Rossville's Wehrli fought through cancer, open-chest surgery to return to football

ROSSVILLE (KSNT) - Rossville football is making a run in the 1A playoffs, and after starting the season 0-3, it's been a story of resiliency. For one senior Dawg, the situation is similar.

Donning football pads and a helmet hasn't always been a given for Rossville senior Leo Wehrli. In the fall of 2022, Leo was diagnosed with cancer, after doctors discovered a germ cell tumor in his chest.

"I knew when we went down to Children's Mercy and they start the chemo right away, it was pretty bad," Leo's mother, Pam Wehrli said.

His football coach, Derick Hammes, was at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City the day Leo was diagnosed.

"It was a tough day for all of us," head Rossville football coach Derick Hammes said.

After four rounds of chemotherapy, Leo underwent open-chest surgery the following April.

The support of his Dawgs kept him strong throughout the process, with teammates making bracelets reading 'LDF,' standing for 'Leo's Dawg Fight.' Pam's oldest son shaved his head to match Leo's and had 'LDF' tattooed on his wrist.

Leo not only missed the entire second semester of his sophomore year, but has lingering neuropathy and stage two kidney failure as side effects of the chemo. Nothing, however, could stop Leo from doing what he wanted most: getting back on the football field.

"I wanted to be back here on the field and just back to where I was before," Leo said. "Just a lot of strength training to get that strength back and a lot of running on the field."

Because of the recovery process, Leo wasn't in the shape he needed or wanted to be for his junior season in 2023. Summer 2024 brought a different approach for the senior lineman, one that included hours spent conditioning and in the weight room, preparing for his final season.

"He was ready this year," Hammes said of Leo's drive to earn a starting position. "A completely different player. He was in shape, he knew what his role was going to be on the football team and he's just done a really nice job."

Leo is now a year and a half in remission, but Pam says the cancer could reappear at any time. Since her son has wires in his chest as a result of the surgery, she still worries about the hits he takes as a football player. When asked if he himself is scared of getting hit, Leo's prompt response was 'no.'

"When he got out of the hospital from having his open chest surgery and we got home, he was like 'Mom, I can be a kid again," Pam said. "Yeah, but you still have to be careful."

Pam adopted Leo and his sister through foster care three years ago but has had them in her care for over a decade. Now, she's looking forward to watching him graduate from Rossville in May, a sight she didn't think she'd get to see.

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