T.J. Cluck withstood plenty of aches and pains as an all-around athlete at Rogers High School, where he played three sports.
Nothing approaches the pain he’s currently experiencing as a victim of sarcoidosis, a rare lung disease.
“It’s like someone is sitting on my chest and stabbing me with a knife,” Cluck said. “Every bone in my body aches.”
The disease in some people can lead to pulmonary fibrosis and even death. Cluck’s situation is serious enough he and his grandmother will drive to Rochester, Minn., where he’ll be treated at the Mayo Clinic from Sept. 9 to 18. If that wasn’t stressful enough, Cluck found out in a letter the Mayo Clinic will not accept his insurance. That’s a startling setback, especially considering he must pay $5,000 before he walks through the door to begin his treatment.
“I have no idea how much this is going to cost or how long I’ll be there,” said Cluck, who is the father of three young children. “They said I could be there past Sept. 18. They just don’t know until I get there.”
Fortunately for Cluck, he has a wide circle of friends in Northwest Arkansas and beyond who are willing to help. Nearly 200 people have collectively donated more than $14,000 in 10 days after he told his story on gofundme.com. A fundraiser will also be held from 4 to 9 p.m. Aug. 23 at Crabby’s Seafood Bar and Grill in Rogers to help Cluck and his family. Live music will be provided by Will Brand, and a percentage of the money from food sales will go to Cluck in his fight against sarcoidosis.
“I am absolutely blown away by how the community has come together for me and my kids,” said Cluck, who graduated from Rogers High in 2002. “I could say ‘thank you’ 1,000 times, and it still wouldn’t be enough.”
Most studies have shown sarcoidosis is hereditary, but Cluck, 31, can’t fully pursue that angle because he doesn’t know his father. Regardless, Cluck believes his situation was aggravated while he was working in Joplin, Mo., and breathing dust and unhealthy air after an EF5 tornado hit the area in 2011.
Six months later, he was diagnosed with sarcoidosis.
“I know T.J. feels uncomfortable about asking for help, but we’re going to make this happen,” said Terry Gracy, who was Cluck’s basketball coach for his junior and senior seasons at Rogers. “I have a special place in my heart for T.J. He was always a joy to be around as a player, and as an adult, he’s a great role model for his kids.”
At Rogers, Cluck (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) was a big, strong athlete who played wide receiver and quarterback in football and shooting guard in basketball. He was all-conference in basketball as a senior after being named the team’s most improved player as a junior.
He also ran track and played baseball in Rogers during the summer.
“T. J. was a good athlete and the kind of guy who’d give you the shirt off your back,” said Dax McKaughan, a former Mountie teammate who’s been friends with Cluck since the two were 11 years old. “He’s still the same ol’ T.J., even with everything he’s going through. I’m hurting more for T.J. than I think he is hurting for himself.”
Cluck said his optimism stems in part from Christian pastor and author Charles R. Swindoll, who says “Life is 90-10 … 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent on how you react to what happens to you.” Cluck can also identify with the final scene from “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the popular Christmas film where Clarence, the guardian angel, reminds George Bailey that no man is a failure who has friends.
Whatever his fate and no matter how much he hurts, T.J. Cluck is comforted in knowing he has many, many caring friends.