the face of adversity, serving as an inspiration to his teammates, coaches and community." A $500 college scholarship accompanies the award.
Steve Matheny was diagnosed with leukemia in May 1996. That summer, he underwent treatment that damaged his immune system and caused an infection that forced the removal of half of one lung.
But the cancer went into remission and Matheny was with the team for the 1996-97 season.
"Once he was diagnosed, all he could talk about was getting back on the ice and skating again," said Don Hulke Jr., a teammate of Matheny's. "(When he was in the hospital), you could tell he was still fighting. . . . He is just an inspiration for a lot of people, including myself.
"He was the most courageous kid I've ever met and he's my hero. He just wanted to get through and he never gave up. Everything to him was so positive, and he always had a smile on his face."
Michael Calabrese, Matheny's best friend, recalled a time when Matheny could barely walk into school because of the work he was doing in the weight room in preparation for his comeback.
"This is very exciting because it brings back memories of being on the ice with him," Calabrese said. "Those were the best times of my life. With all he went through, he never said, `Why me?' "
Alice Matheny said her son lived by the slogan: "Hockey is life. Everything else is just details."
"If he couldn't skate, he didn't want to be alive," she said.
In March, just before the team was to defend its title at the FleetCenter in Boston, Matheny's doctors found that the leukemia had returned and they told him he could not go to the game.
Matheny threatened to walk out of the hospital to attend, and the doctors rearranged his chemotherapy schedule.
"Nothing was stopping him from being at that game," said Patrick Crimmins, another teammate.
"His courage and character were an inspiration," said Jake Carr, a member of the award committee. "He knew the pain he was in and he was dedicated to make it behind the bench, which is unbelievable."
Matheny then underwent more chemotherapy and radiation treatment, but this time there was no remission.
He was able to attend the 1998 state championship game, but Hanover failed to repeat, losing to North Middlesex Regional High School.
There was talk of retiring Matheny's No. 10, but he said no. He chose freshman Michael McNulty to wear the sweater, and McNulty will choose his successor.