Bryson and Dylan both have been diagnosed with Crohn's Disease – a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that affects nearly 700,000 people in the United States and causes inflammation in the digestive or gastrointestinal tract, according to crohnsandcolitis.com.
Despite some difficulties, the Hickok brothers have fought to play football for Meridian, and on Saturday, they will realize the dream of anybody who's ever pulled on shoulder pads along Laurel Road – play for a state title.
When you play something since you were little, it's hard to give it up just because you have a couple of downfalls.
Doing anything else was never something they really thought about.
Bryson always was one of the bigger kids on his youth baseball team growing up, Ames said, but by the end of his eighth-grade year and the beginning of his freshman year in 2014, he stopped putting on weight.
The weight loss prompted Shelly and husband, Scott Hickok, to take Bryson to doctors and eventually to Seattle Children's Hospital. It was there that tests revealed Bryson had Crohn's and they began coming up with a plan to treat it.
That's not to say that battling Crohn's didn't have its own share of difficulties for Bryson.
Though medication can control the disease, Bryson's disease had progressed to the point he had to go on a liquid diet for 60 days, and midway through that eight-week regimen doctors found he was allergic to the medication.
When I got down to my lowest point, I couldn't walk. I had to go into the hospital in a wheelchair.
Fortunately, Bryson was able to battle through, and the disease is now in remission. To keep it in remission, he injects himself with medication every two weeks. He's put weight back on – he says he's now up to 145 pounds.
While he still has an occasional "flare up," the disease does not get in the way of most of his daily activities. But it did end up costing him one sport that he loves.
Though he's been able to continue playing baseball and football, he hasn't returned to wrestling.
A little more than a year later in 2015, Dylan started showing symptoms similar to Bryson's before he was diagnosed.
While the Hickoks said it's not common for siblings to develop Crohn's, it is not unheard of, either, as many genetic and environmental factors are thought to be involved in contracting the disease, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
While Dylan also has to inject himself every two weeks to keep the disease in remission, he did not lose as much weight as his older brother and did not have to go on a liquid diet. Meridian's roster, which is infamous for listing players a bit low, reports him at 150 pounds – big enough to be a starting linebacker and a standout for the team.
But that's not to say Dylan doesn't have his own set of challenges.
Late last year Dylan was diagnosed with Narcolepsy Type 1 with cataplexy, a condition that makes it tough for him to stay asleep at night and awake during the day and causes sudden, uncontrollable muscle weakness or paralysis triggered by a strong emotion, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Having both Crohn's and Narcolepsy is extremely rare, Shelly said.
Children's told us there was no rhyme or reason ... It happened to both our kids, and we're dealing with it.
Fortunately, the Narcolepsy symptoms also can be controlled, though Dylan said he has to set an alarm to wake him so he can take medication to sleep through the night.
In fact, Dylan's a 4.0 student, Shelly said, and Bryson has maintained a 3.5 GPA. Both are polite, thoughtful and mature young men.
For the Hickoks, "normal" means football, as Dylan and Bryson have played a big part in the Trojans reaching Saturday's championship game.
Dylan's role is a bit more visible to fans in the stands, as he is a standout at linebacker against both the run and the pass.
So is Bryson, though much of his work comes behind the scenes on the practice field as a member of Meridian's scout team.
It's just heartwarming all the adversity they've found through to do what they want to do.
Bryson, who has started five games this year, brings that same hustle as a member of all of Meridian's special teams units, and Ames said he has made plenty of tackles on kickoff coverage.
Each said there's a sense of pride in watching the other play – an understanding of what the other had to battle through just to be out there on the field.
We're very fortunate to play. We know it could be a lot worse – there's a lot worse stuff out there.
Both expressed gratefulness to their parents and the doctors for helping them get to this point, which now has them on the cusp of the biggest football game they've ever played.
Organizers invite the community to join a rally to send the Meridian football team of to the state championship game in style. They encourage fans to bring homemade signs and noise makers to cheer on the Trojans coaches, players, cheerleaders as they leave for Tacoma. Don't forget to wear black and gold.
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