Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1324324
WILL'S STORY THE SUMMER OF 2020 and the global pandemic posed unprec- edented challenges for everyone. For those with compromised immune systems like Will Francis, extra vigilance in the way of social distancing and mask wearing was, and remains, critical. The then 19-year-old entrepreneur, and former Centennial High School hockey star, was forced to supervise his lawn and landscaping business from his truck rather than working side-by- side with the friends he employs due to his Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) diagnosis that spring. Running your own busi- ness is not your average teenager's summer job but Francis says it was born of necessity. "Between hockey and football in high school, I couldn't really work the schedule to have a normal job after school, so I would just mow lawns," Francis said. The trendsetting Francis was social distancing before it was all the rage worldwide after a doctor explained to him in March why he had been feeling so sick in recent weeks. With his parents, Jeff and Heather, by his side at a hospital in Grand Marais, Francis learned his white blood cell count was nearly 18 times higher than is considered normal. "I think I remember saying, 'Nah, you guys have the wrong guy, this couldn't be me,'" Francis said. "But then, obviously, you kind of have to face reality and then realize this is happening; we've got to take the best plan to attack it." Although chemo was effective in shrinking Weiss's metastatic lymph nodes by more than 50 percent, it was not enough for his doctors. BY B R I A N H A LV E R S O N 17 J A N / F E B 2 0 2 1 | M H J ON L I N E . C O M Will Francis is the lawn- mowing, cancer-beating, football-playing entrepreneur who also happens to be a UMD recruit and NHL draft pick.