'Strongest man I know': Community rallies around Illinois police chief with lung cancer

KEWANEE – Like many people diagnosed with lung cancer, Nicholas Welgat had no symptoms until the disease had spread.

The first warning sign was neck pain, which struck the 41-year-old early this summer.

“He plays racquetball regularly and he was warming up and hitting the ball and suddenly he had a pain which kind of brought him to his knees,” said Lisa Biroschik, Welgat’s sister.

When home treatment and a chiropractor didn’t help, Welgat went to a doctor.

“They ended up ordering an X-ray of the cervical spine, and it came back showing what looked like a potential fracture,” said Biroschik. “They didn’t know if it was an old fracture or a new fracture. ... That led to a CT scan of the neck, and that led to the concern of a metastatic disease.”

More tests revealed that Welgat had stage 4 lung cancer that had metastasized to the bones.

A life of public service

Welgat, who has been the chief of police in Kewanee since 2020, is a father of four and was born and raised in the community. The only time he lived elsewhere was during an 18-month tour of duty in Iraq that started in 2002. While in Iraq, Welgat earned the Combat Action Badge, and the Army’s Commendation Medal for Valor during Combat in the Battle of Holy Week in April 2004.

After returning home, Welgat went to the police academy.

“We met each other at the police academy in 2006," said Stephen Kijanowski, deputy chief at the Kewanee Police Department.

Hired in Kewanee on the same day, the men soon found themselves patrolling the city together.

“We worked a lot of night shifts, and people in those types of positions, we see each other more than our own families,” said Kijanowski. “He’s always had my back. I couldn’t ask for a better partner. He’s a really good cop.”

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Welgat was just 38 years old when he was promoted to chief, making him the youngest person to ever hold the position in Kewanee, said his sister. As a veteran, a former EMT, and former Kewanee High School football and basketball coach, becoming chief was a continuation of a life of public service. Welgat wanted to be chief because he had ideas on how to make the Kewanee Police Department better, Biroschik said.

“He wanted a department that’s very transparent. This was coming about at the time when there was a lot of unrest, people weren’t trusting the police and you were seeing riots all over, and he wanted to bring back that sense of trust in the police — that they are there for you,” said Biroschik. “His officers will do a pick-up basketball game with the kids when they see them playing at the school. Or stop at a lemonade stand and put it on Facebook saying ‘hey, come out and support these kids.’ They are so great about supporting the community, going out and mowing, shoveling sidewalks, doing whatever they need to do while they are working.

And if there are investigations going on in town, Nicholas will post something online. He gives details so the community is aware of what’s going on and what the police are actually doing to remedy the situation. He’s just very transparent, and I think the community really appreciates that.”

From giving to receiving

Welgat grew up in a family of nine children. Biroschik is 13 years older than her brother, and was like a surrogate mother while he was growing up. As a registered nurse at Cancer Care in Peoria, Biroschik immediately understood the gravity of the diagnosis. She knew the family would need assistance in the journey to come, so she proposed the idea of starting a GoFundMe account.

At first, Welgat and his wife, Shelly, were resistant to the idea.

“I asked him to please just think about it,” said Biroschik. “I gave him a couple days to talk to Shelly about it. I said ‘you guys are gonna need a lot of time off, and she needs to be there with you and your kids.’ And after about 36 hours, Shelly contacted me and said ‘OK.’”

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Suddenly the table was turned — the Welgats have always been the ones who helped others in the community. Their best-known effort was to organize the annual Nolan Keane Baseball Classic which raises money for families with children suffering from cancer in honor of a local man who died of cancer, said Biroschik.

“They are the ones that always did this for other people,” Biroschik said. “This is not them, to accept it. That’s been very hard for them to actually accept these things. They are just so humbled by the outpouring of love and support from this community. It’s just awe inspiring.”

The initial goal of $30,000 was reached in less than 24 hours, so the goal was increased to $50,000. Though it, too, was quickly exceeded, Biroschik said the goal won’t be raised again.

"They (Nicholas and Shelly) said that’s enough. We had to take their comfort level into consideration," she said.

People from all over the country, including some who met Welgat during his military service, have donated to cause, said Biroschik. Already the money is helping the family as they deal with Nicholas Welgat’s daily trips to Peoria for treatment.

“Shelly has needed to be able to take that time off from work, so that’s been a huge, huge help for them,” she said.

The GoFundMe account is just the beginning. Numerous other community efforts have sprung up in the wake of Nicholas Welgat’s diagnosis: The annual Henry County Charity Softball Classic hosted by the county board and the sheriff’s department will be donating proceeds from the event to the Welgat family; Beck's gas station in Kewanee will be donating ten cents from every gallon sold between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Aug. 12; Tim Bryner of Bryner's Chainsaw Carvings donated an American eagle wood carving that is on display in the rotunda at Kewanee City Hall. Raffle tickets are $20 each and can be purchased from any Kewanee police officer or firefighter; and Cerno's Bar & Grill in Kewanee has donated a custom PBR Speed Merchant Motorcycle. Only 150 tickets are available at $100 each, and can be purchased at Cerno's in Kewanee.

'The strongest man I know'

The family will probably never know what caused Welgat’s lung cancer. He did smoke while he was in the military, and was also exposed to burn pits in Afghanistan, but otherwise he’s lived a healthy life, said his sister. His lack of debilitating symptoms at this point makes the situation seem a bit surreal.

“He's had no respiratory symptoms, no shortness of breath or cough. No fatigue. His blood tests have been perfect. He has no physical symptoms, even now. He just gets a little bit of pain in his neck where we know he has some lesions on his cervical spine, but that's been well controlled,” she said. “Other than that, he feels great. Which is what's so frustrating — to see this healthy, strong young man with such a monster inside of him. It's just hard to wrap your head around what's going on.”

Even though he is juggling many medical appointments, Welgat is still working. Biroschik is inspired by the way her brother is dealing with the devastating diagnosis.

“I’m just really proud of him. He’s handled this really well. He’s the strongest man I know.”

Leslie Renken can be reached at (309) 370-5087 or lrenken@pjstar.com. Follow her on Facebook.com/leslie.renken.

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This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Kewanee, Illinois police chief Nicholas Welgat battling lung cancer