NEW PALESTINE —It was a big decision. A difficult decision. Yet, an easy one to make.

Sports can be a high priority, but the importance pales in comparison when it comes to family — your best friend.

Colin Darley was getting ready for a big junior year this fall. He was going to be the No. 1 singles player on the New Palestine High School varsity tennis team. That’s a pretty big deal for a program that has long been one of the top programs in the area.

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To top it off, he’s a rare two-sport (in one season) athlete. He was also going to be the No. 1 runner on the Dragons cross-country team. He finished at that spot by the end of his sophomore campaign.

A big year and a busy year of sports lied ahead.

“It was really exciting,” Colin said of the anticipation. “I was just trying to step in and fill in the very big shoes that the seniors left. It was intimidating, but something I was looking forward to.”

That all changed with the unforeseen.

In March of this year, his older brother, Trevor Darley, who also played for the successful tennis program, was diagnosed with cancer.

Add on a worldwide pandemic and the potential dangers COVID-19 could do to someone with a compromised immune system, and Colin Darley knew he was going to go from playing two sports at once to none at all in the fall.

There was something more important to him than forehands, backhands and leading a pack of runners in a 5K through the woodlands.

“I kind of had it in the back of my mind from the beginning,” Colin said. “Even before the season, over the summer, I would try to practice running, but then you’d just kind of think, the pandemic isn’t ending. There’s no way I could be around that many people and risk bringing it back to Trevor.

“It was never really an option in my mind. I had to do it, the risk was too high not to.”

Trevor is a 2019 graduate of New Palestine. He was the No. 3 singles player his senior season. The Dragons were both county and sectional champions that year. He also was the manager for the girls’ team and part of the school’s robotics team.

He was just starting his freshman year at IUPUI, majoring in computer science.

“I had told people that Colin was me, but cooler and better in sports,” Trevor joked. He has kept his great sense of humor and positive attitude during this difficult time.

“I was looking forward to his season, too. I was at IUPUI, such a short drive home. I was at a bunch of his events his sophomore year and was thinking junior year would be the same,” he added.

“Obviously, I felt horrible that he had to miss the season. I have felt for him through this whole thing, but I do appreciate that everyone in my family is taking precautions to make sure I don’t get sick.”

Trevor received his diagnosis on March 31. He had been experiencing back pain for a while. Tests later revealed an abdominal tumor had been detected and it was cancer.

He has had two surgeries, the latter, a 17-hour ordeal removed a 15-inch tumor. He is scheduled to have one more surgery sometime in October, when the Darleys are hopeful 19-year old Trevor will then be cancer-free.

Amanda Darley, the boys’ mother, said 97 percent of the tumor was removed. There is a portion that is around Trevor’s aorta that was too dangerous to remove. She said the part left around the aorta is a non-cancerous part of the tumor.

It’s a scary time for all of them.

“When we got the CAT scan results and the doctor said there was a mass, it kind of punched me in the gut, and it took Trevor by surprise,” Amanda said. “If we knew (of the diagnosis) Doug (husband/dad) would have come. The doctor asked if he should call Doug, and Trevor said, ‘Yes, but tell him not to worry.’”

Trevor is taking the ordeal in procedure by procedure and keeping a positive attitude.

“Early on and as it continues, I have been really optimistic that God would take care of me. I’ve been put in competent hands that I will make a full recovery,” he said. “When I was first told how significant the tumor was, its size, the number of organs I could lose as the result of surgeries, I had about half-an-hour about feeling really nervous, then I went back to normal. Since then it’s been a matter of recovery and dealing with the pain and stuff.”

Colin has been overly impressed with his brother’s attitude and how he is dealing with such a difficult situation. It’s helped him a lot, too.

“Seeing him always be positive, like from the beginning, it’s not just like a show,” Colin said. “He is always so optimistic about every single, little thing.

“Where I am over worrying is every time I hear the word ‘surgery’ or ‘mass’ or ‘cancer’. He is just all happy and laughing. Him having that confidence just really helped ease me, seeing him so strong. It makes it infinitely easier, even though he’s gone through so, so much pain.”

With what Colin sees from his older brother, there’s no way he would ever want to hinder his recovery. As much as he enjoys being the No. 1 guy on the tennis and cross-country teams, his No. 1 guy is Trevor.

“There was no question (about sitting out) knowing how severe it could be for Trevor,” Colin said. “When it comes down to life or death, missing a season of a high school sport doesn’t seem like a big deal.”