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N� S��S�I���� ��R PR�P�R��I�N Me�ey con�ers w�th Wayne H�lls H��h School �oot�all coach Wayne Dem��o� as he �re�ares to anno�nce a �ame� Me�ey�s notes �or the �ame
His career struggles , though , can never compare to the heartache and devastation of losing the love of his life to cancer .
HA��� �O��OWE� T��E
Cancer has been aconstant in Mezey ’ slife since 1��� . Ittook his wife , Marilyn , and later put an end to his second chance at love .
In 1��� , �ust two years after he was married , “ the bottom dropped out ” when 2�-year-old Marilyn , ahigh school teacher , was diagnosed with breast cancer . She had aunilateral mastectomy followed bychemotherapy .
As all survivors of cancer and their loved ones know , those yearly checkups after the diagnosis are frightening . �id cancer come back� When there was good news , the couple celebrated with afancy dinner out . But after two years , doctors found aspot on Marilyn ’ s lungs . The top lobe of one lung was removed . She turned down other treatments . She wanted to get pregnant and have ababy .
That was August of 1��0� by �ecember of that year , she was pregnant , and their son was born in 1��1 . Adaughter followed three years after .
For20years after the lung surgery , the couple got busy raising their children . They ran from one event to another and celebrated many
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milestones . For20years they lived with the fear that cancer would return , but also celebrated being “ cancer free ” with fancy meals out . Things changed in 2000 . “ She called me and told me she had been diagnosed with cancer in her other breast ,” hesays . “ She had massive doses of chemo . Two years later , she got sicker .” Marilyn was also diagnosed with lymphoma .
The toughest challenge was still to come .
In 2003 , doctors told the couple Marilyn had about two weeks to live .
She was 5� years old . “ I had to go home and tell the kids ,” Mezey says . Michael was 21 and Lauren was 1� . She had �ust attended her high school senior prom .
“ I remember Lauren went to senior prom and then down the shore ,” he says .“ When she came back , she walked into the house with her friends and was laughing . Ihave to sit her down and I have to tell her .”
It was ashock tothe children , because they never knew �ust how sick their mother was . Through her struggles , she protected them from the bad news .
Mezey told them , and shortly after , his beloved Marilyn died .
“ It was the toughest moment of my life ,” he says .
Years later , hemet awoman whose husband had also died of cancer . The two began to date and were engaged when Mezey was diagnosed with prostate and kidney cancer . The fear of possibly losing another husband to cancer was too much , and the couple ended the relationship .
Mezey says his daughter has him on lots of good supplements , and between that and medical care , he ’ s doing great .
THE ��TTE�� AN� THE �AN�
Even after all these years , Mezey still gets the �itters before each game . He ’ s afraid he ’ ll make amistake and
30 SPRING 2023 WAYNE MAGAZINE