VERDE’S JOURNEY
A year ago, Evergreen Park football coach was preparing to fight his toughest opponent
A year ago, Jerry Verde wasn’t thinking about playoff football.
The Evergreen Park coach was thinking about his mortality.
Verde was diagnosed with malignant melanoma in October 2017.
Yes, cancer.
“I started thinking about life and death for the first time in my life,” Verde said. “You see things a little differently when you’re told you have cancer.”
Verde guided Crete-Monee to the Class 6A state championship in 2012 before accepting positions at his alma mater, Marian Catholic, and then Evergreen Park.
No opponent, however, struck fear into him like cancer.
All of a sudden, rebuilding Evergreen Park’s program had a different meaning.
Of course, it was still a priority. Verde is a competitor. It’s one of the reasons he accepted the position three years ago.
But the diagnosis and the fight ahead would change his life.
He hugs his children — Jackie, 6, and Max, 3 — a little longer. A kiss to his wife, Angie, oftentimes is accompanied by a hearty hug and an “I love you.”
“You hold on a little tighter,” Verde said. “You just never know.”
Verde, 41, had noticed a spot the size of an “eraser on the tip of a pencil” on his left ear.
But like many people, he didn’t believe — or didn’t want to believe — there was a sense of urgency.
“For six months I put it off,” Verde said. “Then in August (2017) I nicked my ear and it bled quite a bit. After a while the spot bubbled up on my ear like a blister. At that point I knew I had to get it looked at and made an appointment for the doctor.”
The doctor told Verde the spot needed to be removed immediately, which meant Verde was going to lose a portion of his ear.
On Nov. 15, doctors removed 2 centimeters of his ear. That was only part of the eight-hour surgery. Doctors also took cartilage from one of his ribs and made a 5-inch incision on the side of his head to help rebuild his ear.
Additionally, he had four lymph nodes removed from his neck, which came back noncancerous.
“I’ll never forget that day,” Verde said. “Obviously, when you hear you’re cancer free, it’s a load of your mind. I was off work for three weeks. I probably should have taken more time off. The administration and everyone at Evergreen Park were amazingly supportive.”
Verde didn’t need chemotherapy. The spot on his ear was malignant, but it hadn’t
spread.
He has received a clean bill of health.
There was one final procedure to deal with during August.
“As my ear started to heal after the surgery, it began to change in appearance and not for the better,” Verde said. “So this follow-up procedure better
shaped my ear.”
His left ear doesn’t look exactly like his right. Otherwise, he’s had very little complications.
“I don’t feel comfortable sleeping on my left side,” he said. “That’s about it.”
His good health has been enhanced by Evergreen Park’s magical playoff run to the Class
5A quarterfinals. The 16thseeded Mustangs (7-4) host fourth-seeded Montini (10-1) at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Verde has a message for those putting off a trip to the doctor.
“Go,” Verde said. “There are people with cancer who have it far worse than I did. They’re the real heroes. But if I would
have gone to the doctor sooner, it probably wouldn’t have been as bad. And if I had waited longer, it could have been worse.
“Fortunately, everything has worked out. What a difference a year makes.”
“You see things a little differently when you’re told you have cancer.” —Jerry Verde