First off, thanks for taking the time to let me introduce myself and to learn about my H4H “why”. I’m sure many of you who are reading already know why and who I’m fighting for, but for those who have ended up here through a friend of a friend or social media post, here is my not-so-brief motivation for this amazing fundraising event (forewarning, and for those that know me know, I don’t leave out many details when telling a story)….

 

I met Meg at Toby Keith concert at the Xfinity Center (Great Woods for my older readers) 10 years ago. We were both in pretty transitional stages of our lives that made the goal of going to a country concert nothing more than listening to awesome music and getting a great buzz. I was lucky enough to have made plans to meet up with an old co-worker/friend, who happened to be Meg’s best friend, who she was there with that day. As fate would have it, that awesome music, great buzz and my not-so-southern charm would land me my now wife of 8 years and two amazing stepsons. We got married in April 2015 and now have a family of 6. I don’t believe in love at first sight per se, but something told me that day that I shouldn’t let this one go and I thank God every day I listened to that something.

 

In the early fall of 2020, Meg had made a doctor’s appt because she hadn’t been feeling her regular on the go, high energy self. Well things had taken a drastic turn and her initial bloodwork came back indicating something was up. They ran test after test, looking at all types of disorders. All negative and her blood counts remained off. Finally, her hematologist at the time ran a Lymphoma/Leukemia gene panel not thinking it would come back with positive indicators. In the beginning of November, we got the call that it had in fact come back with the genetic markers associated with a certain Leukemia, but he was referring us to a specialist at Dana Farber in Boston for further testing. He did not want us to be concerned, as there were a lot of unknowns, and this was not any acute form of a blood cancer. However, hard not to worry when the word “cancer” is presented in any form.

 

This is where things take an unexpected and still quite literally, unbelievable, turn. Two short weeks later, right before Thanksgiving, Meg found a small lump on her left breast. We tried not to panic as these lumps and bumps can be anything and “what are the chances?”, right?! Given all that was going on, she immediately called her PCP and things went from there. Remember now, we are in the winter of 2020, height of the second Covid surge so visitors aren’t allowed in hospitals. The ONLY appointment I was allowed to even accompany her to (and even still I had to stay in the waiting area) was her initial biopsy. We waited 3 long days for results and finally got the call. It was cancer. Invasive Ductal Carcinoma to be specific, whatever the f*ck that was at the time other than extremely scary and devastating. We cried and then we conquered. Her initial care and surgeries were all at Beth Israel, one of the best. Her surgeon was amazing through every step. An initial MRI found 4 tumors in her left breast, so the most reasonable plan was a mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. The surgery was a success and Meg has had a total of 3 reconstructions to date. Nothing has been easy that’s for sure, but she’s also not going to accept mediocre at the age of 46. I truly commend her for that. She started the hormone suppressant drug Tamoxifen immediately and she will be on that for at least 5 years. This drug of course is necessary in order to cut chances of recurrence from approximately 30% to 3%, but it also has its own laundry list of negative side effects. One being uterine issues, endometrial cancer being the worst case. Well Meg was one of the lucky ones that ended up on that end of the bargaining chip. She started having severe symptoms less than a year on Tamoxifen that resulted in a total hysterectomy in June of 2022, at the age of 45. Luckily no cancer was found.

 

After her mastectomy in January of 2021, she had to also continue her journey to find out what was causing the hematological issues. The path was not as easy as we had hoped for several reasons, but if there was a big lesson to be learned through all of it…. It was to keep pushing and to keep advocating. “No one is looking out for you more than you” is what she learned quickly on when navigating this medical maze. In the end, she ended up in the hands of one of the best in the Dana Farber hematology/oncology medical community, Dr. Daniel DeAngelo. She was diagnosed with LGL (large granular lymphocyte) leukemia, a rare (fewer than 1,000 new cases per year) form of chronic leukemia that is often misdiagnosed or overlooked. What was and IS still so mind-blowing and confusing is that her two cancers are independent of themselves and do not have any sort of relation to each other. LGL leukemia does not have the possibility of remission like other blood cancers, as she will live with it throughout her life.  However, as far as blood cancers go, it does have a more positive prognosis as long as she is followed closely by her DF oncology team to make sure her blood counts stay within a certain range, keeping her out of dangerous risk for infection. There are many advances and treatments that are available, and thankfully we know the signs to look for and how to access the care when needed.  Just this past year, she was hospitalized for four nights due to an intestinal infection. This is her/our new normal. I’m sure many of you know far too well from your own personal experiences or relationships, cancer can be an unpredictable, evil beast. We are just so fortunate and grateful each day that we live so close to some of top cancer medical care facilities in the country.

 

I told you this wasn’t going to be short…. but hopefully you made it this far and thank you so much if you did.  To sum it all up, I’m fighting for that girl I met shotgunnin’ beers at a Toby Keith concert tailgate 10 years ago. After being by her side (and worse, watching her have to go through things alone because I couldn’t) and watching all she had to endure along with the fear and worry of also being a mother of four young kids, she deserves someone to go into the ring to fight for her and all the others out there in similar situations. Meg did it all with grace and a positive attitude, and to call her an inspiration just isn’t enough. She ran the Boston Marathon years ago and I told her last Spring I was thinking of running it this year for a cancer charity. If you know me, you know I don’t run. She chuckled, I took offense… and we moved on. Well, here I am …. thankfully, not training for 26 miles but instead training for the fight of my life for the woman I love.

 

Huge thanks to Haymakers 4 Hope for being such an unbelievable organization and outlet where I am able to raise money for charities that mean so much to us as a family. With their help and your generous donations, money raised will be donated to two funds mutually: the Breast Cancer Research Fund (BCRF) and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Any amount donated, big or small, is incredibly helpful and so much appreciated. Thank you all so, so much.

 

P.S. If someone is willing to donate enough, I am not opposed to taking a dive… if you’re willing to donate even more, I’ll stand there and just take punches.