What does it really mean to be Tyler Strong?
Are you “Tyler Strong”? It sounds inspirational but what does “Tyler Strong” really mean? If you are into watching college sports like me, you have certainly heard of the name Tyler Trent over and over again ever since Purdue upset Ohio State in football in the fall of 2018. Tyler Trent was the Boilermaker superfan who was battling cancer while attending Purdue and “Tyler Strong” was his inspirational slogan which many of his proponents loved to mention in their social media posts supporting him. This young man motivated so many people, including the Purdue football team who seemed to be at their best when Trent was around. If you have not heard of him before, just google his name and look at all the posts and articles which come up during such an internet search. He became a national hero. He befriended Scott Van Pelt from ESPN and even received an encouraging “Tyler Strong” letter from President Trump.
According to Cindy Boren of the Washington Post, “He first drew the football team’s attention when he camped outside the stadium in the fall of 2017, shortly after a chemotherapy treatment, and was photographed with Coach Jeff Brohm. As Brohm learned more about Trent, the two bonded and Trent became an inspirational figure for the team and a national figure after Purdue’s 49-20 upset of Ohio State, a victory he had predicted.” After inspiring so many people for so long, I am sorry to let you know that Tyler Trent passed away on the first day of 2019. Here is what Wikipedia.com says about him:
“Tyler Trent (September 7, 1998 – January 1, 2019) was an American cancer activist who attended Purdue University. Trent was diagnosed with osteosarcoma for the first time as a 15-year-old in 2014. He won the 2018 Disney's Wide World of Sports Spirit Award and the 2018 Sagamore of the Wabash award and published a book, The Upset, with a foreword by Scott Van Pelt. Trent maintained a strong relationship with the Purdue Boilermakers football team and served as the honorary captain in several of their games in the 2018 season. He garnered national attention during Purdue’s 49–20 upset over the then #2 ranked Ohio State and subsequently received a Twitter shout out from Vice President Mike Pence. Trent raised over $100,000 for cancer research.”
Dana Benbow of the Indianapolis Star wrote the following about Tyler:
“The unlikely sports hero — a scrawny kid with a shy grin, near perfect SAT score and dreams of becoming a national sportswriter — broke through the cluttered world of social media, inspiring a flood of support nationwide.”
"His passion for life, his passion for Purdue football, his passion to do whatever he could, even in the midst of this crazy, horrible journey that he was on," said Jamie Renbarger, Trent's doctor at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health. "He still wanted to help people. He was just a really genuine human being.
Beyond Trent's love of sports was a love of doing good. Even as he battled osteosarcoma, Trent thought of others, forming an organization called Teens With a Cause. It recruited kids to do service projects for families affected by cancer, such as raking leaves, shoveling snow, running errands.
Trent also volunteered with the Purdue Dance Marathon, which raises money for Riley and the Purdue Center for Cancer Research. He donated the tissue of his tumor for research, one of the first osteosarcoma patients at Riley to do so.
"Tyler did so much for so many entities and people and a cause that was very personal to him, we’ve all sort of been swept up in this in lots of ways," said Mike Bobinski, director of athletics at Purdue. "That is a selfless position not easy for people to take. For a young man like Tyler to do that, it’s remarkable."
I have spent 12 years ministering to people with cancer and have come across all different types of cancer patients, young and old, over the years but I have never met someone like Tyler Trent before. This young man was simply amazing. He was inspirational and I don’t even think he was trying to be. Tyler not only inspired many, he also showed a maturity beyond his years. Here is the link to an article he wrote (https://www.news-press.com/story/opinion/contributors/2018/12/24/tyler-trent-face-my-last-days-why-am-grateful/2405781002/) where he talked about being grateful while he was in hospice. Here is a quote from that article:
"Though I am in hospice care and have to wake up every morning knowing that the day might be my last, I still have a choice to make: to make that day the best it can be," Trent wrote in a guest column for IndyStar in early December. "Yet, isn’t that a choice we all have every day? After all, nobody knows the amount of days we have left. Some could say we are all in hospice to a certain degree."
Wow, if reading the article doesn’t bring a tear to your eye, then I don’t know what to say.
I wish I could have met Tyler Trent. Yes, I am an Indiana Hoosier fan and he is a Purdue fan but, when dealing with cancer, which team you root for doesn’t matter at all. In fact, it is meaningless. Since I am a two-time cancer survivor, I know we would have bonded and had lots of cancer stories to share with each other. Cancer changes your perspective on life and we would have likely discussed our how our viewpoints changed post cancer. I know we would have spent some time discussing what it really means to be Tyler Strong. I will have more on that shortly.
After Tyler passed away, Adrian Wojnarowski from ESPN wrote an article on 1-3-19 called “Reflecting on the impact of Tyler Trent”. Here is an excerpt from that article:
“He had such a curiosity, all the way until his final days. He listened to my podcast with Jeff Van Gundy two weeks ago, and wanted to understand more about how the G League and NBA worked together. I mean, of all the things to consider on your deathbed.
And yet, this was the beauty of Tyler Trent. This was one of the things he taught me -- never stop dreaming, never lose hope, never stop moving forward. He wanted to be a sportswriter -- or maybe work in analytics for a pro team, he told me -- and that topic with JVG might have been relevant to either occupation. A part of him was still preparing for one of those jobs. He knew he was dying soon, but Tyler looked at it this way: I am still living.”
When I read the preceding article, I struggled with the “never stop dreaming, never lose hope and never stop moving forward” advice which the writer indicated he learned from Tyler. After learning more about Tyler’s story, I don’t believe the writer was providing his readers with the reasons why Tyler Trent had such a perspective. In his interview with Tyler, perhaps he did not ask the reasons why or perhaps he just chose not to include the reasons in his article. Regardless of the writer’s reasons for excluding, the reasons why were not provided to the readers of this ESPN article as well as many other articles like it.
If you never been diagnosed with terminal cancer, the never stop dreaming comments seem like great suggestions for someone who IS actually battling the deadly disease because you are not in their shoes and you are not battling their cancer for them. If you have ever given similar type of advice to someone with cancer, I would humbly suggest that you may not have totally thought through the advice you were giving them, which can often be the case when we provide advice on something which we have never actually experienced ourselves. However, for someone dying of terminal cancer who is staring death right in the eye, your perspective changes because it becomes more personal to you. You will likely think to yourself “how can I never stop moving forward if I lose my battle with cancer?”. If you were in a similar terminal situation, would you “buy” such quaint “never stop dreaming, never lose hope and never stop moving forward” advice? If you were diagnosed with terminal cancer, wouldn’t you be wondering to yourself what happens to your soul if you succumb to this horrific disease? I have had the humbling privilege to speak with numerous individuals over the last 12 years who have been diagnosed with terminal cancer and I can promise you that a vast majority of them are looking for more than just “never stop dreaming, never lose hope and never stop moving forward”. Many of them are scared to death, many of them realize they likely won’t survive their cancer trial, and many of them are wondering what will happen if they pass away from their cancer. I have seen so many people over my lifetime avoid these awkward end-of life questions about the eternal destiny of their souls. Thankfully, one of the blessings of cancer is it gives you the opportunity to ponder and consider questions such as “is there life after death?”.
In previous blog posts, I have referred to terminal cancer as a trial with a deadline. The looming deadline forces many individuals to start considering their own mortality more than they ever have before in their lives. It also forces many individuals to evaluate their overall perspective on life. I have seen numerous individuals who used to buy into the “stay positive” and “give it your best” approach. However, after they have been diagnosed with terminal cancer, I have observed how the quaint sayings they used to love to quote when talking about somebody else’s health no longer make sense to them and they start searching for deeper and more meaningful answers to these tough questions.
When I studied what Tyler Trent’s said, I thought to myself there has to be more to his story……so I dug a little deeper and found out there is WAY MORE to the Tyler Trent story than what was being reported in the media. As often happens, the media was only telling part of the Tyler Trent story, at least the media reports which I came across. For example, after Tyler passed away, here is what his parents wrote about him (Published in the Indianapolis Star):
"The Trent family would like to thank the community, local and beyond, for your amazing support over the past four-plus years while Tyler fought bone cancer and then passed from this earth. We have been beyond blessed by the outpouring of love, encouragement, support and prayers. It has truly carried us through this most difficult journey and we have also been humbled and comforted as others have celebrated and rejoiced with us in the exciting, memorable times as well. Tyler's loss is going to leave a large hole in our family, but God is faithful. We would greatly appreciated your continued prayers as we grieve and carry on Tyler's legacy. One thing we are confident Tyler would want us to share and ask you to not forget about -- what was central to how he lived his life, especially the past few years -- is 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18,... “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus our Lord," he equally believed Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
After reading what his parents said, Tyler’s “never lose hope” comments started making sense to me. Because he believed in Jesus, Tyler knew if he lost his battle with cancer, he still had eternal hope for his soul which only Christ can provide. Why didn’t the true meaning behind his comments ever make into the media accounts which I read? Does the media really think if you just buckle up, be strong, try your best, give 100% and stay positive during a cancer trial, that is all you need to do? I don’t know about you but those comments don’t make any sense to me. There has to be more to life than just “be strong, you can do it and give it your best”.
After reading the preceding comments, I also felt a deeper connection to his story as the 1 Thessalonians verse quoted were the same verses I quoted when I proposed to Kristina in 1999. As I was watching basketball on TV the evening of 1-3-19, I was BLOWN away when I saw the Purdue basketball team warming up with shirts which said “TYLER STRONG” and immediately below was written “1 Thessalonians 5:16-18”. Are you kidding me? A Public University in the Big Ten had a bible verse printed on their basketball team’s warm-up shirts? WOW. I was in total shock but then I started to rejoice in the fact that Tyler was making an impact with eternal consequences. Do you think Purdue did this because they had a hunch Tyler might like it or do you think they printed these shirts because they knew the verses were important to Tyler and doing so would be pleasing to him? Of course, they did it because they knew Tyler would want them to. Perhaps he even asked them to do this? Of all the things he did in his life, getting Purdue to print a bible verse on their basketball jerseys might be the biggest accomplishment of his life in my humble opinion. Please remember we are living in an age where Americans are trying to remove “In God we Trust” from our currency and just about everything else here in the USA so getting a public university to proclaim 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 is a MONUMENTAL accomplishment. As an Indiana Hoosier Alumni, this is hard for me to say but well-done Purdue/Matt Painter (Purdue Coach) well-done! Thanks for allowing these bible verses to be printed on the Purdue warm-up shirts for the basketball game against Iowa so that everyone would see the more complete message behind “Tyler Strong”.
As his health slowly started to decline up until his death on 1-1-19, Tyler’s faith and perseverance seemed to grow with each passing day, even while he was in hospice. I wasn’t there with him but I have visited enough cancer hospice patients over the years to know what cancer does to your body. They put you in hospice because the cancer it destroying both your body and your organs. The pain starts to become unbearable so the hospice puts you on heavy pain medications to ease your pain. Your organs slowly start to shut down. When your body starts to shut down, I can promise you that comments like “Be Strong” without the hope which Tyler had will leave you depressed and hopeless.
Tyler’s pastor, Mark Vroegop from College Park Church in Indianapolis, said the following about Tyler after he passed away:
“Tyler modeled how to suffer as a committed follower of Jesus. And I was proud. As Tyler’s pastor, I marveled how his life became a megaphone for winsome, Christ-centered perseverance.”
Yes, Jesus provides everyone who trusts in Him with eternal hope, even when the medical professionals tell you your situation is hopeless. If you approach your cancer with this level of faith in Christ, you too can be “Tyler Strong”.
If you are battling terminal cancer and you are looking for the hope which Tyler had, Romans 10:9-10 tells us:
“9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
I will never forget my friend Jeff who I visited in his home three days before he died. He was under the care of home hospice. During the time he attended CSG, Jeff, when talking about his own cancer journey, loved to use humor to draw in the listener but he also used humor to avoid tough conversations. He was also a tough man who strong about his worldly convictions. He investigated many religions, including Christianity, but in the end, he could not decide which religion was right for him. Unlike Tyler, He decided to die without a plan for the eternal destiny of his soul. When I visited Jeff for the last time, I noticed the pain medicines he was on started to take their toll but I also noticed he was still able to communicate fairly effectively. Since he was still able to communicate effectively, I also noticed that Jeff was no longer happy and using humor like he used to. Instead, he knew his end was near and he was getting depressed because he had no plan for the eternal destiny of his soul. During our last time together, he was a totally different person. His Cancer was beating him down and it was not fun for me to witness. Only God knows what happened to Jeff after he passed away, but he made it clear to me in that visit that he was not willing to put his faith and trust in Jesus. If you are reading this and you are still undecided about your faith, would you rather respond like Jeff did in his final days or would you like to respond like Tyler did? As mentioned earlier in this blog post, the second and final verse (Romans 6:23) quoted by the Trent family after Tyler died does an excellent job of summarizing the difference in Tyler’s plan for his soul as compared to Jeff’s response, who told me he did not have a plan for eternal destiny of his soul. For Tyler, his final plan can be summarized as follows:
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)
Ok, you might be thinking to yourself - Tyler likely picked the 1 Thessalonians verses as being meaningful to him when his treatments were going well so it was easy for him to say rejoice always. Well, that would be a big "NO" - his medical prognosis was not very good when Tyler when he picked these verses. In fact, his health was starting to head downhill when he picked these verses as his battle cry. Please read below what his Pastor, Mark Vroegop from College Park Church in Indianapolis, had to say (Gospelcoalition.org) about how the 1 Thessalonians verses were selected by Tyler:
"On the day when Tyler learned his broken arm was infected with cancer, he read 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 in his morning reading of the Bible. As his parents gently and tearfully broke the news to him, Tyler reacted with his typical spirit and strength. His first response was to encourage his parents by quoting what he read that morning. Tyler knew it was providential timing.
These verses became Tyler’s battle-cry and the theme for the yellow wrist bands in his honor: #TylerStrong—1 Thess. 5:16–18. Friends, family, and members at College Park Church were the first to wear these bands. They’d eventually find their way on statues at Purdue and don the wrists of professional athletes, coaches, politicians, and news reporters."
His pastor (Mark Vroegop from College Park Church in Indianapolis) also said:
As Tyler’s pastor for 10 years, I can tell you. It’s simple but profound: Tyler loved Jesus. That’s it. And it made him #TylerStrong.
As the title of the blog indicates, are you Tyler Strong? Can you be "Tyler Strong" when you learn your cancer has spread into the bone in your arm, your medical prognosis is declining by the minute and you are one day closer to dying? In other words, can you give thanks in ALL circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus our Lord? Tyler was not saying to just be strong because being strong is virtuous and because it sounds like great advice. Nor were his worldly health circumstances improving, driving an emotional response by him. No, Tyler was saying to be STRONG because of the hope he had in Jesus. As the Purdue basketball jerseys indicated, "Tyler Strong" and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 are so intertwined that you cannot have one without the other. WHAT TYLER STRONG REALLY MEANS IS BE STRONG IN CHRIST JESUS – this is where Tyler’s strength came from. If you think about it, "Tyler Strong" without 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 really makes no sense at all.
Tyler Trent, thank you for inspiring so many with your true message of hope. I pray that your story will inspire others battling cancer to truly be “Tyler Strong”. Tyler, BOILER UP and well done my good and faithful servant.
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus our Lord," (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Jim Risk, a two-time cancer survivor, is the volunteer Ministry Coordinator for the Cancer Support Group (CSG) at a non-denominational church in NE Ohio. Jim and his wife, Kristina, have participated and served in CSG, a Christian ministry, since 2007.