Ex-OSU athletes lift Terlesky’s spirits

May 8, 2016 at 12:09a.m.

BOARDMAN

It’s hard to imagine anyone handling an unwanted spotlight with the dignity and grace Christine Terlesky continues to display.

Three years ago, the Boardman High School teacher was diagnosed with ALS. The incurable illness has robbed the former varsity basketball player and assistant coach of her mobility but not her spirit.

As the guest of honor at Saturday’s Fan Forum with Former Buckeye Athletes at Boardman High School, Christine’s eyes beamed and her smile was bright as she spoke about the support she continues to receive from the Mahoning Valley.

“This disease, I think, is harder on my family than it is even on me,” said the oldest daughter of Ron and Judy Moschella. “But it really is a team effort.

“They never question about the sacrifices they have to make. And there are a lot of sacrifices they’ve made for me.”

Christine and her husband, Brian, have three children: Brian Jr., Tyler and Emma.

“My husband ... we’re only 40-some years old, he’s already in the role of caregiver,” she said. “It’s tough, you know?

“But my family has been there, and I have really good friends who [help] so that [Brian] gets breaks once in a while.”

On this day when mothers are honored, it’s important to note the huge role played by Judy, a teacher for the Youngstown City Schools’ Rayen Early College program. When school is out, she goes to the Terlesky home to help.

“I’m not doing any more than any other mother would do for their child,” Judy said. “I mean, it’s just something we do. I want her life to be as normal as possible.”

After 26 years in public schools and 12 in Catholic schools, Judy said she is retiring in June, then will be rehired.

“I absolutely love what I do,” Judy said of teaching. “Until I run out of energy, I’m going to keep on going.”

She’s extremely proud of her daughter’s reaction to the frustrating disease.

“She’s never down, her sense of humor is amazing,” Judy said of Christine. “She has a positive outlook. She keeps herself alive and busy with reading and politics.

“Her bedroom is more like a family room so that the family can come in there and share things with her, do homework, talk about their day.

“For someone who is bed-ridden, she is very active in [what’s going on] in the family. That’s really amazing.”

The Buckeyes Forum featured nine former Ohio State athletes (seven football players, two basketball players) including Terence Dials, a 2002 Boardman graduate was has been inducted into the Ohio State athletic hall of fame. Proceeds from the event raised $5,000 for the Terlesky family.

Christine said she prepared for the two-hour event with extra rest Saturday morning. The program included the Buckeyes signing autographs and sharing stories as well as a raffle for memorabilia.

“I was a teacher when [Dials] played for Boardman,” Christine said. “I remember our girls varsity team would always play against the boys freshman team, [It was] good competition.”

She laughed when she recalled the time her dad, who coached the Spartans girls for 31 seasons, was “trying to show one of the girls how to post up against Terence.

“Terence just looked down on him and said, ‘OK, Coach’ – he was like 4 feet taller than him.

“No one said anything [about the absurdity] because he was so emphatic about it, but we were all laughing.”

She beamed when she spoke of her dad’s recent induction into the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame.

“It was so exciting,” Terlesky said. “We all believed he deserved it; he knows his basketball.”

Troy Smith, 2006 Heisman Trophy winner, presented Christine with a signed Buckeyes Blackout helmet.

“I was just very humbled and flattered and excited,” Christine said when she learned that Dials was organizing the Fan Forum.

“It’s very cool that Terence is from here and he decided to get all the great Ohio State players [involved],” Brian Jr. said. “She’s really excited to be here, she’s happy they’re doing this for her.

“And she’s glad to be out of the house,” Brian said, adding that Christine is able to leave home “not as often as she’d like, but we try to get her out once a week.”

She’s proud of how well Brian is doing as a high- school golfer “especially for my alma mater” and she said Emma “is one of the best nurses I have.

“I just wish she knew what I was before, but I don’t think she will.

“I think she’s going to end up being taller than any of my kids,” she said of her 7-year-old. “I told my husband ‘We’re finally going to get our 6-foot point guard.’

“I just wish that I would be the one to coach her.”

Judy Moschella noted that Saturday was one of Christine’s better days.

“She has good days and she has bad days, and all of us know how to tiptoe around the bad days,” she said. “I feel it’s my job to make every day the best day for her. You just do what you have to do.”