In Hiwassee Dam High School sports, the Eagle award is given to a player who embodies everything the Eagles are for: good sportsmanship, determination and team work.
Varsity boys basketball coach Mark Raper talked about an extraordinary player on the team, whose persistence wasn’t going to let anything get him down – not even a major illness.
“He came on the team as a freshman and starting out, we had high hopes for his ability level. And when he got sick, it didn’t take away from him wanting to be a part of the team,” Raper said.
“He has inspired his teammates by his hard work and showing up even if he was sick.”
Jeremiah Dockery, a 2021 graduate of Hiwassee Dam, has received the Eagle award three times in his basketball career. His coaches say he is the most deserving because of his fighting spirt and dedication to the team.
In September 2018, Dockery was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation and ulcers in the digestive tract, according to mayoclinic.org. The disease can be debilitating and often takes an even greater physical and emotional toll on young people.
The symptoms of ulcerative colitis develop over time. The Dockery family believes Jeremiah was having symptoms at basketball camp in summer 2018.
“He just had no appetite, and he was very tired all the time,” said Jeremiah’s mother, Dana Dockery. “I came home one day, and it was so hot outside, but he was covered up with blankets. He mentioned he had passed blood, and we took him to the hospital
immediately.”
Jeremiah was transferred to the Children’s Scottish Rite Hospital in Atlanta after finding that his hemoglobin was low and having a colonoscopy. Since his diagnosis, Jeremiah has had to have a total of 16 units of blood and has undergone lots of drug therapy in hopes to find one that will help with his symptoms so he doesn’t have to have surgery to remove his colon.
He started taking a medication in February 2020 that requires monthly treatments at the hospital in Atlanta. So far, it has been working, but this is his last option.
“This is the last option before surgery,” Dana said. “There has been four different things that we’ve tried and he’s responded well to this last medication. We just hope and pray it doesn’t come to surgery. The Lord has been with us so far, and that is what we pray for.”
Jeremiah will always be on medication unless he has the surgery to remove his colon. At that point, the ulcerative colitis will be cured, but he will have a J-Pouch, which allows the elimination of waste after removal of the colon.
In 2019, Jeremiah was homeschooled for the first three months per his doctor’s recommendation. However, he told the doctors he was going back to school so he could play basketball.
Jeremiah has always loved basketball and played as a guard for the Eagles. Jeremiah has a twin brother, Jacob, who also played on the basketball team with him.
“His twin brother has been a big motivation for him and his friends on the team,” Dana said. “Before he got sick, people couldn’t tell the twins apart.”
Jeremiah never missed a practice or a game, even if he was feeling sick. He wouldn’t complain and always supported the team.
Raper recalled a conference-changing game where Jeremiah played even though he was just discharged from the hospital.
“In the Blue Ridge/Cashiers game, Jeremiah played in the game after spending the night in the hospital, which ultimately sealed the conference championship for us,” Raper said.
Jeremiah’s father, Justin Dockery, recalled the event.
“When they played at Blue Ridge, Jeremiah was discharged from the hospital, and we drove straight to the game,” Justin Dockery said. “We left Atlanta at 3 p.m. and got to the game by 6:30 p.m., and then he went on to play a quarter of the game.”
“Jeremiah is the type of kid all coaches enjoy having on their team,” assistant coach Leon Green said. “He’s always trying his hardest, and he has a heart that gives everything to the team. Even under trying times in his life, you’ll never hear him say a word about being sick.”
Jeremiah plans to attend Tri-County Community College in the fall, studying electrical engineering. Aside from sports, Jeremiah also enjoys fishing and working on old automobiles.
He and his twin brother are going to take a trip of a lifetime this summer with their grandparents to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.