GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — While many are only celebrating over the holiday weekend, one West Michigan man is prepping for major surgery.
Max Merget was diagnosed with brain cancer for the first time at the age of 3 and was not expected to live past the age of 4.
On Friday, the 28-year-old is preparing for his fourth surgery after recently being diagnosed with brain cancer for the fifth time.
It’s been a lifetime journey that started with his parents noticing a lack of mobility on his right side when Merget was 3 years old. Doctors found a tumor the size of a grapefruit on his brain.
He says his family was turned away from the first medical institution they had turned to after Merget says he was deemed a “lost cause.” That’s when his family turned to the University of Michigan Health system for treatment.
Despite multiple surgeries, in addition to radiation and chemotherapy, the cancer has come back now five times, always in the same spot, an area that controls movement on his right side.
A large scar on his head is a reminder of the multiple surgeries – each time requiring extensive physical therapy to regain the strength on his right side.
Doctors have warned that Friday’s surgery could mean further loss of his mobility and maybe even part of his eyesight on his right side. It’s something the now husband and father tries not to think about.
“I cannot dwell on the ‘what-ifs’ and start thinking about certain dilemmas that I might be facing because it’s not true, yet. I always like to say think, act, then feel," he said. "But, I will share with you this, with all the conversations I’ve been having with my medical team of the potential losses of my ability on my right side, one of the things that I think about is with my son who hasn’t been born yet, being able to confidently pick him up in a few months with two hands, because I might not have my right hand, and so how do I go about having that connection with my son?”
His son is due in about three months.
He has started the organization Max Your Brain to help motivate others living with brain cancer and to support brain cancer research specifically at U of M, where he continues to receive treatment.
Merget has not let brain cancer stop him from living his life. He graduated from Grand Valley State University where he met his wife. They already have a 1-year-old daughter.
Merget also works full time as an applications engineer. His surgery is scheduled for Friday morning, and he’s expected to be there the next few days, including Christmas Day.
You can watch the full interview with Merget below:
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