{"id":4402,"date":"2011-04-28T10:24:26","date_gmt":"2011-04-28T14:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=4402"},"modified":"2011-04-28T10:24:27","modified_gmt":"2011-04-28T14:24:27","slug":"football-great-chris-spielman-details-wife%e2%80%99s-battle-with-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2011\/04\/28\/football-great-chris-spielman-details-wife%e2%80%99s-battle-with-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Football great Chris Spielman details wife\u2019s battle with cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Close-up<\/a>

Chris Spielman was the keynote speaker for the annual Wright State University Academy of Medicine dinner. <\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cNever ever, ever use my death as an excuse for anything but motivation for everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Facing a home movie camera and delivering the message with a steely strength\u2014though her body had been ravaged by cancer\u2014that was the message Stefanie Spielman wanted her family to carry with them after she was gone.<\/p>\n

ESPN analyst and former Ohio State football great Chris Spielman shared that anecdote and dozens more as the keynote speaker for the annual Wright State University Academy of Medicine dinner on April 27.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main purpose of tonight is to raise funds to help provide scholarships and low-interest loans to our students,\u201d said Dr. David Roer, pediatrician and chair of the Wright State Academy of Medicine.<\/p>\n

Spielman, who lost his wife, Stefanie, to cancer November 19, 2009, shared his story with an audience of nearly 200.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a story I wish I didn\u2019t have to tell, but it\u2019s a good story and a love story,\u201d said Spielman.<\/p>\n

Spielman grew up playing football. Since the age of 4, he pursued the sport with a laser-like intensity. His father was a football coach. When Spielman\u2019s friends went to Florida for spring break, he went to football camps.<\/p>\n

Spielman starred at Ohio State as a linebacker. He had one girlfriend, Stefanie, his high school sweetheart. He married her in his early 20s.<\/p>\n

Spielman was drafted by the Detroit Lions and realized his lifelong dream of playing in the NFL. But a few years later, when he was playing for the Buffalo Bills, his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. A golf ball-sized lump was discovered in her breast.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like I had been hit over the head with a baseball bat. It drops you to your knees,\u201d said Spielman.<\/p>\n

As they were driving to the doctor\u2019s office, Spielman says at a stoplight he pounded the window and interior of his car in a rage, asking \u201cHow could this happen to us?\u201d<\/p>\n

Spielman said his wife became angry too, but with him\u2014for forgetting all the blessings their family had already been given.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

Spielman, who lost his wife, Stefanie, to cancer in 2009, shared his story with an audience of nearly 200.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cMy wife fought cancer five different times. And five different times she never complained,\u201d said Spielman.<\/p>\n

She also never wavered during her 12 years battling the disease in her call to action for others to find their passion; a mission, Spielman says she called it, to make a difference and make a life count.<\/p>\n

Hers was to spread awareness of breast cancer and spread the message to fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started a fund in 1998, when my wife was originally diagnosed. We set a goal of $100,000. As of last week, it was up to $8.5 million,\u201d said Spielman.<\/p>\n

Spielman, who was trying to make a comeback from a serious spinal injury at the time, walked away from football to care for his wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cI became her coach, I became her researcher, I became her fan. I told her I\u2019m not making the comeback of the century; I\u2019m staying home with you,\u201d said Spielman.<\/p>\n

Spielman says battling the cancer was hard, but watching his wife\u2019s strength gave him strength, even in her death.<\/p>\n

Spielman professed his love for doctors many times at the dinner, but each time reminded them and the medical students in the crowd, of their responsibility to serve their patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you\u2019ve been given a tremendous gift\u2014a gift to serve, a gift of knowledge, will and determination to have an impact on people\u2019s lives day in and day out,\u201d said Spielman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cNever ever, ever use my death as an excuse for anything but motivation for everything.\u201d Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":4405,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[725,2016,715],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-news-sidebar","category-medicine","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4402"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4410,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4402\/revisions\/4410"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}