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It was really overwhelming to finish the National Brain Tumor Society’s DFW Brain Tumor Walk & Race and see my wife and son Barrett at the end. It felt like more than just finishing the 5K race. It felt like a huge victory over the brain tumor — almost more than the surgeries.
Barrett was a big part of my brain tumor journey.
Finding a Brain Tumor
My wife Lauren and I were married in 2021. Fast forward to 2023, and we’re trying to start a family. We were having trouble getting pregnant, so the OBGYN suggested that I go see a doctor. I scheduled an appointment with a friend who worked for a doctor at our church, and so I went to see this doctor. Well, my appointment was set for June 8.
On June 7, I had a headache like I’ve never had before. I was working, and my computer screens started to go blurry. This headache was just pounding. I couldn’t work that day. I just had to lie in bed. It was so bad.
The next day, I had the appointment that I had previously scheduled. I went into the appointment, and the doctor said, “What’s going on?” I said, “I’m healthy. Nothing’s wrong with me. I’ve felt great for the last 10 years, but I did have this headache yesterday that was kind of weird.”
Lauren and Michael after his craniotomy
My doctor said, “You’re a new patient, and as a new patient, we want to get a baseline and just check everything. We’re going to do a scan of your heart and your lungs. We’re going to do an MRI.” I rolled my eyes, like I didn’t need any of this — just take my blood pressure and let’s go.
They scan my heart and scan my lungs. All that was fine. Two weeks later, I had an MRI and expected to hear that everything was fine. I had my truck packed up, and I was ready to go to Baffin Bay to go fishing with my college friends when I received a call back about my MRI. My medical team said, “We found something. It’s not an emergency, but we’re going to get you in touch with a brain surgeon.”
At the time, the doctors couldn’t tell what the brain mass was, so I scheduled surgery. Afterward, the surgeon told me they pulled out a tumor the size of a baseball, which was ironic because baseball has been a big part of my life as a former professional athlete. The tumor was later identified as grade 3 anaplastic astrocytoma with an IDH1 mutation.
Less than eight weeks after learning of the brain mass, we found out we were pregnant.
Returning to Work
I did 30 days of radiation and an oral chemotherapy that I took monthly for a year.
After three weeks, I returned to my corporate job at the recommendation of my doctors. When I first started back at work, I told my managers that I could do the work, but I might be napping on the couch between 2 and 4 p.m. They were very flexible and understanding.
It was an adjustment going back, as I definitely had some days where I’d be sitting at my desk after barely taking 100 steps for the day, yet feeling like I had run a 5K that day.
Barrett’s Arrival
We drove to San Antonio in February 2024 for a family baby shower, and I started having a bad headache again on the drive home to Dallas. I just wanted to get to my bed. Instead, my seven-month pregnant wife took me straight to the hospital, where I had my second craniotomy a few days later. (The procedure drained the blood that had filled the space where they had removed my tumor.)
Fast forward to April, and Barrett was born on April 13, 2024. It was one of the happiest days of my life.
I had a scan a few weeks after his birth, and it found that part of the tumor that was left from the initial surgery had grown back. This time, the surgeon said he would be aggressive even where the tumor might impact my word association.
When my neurosurgeon told me he got it all, I felt complete joy and gratitude. I was so thankful for the surgeons, the doctors, the nurses, and God’s protection on my life. Having a newborn baby at home and recovering from my third surgery, we received incredible support from family, friends, and our church community. I am so thankful for the blessings that they are.
My wife was such a champion throughout this whole thing, and I know for her, the hardest part was just sitting in the waiting room during those surgeries.
Looking Back
Before the diagnosis, I was a husband and not yet a dad. I had also never really been a patient. So life has totally changed since 2023. I have had this new outlook on life. Barrett’s birth gave me new purpose and responsibility as a father and has brought me so much joy. It really has changed my life in a lot of ways. Throughout this, I have absolutely grown closer to God and strengthened my faith, and that has been an absolute blessing.
Barrett was a big part of this story, even in just finding the tumor itself. If we hadn’t been trying and thinking about starting a family, I don’t know that I would have seen a doctor otherwise. So we feel so blessed to have Barrett and to be his parents, and I can’t wait to tell him the story one day. I know that God has allowed me to walk through this trial to bring him glory and share the hope that I have with others.
Moving forward, I don’t want the brain tumor to be something that I am just sad about and something that feels like a I feel like a victim of. Participating in the DFW Brain Tumor Walk & Race and supporting the National Brain Tumor Society was a big part of something I want to be behind.
Find an Upcoming NBTS Event
Unite with us in the fight against brain tumors and take part in one of our many events nationwide.
Today, more than 1.3 million Americans are estimated to be living with a brain tumor. Many more will be diagnosed each year. Your participation and support will drive discoveries and fuel the breakthroughs we need.
