Cancer Patient Gets Chance to Cheer Adopted Team
“You know, I’m a Cleveland Browns fan first, but I was thrilled to see the Packers beat the Steelers,” Demyan said. “If my Browns couldn’t win it, I’m glad Green Bay did. When you’re a Browns fan, or an Indians fan, or a Cavs fans, you need a backup team to root for.”
It’s easy to root for the 47-year-old Demyan, a father of three girls and a salesman for Gunton Corp., a distributor for Pella Windows, in Westlake, Ohio. Demyan was diagnosed with Stage III pancreatic cancer in May 2010.
After 13 chemotherapy treatments and a month of radiation, Demyan was scheduled to have surgery. Three days before the operation, doctors told Demyan the cancer had spread to his bones, and the surgery was canceled. In December, he had two more sessions of chemotherapy.
“In November, Ed was given the news that he has six to nine months,” said his fiancée, Mary Kaye Mackulin. “He’s a single dad and I’m a single mom, but I wanted to do something outstanding for him.”
Mackulin turned to the Internet, researching organizations for adults in the end stages of life, to help fulfill Demyan’s final dream of attending a Super Bowl.
She discovered an organization called Dream Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Santa Barbara, Calif. The organization’s mission is to help enhance the quality of life for individuals, 18 and older, and their families who are battling life-threatening illness.
The Dream Foundation has fulfilled more than 10,000 dreams in the past 16 years, ranging from those as basic as a comfortable chair and medical equipment to laptop computers and family trips.
Mackulin’s voice cracks with emotion as she talks about the organization.
“I had never heard of the Dream Foundation before but I can’t say enough about them,” Mackulin said. “Normally, everyday football fans like us couldn’t afford to go to the Super Bowl with the price of a ticket, food and lodging.
“They made Ed’s dream come true and it’s magic. He couldn’t believe we were going to Dallas for the Super Bowl.”
It may not exactly be magical, but it is amazing what donated frequent-flier miles, scores of phone calls and the dedication of the Dream Foundation staff can accomplish.
“We are honored to be able to serve Ed’s dream,” said Thomas Rollerson, Dream Foundation founder. “While the Super Bowl is the specific theme of the dream, the underlying goal is consistent with all of the dreams we receive: a joy-filled reprieve from disease. Ed and Mary Kaye deserve time away from his prognosis.”
Demyan and Mackulin share a love of football, and in a letter to the organization they shared their wish to attend Super Bowl XLV in Dallas.
They were notified in January that they would be attending the game, complete with airfare, hotel, game tickets and spending money. The itinerary for their five-day trip to Dallas was hand-delivered by volunteers to Demyan at his home Feb. 1.
Fittingly, the hosts arrived with green-and-gold balloons and Packer jerseys. Demyan’s daughters also received some toys and gifts as part of the Dream Foundations’ Toy and Teen program.
The trip did not start off as planned. Last week’s snowstorm canceled Demyan’s flight on Thursday morning.
“It was a little nerve-racking being delayed with the weather,” Mackulin said. “But there was nothing we could do. You just roll with it. We had to take the trip now, as we couldn’t wait until later. You don’t know how Ed will feel or be in a few months or next spring.”
Mackulin said the couple just takes each day one at a time.
“Ed is such a trouper,” she said. “We try to live each day to the fullest. Going on this Super Bowl is fantastic – it’s like taking time off from the disease.”
The couple arrived in Dallas on Friday afternoon to cold temperatures and ice-covered roads and checked into their hotel, pumped for a weekend of Super Bowl hype.
On Saturday, they went into downtown Dallas to do some shopping and sightseeing on a sunny afternoon that featured temperatures near 50 degrees. The big pregame event was attending a Super Bowl Party hosted by Jim McMahon, the former Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packer quarterback.
“Jim and his wife were so nice to us,” Demyan said. “We took lots of pictures and got an autographed NFL football from him. I could care less about A-list celebrities. We’re here for football.”
Accordingly, Demyan wore his No. 57 Cleveland Browns jersey to the Super Bowl in honor of Clay Matthews’ father, who played 16 seasons for the Browns. He said he first became a Packer fan in 1995 when the team moved to Baltimore.
“I was born and raised in Ohio, so naturally you’re a Buckeyes football fan,” he said. “When we lost the Browns, I turned to the Packers when they were so good with Brett Favre and Reggie White. I also always liked Dorsey Levens and his running style.”
On Sunday, accompanied by Dream Foundation board member Richard Burnham, Demyan and Mackulin took their seats in Cowboys Stadium for the Super Bowl.
“I think the Packers will win, 31-30,” Demyan predicted. “It will be close. But I’m from Cleveland and I don’t want the Steelers to win. We’re surrounded by Steelers fans and they have an attitude. They’re not like Packer fans.”
Demyan enjoyed the close finish and the excitement and emotion of the post-game trophy presentation.
“That’s where the Lombardi trophy belongs – in Green Bay,” he said. “I’m an old school, traditional football kind of guy. I love the old school stuff with busted teeth and grass stains and mud hanging from the face mask.”
“I come from Ohio, home of the (Pro Football) Hall of Fame in Canton. And like the Packers, we pride ourselves on our football.”
Demyan will battle his cancer the best he can in the coming year, with a supportive fiancée and family at his side. He is even looking forward to a possible return to the Super Bowl in Indianapolis next season.
“If I’m still around, I’d love to be in Indianapolis,” Demyan said. “For the Packers vs. the Browns. You know who I’ll be rooting for.”
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