A STORY OF LIFE
BY JEFF NUNN | PHOTOS BY DAVID HARRISON
EVERY DAY I WAKE UP IS A GOOD DAY . THESE ARE THE WORDS I LIVE BY . THEY HELP GIVE ME PERSPECTIVE AND ARE A CONSTANT REMINDER OF THE DAY THAT I WANTED TO CLOSE MY EYES FOREVER JUST TO MAKE THE PAIN STOP .
IN LATE APRIL 1998 , I was a healthy 25-year-old with a great job who played in a softball league , basketball league and a golf league . I had just signed a contract to build my first house and felt like I was on top of the world , even though I had just started working odd hours as I transitioned into a new work schedule .
When my eyes became watery and red , as if I had the beginning of pink eye , and I started having headaches and sleepless nights , I chalked it up as an adaption to the change in my schedule and assumed it would all go away as soon as I became acclimated to a new routine .
One evening after a late work night , I rushed out to a party to meet up with friends . I had a few adult beverages and stayed out too late , and got about an hour or so of sleep before my father picked me up around 5 a . m . to play in a golf scramble .
My allergies can give me fits on the course , so I took an allergy pill just before he arrived . On the way to the course , I became nauseous and lightheaded , and asked my father to pull over so I could get sick . Despite his concern , I assured him it was the fact that I ’ d had my last drink only about a few hours before and had also just taken an allergy pill . I felt certain that combination made me feel this way and would wear off soon .
Once we arrived at the course , I had a Sprite and chewed a piece of bubblegum . The nauseous feeling subsided and the lightheadedness nearly did , too . We played about three holes , but I wasn ’ t playing very well and I felt a little off balance . As we pulled up to the fourth hole , I got so dizzy I fell when I tried to get out of the cart . I couldn ’ t even stand up . My teammates razzed me a bit about staying out too late the night before and not being able to handle my liquor . I , too , assumed that was exactly the problem .
I rode in the cart for the next few holes before asking my father to take me back to the car so I could sleep it off while everyone else finished golfing . After the scramble , dad took me back to the apartment and helped me climb to the second floor . He asked if I wanted to go to the hospital , but I assured him I would be fine after I got some rest . The next morning , I tried to get out of bed . I fell flat on my face . I had absolutely zero balance and could not stand or walk . Using my arms , I dragged myself to the phone and called my mother . She and my youngest brother rushed over to get me . My brother carried me down the two flights of stairs and put me in the car .
BY THE TIME WE REACHED THE HOSPITAL , I couldn ’ t even hold up my head . The hospital staff greeted us at the emergency room entrance and placed me in a wheelchair . I must have looked pretty badly because they rushed me straight back .
The on-call doctor said I had an extreme ear infection , and after a bag of fluids I should be good to go . But after the bag of fluids , I tried to stand up and fell straight to the ground . The doctor quickly ordered more tests , including a CT scan and MRI . I was leaking fluid from the back of my brain . The neurosurgeon on call ordered an angiogram .
The test revealed I had a tumor on my brain stem – but the doctor couldn ’ t tell if it was cancerous or not . He could only tell us that surgery would be required .
I was immediately admitted and placed in the intensive care unit ( ICU ). Further tests were needed to devise a plan of attack on the tumor . Surgery was scheduled for the end of the week , which just happened to be Oaks Day 1998 .
I had bought a box near the finish line for Oaks and was upset that I had to miss it for a stupid surgery . I had no idea how serious my situation was . I just wanted to get through with it so I could at last watch the Kentucky Derby .
During the times that I felt halfway decent and was allowed visitors , most of the conversations I remember were about the Oaks and Derby . I really liked a horse named Indian Charlie that year . My mom , on the other hand , suggested everyone bet on Real Quiet because this week was the quietest I had ever been in my life , and he was the stablemate of the horse that I liked . ( For the record , Real Quiet won the Kentucky Derby that year .)
The ICU was not a great place to be . I could only have visitors every so often and in short increments . At times , it was lonely and the pain grew worse every second . It seemed about every 10 minutes a nurse would come in and stick me or ask a bunch of questions .
After a couple of days , I had so many IVs in my arms they ran out of veins , so they sutured a line into my neck . I also wasn ’ t getting enough nutrients because I couldn ’ t hold any food down , so they ran a feeding tube through my nose into my stomach . ( I didn ’ t like that , so I ripped it out .)
As the hours passed , the pain kept getting increasing . When I was awake , all I would do was dry heave , so I tried to stay asleep as much as possible . Two days before the surgery , the pain reached a point that I , selfishly , asked God to just let me close my eyes and never wake up so I wouldn ’ t be in pain anymore . I closed my eyes and went into a deep sleep . Everything went blank , and then a funny thing happened : I slowly opened my eyes and as the light hit my pupils , I saw my family . Suddenly , I realized life was worth fighting for , and that ’ s exactly what I was going to do – fight with everything I had . I had so much to live for and so much more that God wanted me to do .
THE MORNING BEFORE THE SURGERY , two priests came in to bless me . One said something about anointing of the sick and the other read about last rites . It was only then that I realized just how serious my condition
26 EXTOL SPORTS / MAY 2017