The Last 3 Years

    December 14, 2017. I remember it like it was yesterday. Very cliché to say but it really doesn’t feel that long ago. I was studying for my accounting final in Walsh Hall at BC when one of my roommates walked in. “Hey Woody, the RD wants you to report to health services as soon as possible.” ‘Weird’, I thought, ‘I wonder what this could be.’ I had gone into health services 2 weeks earlier and had been diagnosed with strep throat. I was taking antibiotics for it, but when those ran out, I immediately felt sick again. Once again, I visited health services, and the doctor didn’t know what was going on, so he conducted a blood test and told me he’d get back to me in 2-3 days. Well now it was 2 days later, and I was getting my results. As I walked to health services, I thought to myself ‘I have no idea what this could be, but whatever it is, maybe it could get me out of finals.’ I walked in the building and was immediately placed in a room. Shortly after the doctor came in to speak with me. I will never forget what he said, “The white blood cell count of a normal person is about 10,000, your white cell count is 300,000. Looking at your platelets, the number for a normal person is 150,000 to 450,000. Yours is 9,000, low enough to the point where if you got a bloody nose right now, I don’t know if I’d be able to stop it.” Wow. I began feeling pretty uncomfortable as you could imagine (especially since earlier that week I had a bloody nose that lasted about 3 hours). He told me these numbers were similar to that of a leukemia patient. I felt like I had been hit by a truck for about 4 seconds, after that I decided, I was going to beat this thing. The doctor asked me if I had any friends who would be willing to go to Brigham & Women’s Hospital with me to get further testing done. ‘Great, this guy thinks I have cancer and no friends who want to go to the hospital with me either’, I thought. Luckily, my roommate Peter was available and made the trip with me. The next few days consisted of a lot of medical tests, tons of phone calls, and one final diagnosis, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. At this point I had accepted that I had blood cancer, but I had hoped it was Hodgkin’s Lymphoma because that’s the type of cancer Eric Berry of the Kansas City Chiefs had. Since we are both superior athletes, I figured it would be cool to have the same kind of cancer. By a couple weeks in, my whole family made it out to Boston to hang out with me in my small hospital room. To this day, that was my favorite Christmas ever because everyone was together, just living in the moment and appreciating all that life had given them. 

    I began a month of inpatient treatment with my doctor, Marlise Luskin, at BWH followed by a 3 month clinical trial of inotuzumab. I had many visits from friends and family, as well as professors and a man who would become a great friend, Fr. Tony Penna. Tony works as the BC Men’s Hockey chaplain and also teaches a theology class at BC which I took last year (no Father T, I don’t hold a grudge against you for only giving me an A-). I took a medical leave of absence from BC and went back home to Minnesota for the following few months. Living at home was definitely tough during this time because there was so much going on at BC that I missed out on. I missed my friends going on spring break, missed Marathon Monday, and missed ESPN’s College Gameday at BC against Clemson. That left me with a bittersweet feeling since I had followed the team incredibly closely, had multiple friends on the team, and my one college football dream was to go to Gameday at BC (other than when Hafley takes us to the Playoff). I had also missed my girlfriend Carlisle run the New York City marathon in my honor, as she had raised over $9,000 for the American Cancer Society. Watching so much life happen while I was at home was exciting and a bit saddening. I couldn’t help but feel a little left behind. My friends lifted my spirits by passing a #WoodyStrong banner around to different college campuses, letting me know that they stood with me. All in all, it was tough being away, but my friends, family, and the BC community made me feel that I was loved. It wasn’t all bad though. I got to watch my brother’s senior high school football season as they made it to the state championship. I’d talk in the stands with my uncles, dad, and brothers about how the players on the field should be acting more like Tim Riggins, and then come home for a great meal prepared by my mom. I worked with a great team at the University of Minnesota as well. I’m grateful that Boston and MN are the two places I received care since there aren’t many spots in the world to find better healthcare. I came back to BC a year later, finishing up my sophomore year having missed just 2 semesters. I was absolutely nervous, but the semester began feeling pretty regular. Early on in my first semester back, I went to mass on upper campus with my girlfriend. It was being led by Fr. Tony and I was excited to say hello. He gave me a wave at the beginning and looked really happy to see me there. He said a great mass and at the end he gave me a quick shoutout, saying I had been through a lot and asked everyone to give me a warm welcome back. People started clapping as I gave a little wave and felt very much back into the swing of things at BC. Carlisle and I walked back to my room after mass, and I really didn’t say much. Once we got to my room she asked if I was feeling ok since I was acting quiet and had an odd look on my face. I immediately burst into tears. How on Earth did I get so lucky to be surrounded by so many great people? What did I do to deserve this? That simple gesture was all I needed to realize that the people in my life are special, and I was absolutely not in this alone. God is great, God is effing great. 

    One other time that semester that made me feel lucky to be back was when I was hanging out at 282 Foster St, where some buddies of mine lived. I was nervous to be living alone and wondered if I could handle the transition back into school after a year off. People were just moving back for the semester and my friend Hugh had just arrived. I had gotten to know him a good bit early on sophomore year but didn’t know him incredibly well. When he walked in, he was surprised to see me. He said, ‘Woody it’s great to have you back man, just know you’re always welcome here.’ Since then, I’ve become much closer with Hugh but at the time I thought how genuine that was and it really hit me how much people care. I’ve never told him how much that simple ‘you’re always welcome here’ meant to me in my transition back. It was that much more comforting since about half of my friends had gone abroad in my first semester back. Thinking back on it, it’s wild how much of a difference those 4 words made a difference and helped put my mind at ease. After that I had convinced myself ‘I can do this no problem’. I mainly hung out at Rose Garden and Foster Street, and I had an awesome time that semester. I got to visit friends in Madrid, I got back into club baseball helping the team to its first ever world series bid, and I made a bunch of new friends in Chestnut Hill. The next year was just as fun, if not more. All of my abroad friends came back acting like they were changed people, and it was their senior year so that was exciting as well. My treatment at Dana Farber and the University of Minnesota persisted, but all went well. I lived as a faux senior for that year, as all my friends were set to graduate, but I had another year. I was unsure what this year would look like, but I was also excited. I was able to meet an idol of mine, Mark Herzlich, who is a former BC football great who was diagnosed with cancer while in school like me. I briefly told him my story and how he was an inspiration to me, and also got a photo with him. Overall, the year was awesome even with it being cut short due to COVID. At the end of the year, Billy, a buddy of mine through baseball, asked me to live with him and his friends for my real senior year. I had never met any of them, but once again I was luckier than ever because they’ve become great friends of mine as well.

    Balancing treatment, school, and social life is definitely weird, but I made it work. I would go to appointments on a monthly basis with my girlfriend, on some occasions getting sick and making her act as my nurse (my mom had this duty when I lived at home). I was able to go to football tailgates and keep up with schoolwork as well. I’ve become the go-to to talk about spinal taps and bone marrow biopsies with my grandma, Punkin, who has also begun receiving them. My late grandfather had told me I was his inspiration in attacking my treatment head on, when he began rehabbing his broken neck. Since he was a traveling writer and served in the Navy, every conversation I had with him was the coolest story I’d ever heard, but that was by far the coolest. Today I finally finished treatment and finished a big chapter in my book of life, with college graduation set for next week. I feel as though I’ve had a lifetime of memories in only 3.5 years, so it feels weird turning the page. I wouldn’t wish this disease on anyone, but man did God have something in store for me with this journey. The number of blessings He sprinkled in for me are too many to count. Growing up I always thought I would never be able to handle having cancer, but here I am, propped up by friends, family, and the BC community. How in the world did I ever get so lucky? Today I rang the bell at Dana Farber, signaling the end of my treatment. With tears filling my eyes I watched Carlisle and my nurses cheer me on. Who would have ever thought I would be sad to finish treatment? The people who have worked with me have done an incredible job and are even better people. Just one more blessing found in this journey of madness. I can’t thank enough the people who have been through it all with me. I’m a kid who got cancer at the age of 19 in the middle of college but right now all I can think is ‘How am I so lucky?’ It’s finally time to turn the page in this crazy book I call life, and thanks to everyone who made it possible.