Well, just thanks a lot for "that" one. Now I gotta sleep with the light on tonight!!!! :tigereye::tigereye::tigereye::tigereye::tigereye:
Ohio State walk-on receiver fighting cancer Posted by [email protected] December 07, 2007 15:43PM DOUG LESMERISES Plain Dealer Reporter COLUMBUS - Ohio State walk-on receiver Dan Potokar has testicular cancer and will begin a four-month treatment of chemotherapy on Monday, his mother said today. Nannette Kinman said her son, a redshirt sophomore, had been playing with the cancer all season but wasn't diagnosed until Nov. 27. By then, the cancer had spread to his stomach and lungs. Potokar had surgery on Tuesday and is resting at his mother's home in Grove City while he prepares for chemotherapy. OSUDan Potokar "He's very sick. He's been walking around with this for six, seven months," Kinman said. "He's been walking around trying to live a normal life with this in his body and it's almost a relief to put a name to it, to say, 'This is why I don't feel good. I'm not a wimp, I'm sick.'" Potokar impressed OSU coaches during spring practice and ran on the track team's 400-meter relay team in the spring with fellow football players Chimdi Chekwa and Malcolm Jenkins. But as he fell down the depth chart during the season, and didn't earn playing time in any games, his mother said he wondered what was wrong with him. But she said he never missed a practice. "When we found out, he finally allowed himself to be sick," she said. "He finally let his mom take care of him." About six weeks ago, he began coughing up blood, and a string of doctor visits ended with this diagnosis. Potokar met with coach Jim Tressel and then addressed his teammates at the end of a meeting last week. Kinman said several players have visited, that speed coach Butch Reynolds has been especially supportive and that OSU fans have already reached out to her son after word of his condition trickled out on fan websites. But Potokar gave his family a clear message to pass along to fans. "I don't want your sympathy. I need your love and your support and your prayers, but I don't want pity," Kinman said. "That's what he wants." Potokar, also the son former Ohio State wrestler Ed Potokar, walked on with the Buckeyes after playing football and running track at Grove City High. "He always wanted to be a Buckeye and this has been a absolute dream for him," Kinman said. "He told me, 'Mom, this is so huge for me to be a part of this.' There's nobody who could appreciate it more. And we know now how much he did put into it through this illness." Kinman said the cure rate is high for testicular cancer, as high as 90 percent even after it has spread to other parts of the body. "Being that it has spread this far, that's not good," she said. "But it does react well to chemotherapy, that's the wonderful thing." Nothing will be known until this round of chemotherapy is over. "He's a strong boy," his mother said. "He's strong mentally. He's going to pull us all through this." Anyone wishing to send cards to Potokar can mail them to Dan Potokar, 2861 Brookpark Circle, Grove City, OH, 43123. Unfortunately this disease happens to young men. My brother has it as well, currently.
My VERY best to this young man and his trials. Same to all those who must suffer and still find a way to place hope at the heals of their fight. :champs:
We all get caught up in all the hoopla about football and then something like this comes along and reminds us that its really just a game. My Mom recovered from breast cancer not long ago and we thought we had lost her. Best wishes and prayers for the young man and his family, and to you and your's. Christmas is a time when we all need to remember the things in life that are really important. "Family"! :tigereye::tigereye::tigereye::tigereye::tigereye:
