Todd McMullen’s dream was to buy a Ford Mustang Cobra convertible and take his family on rides at dusk underneath a sky ablaze with color.
But that dream hinged on a more serious goal: First, he had to beat his glioma.
Todd had grown up in rural Darke County. He and his wife, Sara, were married in 2010, and he had found success working in the insurance field. But he began feeling unexplainably dizzy and had a lingering headache, and in 2012, doctors gave him the news that no one ever wants to hear.
Todd McMullen with his wife, Sara, and their sons, Colin and Corey.
Glioma is a fast-growing type of cancer that affects the brain and nervous system. Its survival rate varies widely depending on the specific type and how early it’s caught. He immediately began treatment — he followed the specific protocols his specialists ordered and underwent multiple surgeries — and it worked. Periodic follow-up MRIs indicated no suspicious growth.
Todd and Sara started a family — sons Colin and Corey were born a few years apart — and lived each day as a special gift.
The Mustang
At the time, Todd drove a 1989 Ford Mustang convertible, but decided to sell it shortly before they bought their first home in Columbus. “He always regretted doing that,” Sara says. Later, as the boys were getting older, they enjoyed attending the annual London (Ohio) Cobra Show.
“My husband was a dreamer,” Sara says with a chuckle. “Each year we attended that show, he talked about building three Carroll Shelby Cobras — one for Colin, one for Corey, and one for us. Those were ambitious plans, considering it takes at least a year and a half to build each one.”
And so life went on, including those periodic discussions about that dream car and talks about those sunset drives with the top down. But the dream was interrupted by another dose of reality.
At the beginning of 2024, Todd did not feel well and knew something was amiss. Tests at the Cleveland Clinic confirmed his suspicions — the tumor was no longer dormant, and doctors also found at least three additional disorders that further complicated his condition, and soon he began feeling pain that was unrelenting.
Motivation
Sara, a former service coordinator with the Franklin County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, used her skills to investigate holistic treatments and other approaches when traditional protocols like radiation offered little relief.
“Todd would get up in the morning and slowly make his way down the stairs to his recliner,” Sara says. “He could no longer drive due to double vision, there were mobility issues on his right side, and he developed short-term memory problems. But he never complained despite the pain and everything else.”
In July of that year, Sara saw the black Ford Cobra sitting in a neighbor’s yard, a “for sale” sign in the windshield. She knew it was the motivation Todd needed. She helped him to their golf cart and a smile flashed across his face as soon as he saw the vehicle with its distinctive Cobra designs on the seats.
“Todd wanted that car,” Sara says.
He spoke a lot about the Cobra during the ensuing weeks, pointing out that Sara would have to do the driving, or planning which shows he wanted to take it to, or deciding whom he wanted to take around on those sunset drives.
The family spent much of the following months at the Cleveland Clinic, where doctors offered little hope after more tests indicated the cancer had spread to fluid around the brain and to the spinal cord. The disease ultimately claimed his life Oct. 24, 2024, exactly 12 years to the day from his initial diagnosis. He was 42.
Signs, and a decision
The idea of buying the car and fulfilling Todd’s wishes came as the family drove home from the Cleveland Clinic after his death.
Sara says a large truck emblazoned with “Ford” seemed to shadow them during the drive, which she, Colin (then 10), and Corey (6) found comforting because they all knew he was definitely a “Ford man.”
But there was also that sky.
Sara’s parents, Dave and Julie Heuing, members of Piqua-based Pioneer Electric Cooperative, were on their way back to their home in Russia (Ohio), and couldn’t help but to be reminded of their son-in-law. “The sunset was unusually beautiful that day and we knew Todd would have loved it,” Julie says. By the time they all got home, she had made a decision.
“I did a lot of praying about buying the car, and I told Sara I wanted to do it for Todd,” Julie says. “I needed to talk to my husband first, but Dave was in agreement that we should do it for Todd and the boys. My dad had two Mustangs when I was growing up and everything seemed so right.”
The Heuings test drove the Cobra and ended up purchasing it this past summer.
“The first time I took it out I could sense Todd in the passenger seat,” Julie says. “I looked over and told him to fasten his seatbelt because we were going for a ride.”
Sara says she and the boys also feel Todd’s presence when they take a ride in “daddy’s car.” Julie says she may take it to some car shows and might even take a spin along legendary Route 66.
“I am keeping Todd’s dream alive while enjoying the car myself,” she says. “When the time comes, I will pass it on to the boys, just as their dad planned.”
