Brookfield native Bruce Henning's journey back to competition

BROOKFIELD, Wis. (CBS 58) -- At Tee Aire Golf in Brookfield, Bruce Henning gets in some last preps.
The 60-year-old qualified for the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship after shooting a 69 at July's qualifier and being in the first group to enter the clubhouse.
"I had a nice three hour waiting for everybody to come in so that was the most torturous three hours," said Henning.
But no one passed him. He was the top score meaning he's heading to San Antonio for his first USGA event as a player.
"I've caddied for my son(Kyle) three times in national tournaments. He went to three public links and one US-Am and the US-Am was at Cherry Hill, said Henning. "To me that was the time of my life being on the bag with my son at a historic golf course. To now get to play on one myself It's a dream come true for sure."
Any kind of dreams were put on hold for Henning in 2017 when he heard the news at an annual physical, he had cancer.
"I'm glad my wife was with me because my mind just kind of shut down," said Henning.
Henning was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia or CML which affects his bone marrow.
"People have lived 15-20 years with CML just taking the chemo pill every day because it keeps it in check. At the time it was kind of a miracle drug," said Henning.
For two years Henning took that pill, but things changed in 2019. His CML progressed to Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia or ALL.
"Which meant that I had to immediately go into the hospital and have chemo. I had eight weeklong chemo treatments over six months," said Henning.
At the time, Henning was the Oconomowoc math teacher and golf coach.
"Being a schoolteacher for 24 years You never really know the impact you have on people. I got sick about a month from the end of the school year and my kids and teachers jumped into action. They started fundraising. They sold bracelets. They had T-shirts just really really rallied around me," said Henning. "It was just amazing. I couldn't believe the outpouring of people. I was so grateful for it. Every bit of it helped."
After his chemotherapy treatment, the next step was a bone marrow transplant.
"Right around Christmas my six months they said there were no matches and I just kinda blew me away and it was like well your son is your only hope now," said Henning.
While not the original plan, it was fitting because Henning's family was with him every step of the journey. The transplant was a success.
"It was just a blessing," said Henning. "My wife would spend days with me and my other son; Troy would spend nights with me. My one son Kyle, my older son, he was my donor and obviously that saved my life, but my other son and my wife, their support every single day did it just as much. Thank goodness, here I am today 6 and a half years later."
The years-long journey left Henning with plenty of lessons.
"We need bone marrow donors. I don't think people realize how important it is," said Henning. "I really want to get the message out there in the time that I have left that this is an important thing and it's an easy thing and you can save somebody's life and make their dreams come true like I'm living."
Henning didn't wait long to resume the dream, four months after the transplant he was back on the golf course in his first competition.
"When I was in the hospital for all those months, I wanted to see a couple things I want to see my kids get married. I want to be a grandfather and I want to get back to competitive golf," said Henning.
He's checking off those boxes. His oldest son Kyle is married and he's now heading to his first USGA event with new perspective.
"I've called this last six and half years my bonus bonus life so I'm trying to live it every day as well as I can," said Henning.
The U.S. Senior Amateur Championship takes place from August 23-28 in San Antonio. The first two rounds will be stroke play and then transition to match play.
"I’m just gonna go down there and soak it all up," said Henning. "It’s gonna be the time of my life."