Life is fragile, and one of our own needs us.

Dusty Litster needs our help. At the request of some of his family members, I've set up a GoFundMe at THIS LINK to help raise funds funds for medical bills. Please consider donating.

I was excited when I got the news. I would be the starting pitcher when my high school team played a game at Lindquist Field in Ogden. The game was going to be televised on an Xfinity channel so my family across the state could watch me play. This was before streaming was mainstream and before every play of every high school sport was recorded. I couldn't get over how cool it was going to be that I would get to play on TV.

I played terribly, but I played terribly on TV. That was enough for me to brag about with my friends and family. It was the only time some of my family could see me play high school baseball. It became a core baseball memory for me.

More than 15 years later, I learned it was Dusty Litster who called that game at Lindquist Field. He was part of my core baseball memory.

My story is not unique. Dusty has been helping establish core memories for high school athletes and their families across the state of Utah for nearly two decades. No matter the sport, Dusty has been there.

Most high school athletes don't play college ball. After they graduate high school, their sports careers are relegated to adult leagues at the city park. But those high school memories live on forever. Dusty has helped cultivate those memories for literally thousands of players.

Now it's Dusty and his family who need us to help him.

A little over a month ago, Dusty suffered a stroke. He was rushed up to the hospital and started the recovery process. He didn't lose any cognitive abilities as a result of the stroke, a miracle of its own, but doctors did notice some spots on his brain that concerned them. Because of the bleeding, doctors needed some time before they could make any sort of plan or diagnosis.

Dusty learned what the spots were this week - he has a pair of brain tumors and his doctors believe them to be cancerous.

There are still lots of details to be sorted out - confirmation of cancer, what type of tumor is it, a treatment plan, a whole bunch of other things. One absolute certainty at this point is that Dusty will have brain surgery in the coming days.

The diagnosis is devastating - especially for his wife and four young kids. But Dusty’s resolve is as strong as it has ever been. When he saw the spots on his brain following the stroke, he knew what the potential was. He knew that they could be tumors and what his reality could potentially look like.

"All I need is a chance to fight," he told me.

Now the whistle has been blown and the fight is underway. Dusty is going to fight like hell to beat this thing.

****

A few years ago, Dusty approached me about joining the High School RedZone Show with him on KSL Sports Radio. It immediately sounded awesome, but it would require me to be away from my family every Friday night during football season. With gratitude for the offer, I turned him down and told him that I couldn't justify picking up another side hobby if it pulled me away from my family more than I already was away from them during football.

He understood, but he persisted.

Eventually, he convinced me to try it out for a few weeks. He gave me the ability to pick and choose my schedule. That was something I could commit to. I planned on doing one or two weeks a month and that was it. Dusty agreed and the plan was in motion.

It took about two weeks for me to fall in love with the whole show. It was super fun to talk about high school football, but it was Dusty and the Rewind team that made me fall in love with the show. I had to take Fridays away from my family, but I gained family over the past two years.

I don't have a biological brother, but Dusty became my big brother over the last couple of years. We frantically panicked together while securing streaming rights and finding internet coverage for games in rural Utah while still producing a live show. We froze together calling playoff games on the top of the press box at Stansbury High School. We spent 14-hour days at Rice-Eccles Stadium together while doing pregame, postgame, and halftime shows for all of the major playoff games. We (and the entire Rewind crew) became family.

We planned the future together, like brothers do, and folks, it's such a bright future. The way that we intend on covering high school sports and cultivating more memories for you and your families is exciting.

But for today, we pause those plans, and focus on our brother Dusty. He needs us now like we've all needed him so many times in the past.

The financial burden of his treatment for the stroke was significant. The upcoming financial burden for brain surgery, chemo, radiation, and whatever else is coming his way is downright debilitating. It's going to be an incredibly difficult path forward for Dusty, his wife, and their four kids.

If you are able, please join the fight with Dusty. Let’s rally together and minimize the financial aspects of the fight as much as possible. Let’s do it for his family. Let’s do it for our brother.