Baseball is a very important part of Brendan McMullen's life.

"It's my favorite sport, by a long shot," the Schererville 12-year old said.

But after the events of the last few months, McMullen has a new perspective on the sport, as well as life.

"I used to get a lot more upset," he said. "Now I know it's just a game."

In a whirlwind span of about a month, McMullen has learned he had renal cancer, had a kidney removed and returned to the field.

"The whole time, I was looking forward to getting back to playing baseball," he said. "I missed it a lot."

April 26 started like any other Saturday during the season for Brendan. He went to breakfast with his dad Eric before a morning game. When he arrived at the field to change into his uniform, Brendan went to the bathroom, and noticed blood in his urine.

He informed his dad, who asked him how he felt and if he wanted to play. Not only did Brendan play, he drove in the tying run and scored the winning run in the game.

"He seemed noticeably tired," Dan Bosold, Brendan's regular-season coach, said. "But you wouldn't have known anything was wrong. You never know what you're going to get with kids. That's youth baseball."

The next time Brendan went to the bathroom, he had blood in his urine again. Later that day, he became nauseous and started experiencing pain. His parents took him to a local emergency room, where a doctor bluntly told him he had a tumor on his right kidney.

"He left the room and I started to cry," Brendan said. "I was really scared, more than any time in my life."

After going home for a short time, the family contacted Robyn Chandler, an emergency room nurse at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago who has a son about Brendan's age. Shortly thereafter, he was transported there and underwent a battery of tests.

"It was almost like I was detached," Eric said. "They were saying things and I couldn't actually believe they were saying them to me."

Rather than do a biopsy and possibly risk the spread of cancerous cells, pediatric surgeon Kathy Barsness determined the best course of action was to remove Brendan's kidney. The operation was April 29.

"Whatever it was, it was encapsulated in the kidney," Eric said. "Everything they did at Children's was fantastic. Every call they made was the right one. We were very fortunate. We owe (Dr. Barsness) a lot. If things had been done differently, there could've been much more treatment."

Brendan's pain was strong for a few days, but he bounced back very quickly, all things considered. He was released May 4, the day before he turned 12. The family celebrated with steaks on the grill, Brendan's first solid food in more than a week.

"I've never had anything taste as good as that," he said.

Two days later, pathology results showed that the kidney was indeed cancerous.

"It helped that I didn't know until after surgery," Brendan said. "I was a lot less scared than if I had known before."

All of his tests came back favorable. Brendan will return for follow-ups every three months for the next two years, but his prognosis is good.

"It just makes me thankful," he said. "I'm a lot more grateful for a lot of things, being healthy, being able to eat, just to walk around freely in the house. It makes me feel how lucky I am to play baseball again."

In the midst of Brendan's difficulties, mom Kristin wondered whether that day would ever come. It came on Memorial Day weekend, when Brendan returned to action.

"I saw more hugs at the field than I ever have," Bosold said. "To bounce back like he did is absolutely amazing. We tend to coddle kids, and they're a lot tougher than we give them credit for, a lot tougher than we are. Just seeing him back at the ball fields, hanging out with his friends, it gives me goose bumps. It brings tears to my eyes."

Brendan's tough time bonded the Schererville Baseball family, one which had lost a player, 5-year old Alex Rodriguez, just two years ago, when Eric McMullen was league president.

"You find out who's going to be there when you need them," Kristin said.

In this case, it was everybody, from Brendan's teachers at Grimmer Middle School to the town fire chief to the folks who brought the family flowers, cooked them meals and cut their lawn. He received countless displays of support, including cards, banners and a ball signed by members of his travel team.

"Just knowing they were out there doing everything could, pulling for (Brendan), helped so much," Eric said. "You hear about the crazy parents, the fighting (in youth sports). This is the good part of it that doesn't get publicized."

This weekend, Brendan is playing for the league's 11-year old all-star team, coached by his dad, in the state tournament hosted by Schererville Baseball. That, in and of itself, means everything.

"This made us realize how precious it is to have a healthy child," Kristin said. "Nothing else matters. Win or lose, every day is a good day. There are no bad days."