Samuel Glenn Kennedy has had to fight his whole life.
So the 30 pills a day he now has to take to control his seizures and fight to stay alive is just another bout for the 47-year-old former Dodge City High Red Demon three-sport athlete and boxer.
Kennedy, a native of Kansas City, Mo., arrived at Methodist Youthville as an eighth grader in 1975 after his mother gave him up and he bounced between a host of foster homes. It was shortly thereafter when Ken Pitetti, a former DCHS biology teacher now clinical physiology professor in the College of Health Professions at Wichita State University, found the youngster.
From Youthville, Kennedy then went on to Dodge City High School where Pitetti, who taught and also coached Kennedy during his years on the Dodge basketball and football teams, made it a point to make sure Kennedy got the direction he needed.
"I was a Vietnam vet," Pitetti said. "One day, Glenn was talking about quitting school and joining the army and I said, 'You don't want to do that.'"
Wanting him to finish school and at least receive his diploma, Pitetti, along with his wife Carol, began to look after Kennedy and eventually adopted him.
Kennedy went on to play football, basketball and baseball for DCHS, and especially excelled on the grid iron, earning All-Area honors as a defensive back and wide receiver.
"He had great reflexes and great hands," said Bob George, defensive coordinator and wide receivers coach for the Demons during Kennedy's career. "He was very coachable. Some kids don't take coaching very well, but Glenn, you only had to tell him once."
Others noticed that Kennedy's great reflexes and hands could help him in another sport — boxing
Steve McConnell played football and baseball with Kennedy and is also Carol's nephew. McConnell said Kennedy was a smiling easy-going guy while at Dodge, but was also someone he or no one else wanted any part of in a scuffle.
"If you were in a fight, you definitely would want him to have your back," McConnell said of Kennedy.
Pitetti, who also noticed his foster son's superior ability with his hands, decided to put a punching bag in the house.
Shortly after graduating from Dodge in 1980, Kennedy moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a professional boxer.
In time, Kennedy rose to the top of the California boxing ranks and became the state's light-heavyweight champion. Kennedy defended his title twice, but after enduring two consecutive knockouts, Pitetti said Kennedy was ready to hang up the gloves, but not completely.
Kennedy remained ringside as a coach, volunteering his time to disadvantaged youth at a boxing club in Covina, Calif.
Professionally, Kennedy worked as a floor supervisor for a computer installation company in California. That is until about two years ago.
In 2007, Kennedy began having problems seeing and speaking clearly. The former Demon standout athlete was diagnosed with a brain tumor called meningioma.
The benign tumor grew as large as a grapefruit, said Pitetti, and became life-threatening. Neurosurgeons of the University of California of Los Angeles Medical Center were able to remove 90 percent of the cancer after a 15-hour surgery.
After six weeks of radiation therapy, the rest of the tumor was in remission. But approximately four months after the initial surgery, Kennedy began to have seizures.
Five months ago, Kennedy had a grand-mal seizure and was unconscious for 11 hours.
Today, Kennedy is still slowly recovering in Covina, Calif. and is forced to move around with a walking aid. He requires a 24-hour care provider to help with day-to-day basic needs
Pitetti and his family contribute $3,000 a month to Kennedy to help with his medical expenses and continue to keep in touch with him trough the rehabilitation process.
"We're doing everything in our power to make sure he gets the medical attention he needs," Pitetti said.
Pitetti said Kennedy's attitude and spirit remain high just as they were when he was in Dodge City, and said the man who has competed and fought his whole life will continue to battle through this ordeal.
Donations to the Glenn Kennedy Medical Fund can be sent to Heritage Bank, NA, 4222 E. Camelback Road, Suite J-200, Phoenix, Ariz. 85018.
DODGE CITY —
