Q&A Part 3: The Bears
In the grand scheme of things, how did the Chicago Bears play a role in your fights with cancer?
Garth: I completely had to rely on my faith with God. That was a no-brained. But, you also have to grasp for things to help you fight the daily battles of doubt, anxiety and the fears of dying.
In 2009, I was having a terrible day and in the middle of chemo, throwing up. I wanted to die. I wanted to give up. then, standing there in the kitchen I was making coffee and heard on ESPN that the Bears had traded for Jay Cutler… I lost my mind! I screamed and yelled for my son to come downstairs (he thought I had fallen and hurt myself).
I was yelling, “We got Jay Cutler, we are going to the Super Bowl!”
Okay, we never got there. But I was so thankful for that ray of hope. I remember saying to myself, “I have to at least stay alive for the next two years. We’re going to the Super Bowl.”
I love Jay Cutler just for giving me some hope.
Of course, each of my cancers were found in September. So I always counted on Sundays to be my escape. September to February were always much easier with football. Sundays, my wife would try to are something that I could keep down. I would lie on the couch with a warm coke (I couldn’t drink anything cold due to the chemo) and I would forget that I had cancer, that I had lost 100 pounds, that I was on my fourth pair of underwear that day or forget that I had chemo the following morning. The Bears made life a little easier during all of that.
Does any particular Bears game, moment or memory stand out to you during that time?
Garth: Yes, we beat the Seahawks in the first round of the playoffs in 2010. But, here is why it stands out. I was battling some crazy anxiety in my chemo brain. I got home to watch the game and was so tired from not sleeping the night before and from fighting anxiety that I fell asleep halfway through the game. I woke up and the game was over and I didn’t know who won.
I was afraid to look online. As I sat there with the other game on, one of the commentators happened to make a comment: “Heck of a game the Bears played today to beat Seattle.” It was like a tranquilizer gun hit me. I went from ecstatic, to happy, to joyful, to asleep in two minutes.
If you could give one piece of advice to those currently battling cancer or disease, what would it be?
Garth: Make the most out of every second you have to be with family and friends. In the middle of chemo you may not want to be with anyone, and I totally get that. But force yourself to do it a few times a week. Live or die, you will be grateful for the extra time.
To end things on a high note, give us your favorite Mike Ditka moment.
Garth: I have two. The first one would be the 1985 Bears vs. Vikings game. Jim McMahon was on the sidelines just harping at Mike Ditka and Ditka was yelling back at him. Jimmy wanted to get into the game even though he was injured and hopped up on pain pills. Finally, Ditka snaps and sends him in. I was watching this game in my living room as a newly married man, yelling and screaming at my TV. My wife thought I for sure had lost my mind.
Anyway, Jim goes in and throws three touchdowns passes in seven attempts. You could see Ditka go from furious to absolutely stunned.
My favorite is more of a quote from Ditka from when he was coaching the Saints. They were playing the Lions and Barry Sanders was having the year of his life. Ditka, in the locker room, yells at his defense: “If you miss Barry the first time, stay where you are. He will be back.” It truly summed up Barry’s style in Ditka’s own funny way of putting it.
To those who hung around and read my pops’ story, thank you. This was therapy for myself. Still, today, he is healthy and enjoying life as a grandpa. His routine remains the same. His faith, as strong as ever before. He is, in a word: Relentless.