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It’s no surprise to Danville High School teacher Lori Woods that the community is jumping in full force to help one of her students, Cole Montel. “We always say ‘Danville people take care of their own,’ “ Woods said. “That’s what we’re grateful for. People stepping up and making a dream happen for somebody.” The University of Illinois athletic department is pitching in, too. And maybe, if it goes like Woods hopes, Purdue will as well. Woods, a longtime teacher in the Danville school district, is doing what she can to assist one of her cherished students. Soft-spoken and smart, Cole ranks No. 3 in the sophomore class of about 270 at Danville High. He is a straight-A student with a goal to attend the UI, where he wants to study sports management. A perfect choice for one of the program’s biggest fans. Unfortunately, Cole, 15, is facing serious medical challenges. In the fall of 2020, he experienced pain in his jaw that was severe enough to keep him awake at night. He went to see a dentist who thought it was an issue with a wisdom tooth. During the surgery to remove the offending tooth, a tumor was detected in his left jaw. A sample of it was sent off to be tested. Healthy most of his life, Cole was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma. “I was shocked when I first heard about it,” Cole said. “After the shock went away, I was thinking ‘How do we fix this?’ We’re not taught how to (beat) cancer when you’re in middle school.” To repair Cole’s jaw, a bone had to taken out of his leg. He was in middle school at the time, during a growth spurt.
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