Harvesting a 200-pound bear was just part of the enjoyment Southern Door High School junior Griffin Slezewski was able to experience over the weekend. Slezewski is just a couple of months removed from finishing his battle against leukemia, which kept him at a Green Bay hospital for much of the year. A hospital employee connected the Slezewski family with Take’em Outdoors, a Wisconsin non-profit that takes individuals with life threatening or terminal illnesses out hunting. Alongside his father Kevin and brother Ben, Slezewski was able to get his bear on the second weekend out. It was an experience he will not soon forget.

The hunting trip was just the latest example of the community support the Slezewski family has received since his leukemia diagnosis in January. Southern Door’s wrestling and basketball teams held special cancer awareness events during their seasons and over $12,000 was raised to help defray the cost of Slezewski’s treatments. This Thursday, we will have a follow-up sto r y at DoorKewauneeHighSchoolSports.com about Slezewski’s journey back to the cross country course and wrestling mat.