Hilton Head student goes "Footloose" despite fatal disease

Brennen Reeves always knew he had the heart to be a great performer.

He just wasn't sure his lungs could keep up.

The 17-year-old Hilton Head Island High School senior has cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease of the mucus and sweat glands that can clog the lungs and lead to respiratory failure.

He has been in and out of the hospital since birth. Now, he takes medicine three times a day that keeps his breathing passages open. Doctors didn't think he would survive his freshman year without a lung transplant -- a procedure that has yet to be scheduled.

Because of all that, he's probably the last kid you'd expect to find center stage, singing and dancing the lead role in the musical "Footloose."

Brennen decided one thing early in his life: He would not be controlled by a disease. He's found ways to manage it so he can live, as much as possible, the way every teenager does.

As star of the school play and after three-and-a-half months of grueling rehearsals, he's trained his lungs for the 10-day production beginning Tuesday.

Along the way, he's discovered his voice and his steps are doing much more than just keeping up.

BECOMING AN ACTOR

As a child, Brennen played soccer, basketball, baseball, and even boxed a bit. He quickly learned, though, that strenuous sports put too great a burden on his fragile lungs.

So in high school, he shifted to the theater.

"It was always hard when my friends would play football and I couldn't," he said. "But God gave me these cards, and I have to play them. ... Sure, sometimes I get winded dancing, but not as much as if I were playing basketball or baseball."

Brennen was introduced to theater three years ago through his work as a stage hand. After admiring director Mike Pilgreen's work from behind the scenes, Brennen decided to try to move into the spotlight.

He's earned minor roles in two previous productions, "The Nerd" and "Wait Until Dark."

Pilgreen decided to give Brennen the "Footloose" lead mostly because the actor wouldn't stop bugging him. Brennen also had the necessary skills, Pilgreen said.

"The student's desire for the role is very important to me because I think it translates on stage," the director said. "And he really wanted it, and we felt like he deserved it. He made it clear to me every chance he got, every time he saw me, that he wanted it."

MANAGING HIS HEALTH

Brennen plays the role of Ren McCormack -- a city boy who moves to a small town where rock music and dancing have been banned. Kevin Bacon played Ren in the 1984 movie.

To maintain his stamina, choreographers and voice coaches have worked with Brennen to ensure the song and dance routines have enough pauses to give his lungs a break.

"He's doing a great job under the circumstances," Pilgreen said. "This role is the largest singing role in the play, so we've had to make some adjustments, but not as many as we thought we would have to. He has really ... given everything he's got. We're really proud of him."

Brennen's mother, Ann, has not seen him rehearse and said she's excited about opening night. Some relatives are flying in from Michigan.

"This is something that's really kept Brennen positive and motivated," she said. "It's amazing that someone who could (have been) so angry has the most positive attitude."

Brennen has worked hard to manage his health so it wouldn't interfere with rehearsals. He gives himself treatments and schedules doctors' appointments during school breaks.

Since the disease is progressive, he's finished most of his classes ahead of schedule and has only two left to graduate.

"Staying healthy is my No. 1 priority,"

Brennen said. "Then school. ... Outside of this (disease), I'm just a regular teenager."

MOTIVATING OTHERS

Brennen goes to Atlanta every five months -- more often if he gets sick -- for intravenous antibiotics to clear his lungs and airways. His doctors call it "a tune-up." He is at the top of the list for a lung transplant at St. Louis University Hospital, but when he wants to get the transplant is his decision.

The transplant is the last option, because the average survival rate is only 50 percent five years after the operation, Ann Reeves said.

His health isn't worsening, but it's not improving either.

Brennen said that as long as he can have fun, do well in school and participate in extra-curricular activities, he'll wait on getting new lungs.

When he's at the hospital, he tries to visit other kids with cystic fibrosis to encourage them to stay positive.

"God gives you this disease for a reason," Brennen said. "I try to talk to the other patients and let them know that I feel good about myself. And if I can do it, other people can do it, too. ... After three months of working hard, it can't get any better than this."