PROMISE KEPT COACH RETURNS TO HELP HIGHLAND ONE MONTH AFTER CANCER SURGERY.Byline: Ramona Shelburne Ramona Shelburne is an American sports journalist currently writing for the Los Angeles Daily News. Shelburne was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California where she was a class valedictorian. Staff Writer PALMDALE - A little more than a month ago, Kevin Tantlinger made a promise that very few people, besides himself, thought he would be able to keep. Tantlinger told the Highland High of Palmdale softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' team he would be back for the playoffs. The team had just lost in the championship game of the High Desert Classic tournament in Lancaster, the last game Tantlinger would coach before undergoing an experimental 13-hour surgery April 7 to remove five cancerous tumors from behind his right ear and jaw and in 19 of his lymph nodes Lymph nodes Small, bean-shaped masses of tissue scattered along the lymphatic system that act as filters and immune monitors, removing fluids, bacteria, or cancer cells that travel through the lymph system. . It was a surgery many advised him not to have because of the risks involved, a surgery from which some feared he might not even wake up. But without it, doctors had given him three months to live. And even if he did survive, doctors had told him it would take six months to recover, putting his target of returning for the playoffs in mid-May well out of reach. But Tantlinger has always said that ``softball is the best therapy I could have,'' and several weeks into his recovery, he realized the fastest way for him to get better was to be back at the softball field, coaching his daughter Lauren and the team. And besides, he was getting impatient to keep his promise to the team. ``I needed this, I'm sure more than the girls needed me back out here,'' Tantlinger said before coaching Highland in a 4-1 victory over Littlerock on Tuesday. Though he had watched two games from his car, flashing his lights when Lauren got a hit, and two games from inside the dugout dugout: see canoe. , Tuesday was the first time Tantlinger was able to coach an entire game at first base. ``Being out there, coaching the girls and being around softball is the best thing I can do right now. I'm sure the doctors would like me to be lying in bed at home, but I'm kind of impatient with this recovery stuff. ... And I told the girls I would be back. '' But while Tantlinger might not give much importance to his return to the softball field, the team, his three daughters and the entire community certainly do. ``It's a miracle It's a Miracle was a television show that aired on PAX-TV (now Independent Television) between September 6, 1998 and September 1, 2004.[1] Initially hosted by Richard Thomas[2], and later by Roma Downey, [3] he's come back so quickly,'' junior catcher Bridgett Morales said. ``He's made me see that if you have the confidence and the mind-set that you'll beat it, you will. If it's your time to be here, you'll be here.'' Dave Nydam is the father of Village Christian of Sun Valley senior pitcher Lauren Nydam, one of the top pitchers in the area. He has never met Kevin or Lauren Tantlinger and first heard of Kevin's condition after reading an article in the Daily News on April 7, the day of his surgery. All day at work, Nydam could hardly concentrate. He couldn't stop thinking about Tantlinger and wondering how the surgery had gone. ``Any father can relate to a guy like Kevin,'' Nydam said. ``My wife and I prayed I beg; I request; I entreat you; - used in asking a question, making a request, introducing a petition, etc.; as, Pray, allow me to go s>. See also: Pray for him all day.'' Joe Walsh
Dr. Joseph Fidler "Joe" Walsh[] (born November 20, 1947)[1] is an American guitarist and rock musician. only saw Kevin and Lauren Tantlinger when his daughter's team, Granada Hills, lost to Highland 1-0 in the Hart tournament in March. When he first heard of Tantlinger's condition, Walsh said he cried, then called his daughter Kat on her cell phone and they had a long talk about mortality. ``I was just sick when I heard what this young lady (Lauren Tantlinger) was going through,'' Walsh said. ``It's such an inspiration to me to hear that he's come back. Most of the time we just talk about softball and silly little things ... but to see the beautiful relationship he has with his daughters and what they were going through brought tears to my eyes.'' The Nydams and Walshes are two of the countless families in the softball community who were touched by the story of Kevin and Lauren Tantlinger. Chuck Rossier of Merrimack, N.H., had a more personal interest. ``My wife has (adenoid cystic carcinoma adenoid cystic carcinoma n. A carcinoma characterized by large epithelial masses containing round glandlike spaces or cysts, frequently containing mucus, that are bordered by layers of epithelial cells. Also called cylindromatous carcinoma. , the same type of cancer Tantlinger has) ... and lives in constant fear,'' Rossier wrote in an e-mail. ``She has learned that only several thousand people have this form of cancer and most will die from it and ... it is unlikely that anyone will or can do anything to save her life. ``I became aware of (the Tantlingers) only because someone posted a message that the surgery was successful. I hope that it will be available for my wife if she needs it in the future. I hope that Lauren and her sisters get to watch their father grow old and play with his grandchildren GRANDCHILDREN, domestic relations. The children of one's children. Sometimes these may claim bequests given in a will to children, though in general they can make no such claim. 6 Co. 16. and even great-grandchildren.'' Highland clinched at least a share of its first Golden League title since 2000 last Thursday, making Tuesday's game against Littlerock important only in the sense of winning the league championship outright. But when Lauren Tantlinger allowed a leadoff double to Littlerock's Tori Beaudette in the top of the third inning in·ning n. 1. a. Baseball One of nine divisions or periods of a regulation game, in which each team has a turn at bat as limited by three outs. b. innings (used with a sing. with Highland clinging to a 1-0 lead, the tension was as high as a playoff game Noun 1. playoff game - one game in the series of games constituting a playoff game - a single play of a sport or other contest; "the game lasted two hours" playoff - any final competition to determine a championship . It didn't help that the umpire A person chosen to decide a question in a controversy that has been submitted to Arbitration but has not been resolved because the arbitrators cannot reach agreement, or one who has been chosen to be a permanent arbitrator for the duration of a collective bargaining agreement. had a tight strike zone that seemed to be increasingly frustrating frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: to Tantlinger. After falling behind in the count to the next batter, she stepped off the mound and turned her back to the plate, trying to calm down. Kevin Tantlinger started toward the circle to have a conference but stopped after about five steps. ``Lauren, all I need for you to do is focus,'' Kevin Tantlinger said in a tone that made his daughter turn around. ``You can get through this. Just throw strikes and worry about what you can control, not (the umpire).'' Lauren Tantlinger shook her head, took a deep breath and came back to strike out the batter on an inside fastball. Before the surgery, Kevin Tantlinger had never missed one of Lauren's games. Teammates described her as ``a little lost'' when her father was not there. ``I'm always stronger when he's there,'' Lauren Tantlinger said. ``He's the one who made me the player I am. He knows me better than anyone.'' In two months, Kevin Tantlinger will have a CT scan CT scan: see CAT scan. See CAT scan. to determine whether the cancer is in remission Extinguishment or release of a debt. A remission is conventional when it comes about through an express grant to the debtor by a creditor. It is tacit when the creditor makes a voluntary surrender of the original title to the debtor under private signature constituting the or if it is back. It has come back twice before, but this time he said he has a feeling it is gone. ``Kevin's a lot tougher than the average Joe,'' Highland coach Dan Morrow mor·row n. 1. The following day: resolved to set out on the morrow. 2. The time immediately subsequent to a particular event. 3. Archaic The morning. said. ``He wasn't going to let a little thing like cancer beat him. He's back out there coaching at first base where he belongs.'' Ramona Shelburne, (818) 713-3617 ramona.shelburne(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Highland High assistant coach Kevin Tantlinger, left, gives his daughter Lauren a pat on the back during the Bulldogs' 4-1 victory over Littlerock on Tuesday. (2) - Kevin Tantlinger Highland High of Palmdale softball coach Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer |
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