Always the coach, Waseca's Ted Hammond showing us humor is powerful weapon vs. cancer

On Monday, Ted Hammond arrived at Waseca High School on a knee scooter. One hand was on the handlebar, the other held a plastic container of krumkake, a Norwegian waffle cookie he wanted a first-time visitor to try.

He joked with some of the staffers while he filled krumkake with whipped cream before presenting it, then it was back on the scooter to head to a conference room.

His right foot is wrapped up following surgery last year. The toe next to his right big toe was removed when he split it while trying to adjust the guard on a hammer toe on that foot. That came after he needed surgery in 2018 to remove his left pinkie toe.

"It's humor that gets me through this," Hammond, 73, said. "I said after the first surgery, 'Just call me Teddy Nine Toes, T.N.T.' Unfortunately on my other foot we had a toe taken off. So we are down to T.E.T. Teddy Eight Toes. That's what gets me through it."

There is healing in laughter, and Hammond, also a cancer survivor, is laughing while healing. He's been at Waseca since 1978 and has coached a variety of sports there, including football, basketball, tennis and golf.

He's currently coaching eighth-grade basketball and can't wait to get to the gym for practice, even if he's limited to a scooter.

"He's a totally dedicated man that has dedicated his professional adult teaching and coaching life to the students of the surrounding communities," said former Twins coach Gene Glynn, the first-ever Minnesota Mr. Basketball for Waseca High in 1975. "Great example of what a teacher, coach and community member should be."

It was during an annual physical in 2008 that Hammond learned he had prostate cancer.

"It was pretty aggressive," he said.

Hammond showed no symptoms prior to the diagnosis. He ended up having surgery to remove his prostate and returned to coaching football. One of his players misheard the cancer diagnosis and told his parents Hammond had pancreatic cancer. Word spread and Hammond started getting calls from people he hadn't spoken to in years. He had to assure them he had the other cancer that started with a P.

"It was funny," Hammond said, "but we found out how many people cared about us."

The cancer, however, was persistent. In 2018, Hammond underwent 36 radiation treatments to get rid of the 1% that remained. He continued to coach basketball through it.

His PSA level — prostate-specific antigen — is frequently checked. His condition improved for a while after the radiation treatments, but his PSA levels began to increase again. A PSA level around 4.0 is usually a safe zone. Hammond's shot back up to double digits. He was recently declared a candidate for cryotherapy and started those treatments in November. He has another session scheduled next month.

"Ninety-nine percent is usually an excellent result," Hammond said, "but the (last) one percent has been my battle for the last 15 years."

He has prevented his forced relationship with cancer from dictating his life. He has three children and three grandchildren. He's coached on some successful teams at Waseca. He coached the golf team in its inaugural season of 2011, reaching the state tournament. He was an assistant on the boys basketball team that went 23-1 and won the 2021 Class AA title.

This year, he celebrated his 52nd wedding anniversary with his wife, Penny, whom he met while a student at Wisconsin-Stout. They have been together on a journey that has included stops in Japan during his Air Force days, then Milwaukee before moving to Waseca.

Hammond's goal is to be back on the golf course in the spring. And there's a chance the Waseca junior high golf team might need another coach. Before any of that transpires, Hammond is being honored on Friday before the Bluejays' girls basketball game against Jackson County Central as part of Coaches vs. Cancer, a program that supports the American Cancer Society.

The battle with cancer continues, but Hammond has remained the quipster through it all.

"I've always had a sense of humor," he said. "My dad had a wry sense of humor, and I would listen to him talking to his buddies. And my wife and I just make each other laugh, For me, it's the best medicine. It really is."