‘I call it the Rocky mentality. You never give up. Even when you get knocked down, you get back up.’

Woodbury

“From a very young age, I struggled pretty badly with a learning disability. I think that’s what really drove me to become a high school physical education and health and sports medicine teacher, because I wanted students to have an experience that I never got, especially a student that struggled. My parents were extremely supportive.

“There weren’t services like there are now for kids when I was young. My parents did the best they could, and in a last-ditch effort they showed me the film ‘Rocky’ when I was about 8. They wanted to show me a film that really inspired them, and they told me we hope that it has the same effect on you. It changed my life forever. From that moment moving forward, it’s like a switch went on, and everything that I’ve done from that moment on has been different from how I was handling things prior.

“My struggles definitely continued, but I learned how to handle it. I learned how to fight through it. I call it the Rocky mentality. You never give up. Even when you get knocked down, you get back up. And things start to come a little bit easier for you the more you push. That’s the main takeaway that I got from the movie. I’ve adapted that into everything that I do.

“I’m 45 years old, the father of two wonderful daughters and [have] a beautiful wife, and I continue to take that same approach. But about eight years ago, my father, who was my hero, got cancer, and it was very difficult watching him struggle and become decimated with such a terrible disease. He asked me to do him one favor, to run the ‘Rocky’ steps for him. It was always something we wanted to do together as father-son, but we never had the opportunity. About 48 hours after that conversation, he passed away.

“About six months later, my mom also got diagnosed with stage four brain cancer. It was a really tough double whammy. I wound up losing her about a year after my dad. It was really difficult. There were a few months where I really struggled. But I woke up one morning, and it was as if the switch went back on. I remembered the promise that I made to my dad to run those steps. I drove to Philadelphia and got there at 11 p.m. in the middle of February. It was freezing.”

A lot of times people go through tough times in life, and it’s very important to realize that there is light at the end of the tunnel, but it does take a lot of work and effort to get there.

“It was just me and the 72 stone steps leading up to the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I made this emotional climb all by myself, and when I got to the top, I got very emotional thinking back to everything I just went through with my mom and my dad. And literally within minutes, I get hit, like as if by a bolt of lightning, with the idea to come up with a series called ‘Fight Story.’

“Everyone that’s been impacted by these ‘Rocky’ movies. There’s millions of people worldwide like me that have been impacted by these films. And I wanted to make a series that highlights individuals that overcame tremendous adversity because they were inspired by Sylvester Stallone’s legendary films.

“All of the stories are super inspiring, with powerful positive messaging. We’ve filmed all three episodes. The first one is streaming now, currently on seven different platforms worldwide, including Amazon. I’m doing a premiere in July in Bellmore, and I’ll probably have the third one the following summer.

“It’s been an amazing process telling incredible stories of hope and determination. I think that the world really needs something like this right now. In addition to the film, I have a full ‘Fight Story’ merchandise line, with 100 percent of the profits going towards children with autism because of the issues I faced, and I work with these children every day. When you see those kids look up to you and smile, it’s a life changer. It’s worth more than any dollar amount in the world.

“My number-one goal is to honor my family. Goal number two would be to eventually get all of my messages out there that I’ve done with ‘Fight Story.’ I would love for Mr. Stallone, at some point. to be able to hear, you know, what we’ve accomplished. I think back on my 8-year-old self and would want to tell him that there’s hope.

“A lot of times people go through tough times in life, and it’s very important to realize that there is light at the end of the tunnel, but it does take a lot of work and effort to get there. That’s the key. You can’t just roll over and give up. You have to keep going.”

Interviewed by Liza Burby

‘My biggest thing is, I’m not ready to go yet, too much to do. You have to stay positive; you have to fight.’

Hauppauge

“I wasn’t feeling good last summer, and I kept putting it off. So I finally decided to make a physical appointment. The doctor didn’t do much. I called my son at work, and I said, ‘Can you take me to the emergency room?’ Three-thirty in the morning in September, I found out that it doesn’t look good. I said, ‘Well how bad is it?’ It’s metastasized stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and it’s in the portal of the liver also. So they can’t do radiation ever. They can’t do the Whipple, which is a surgery to stop the cancer from spreading.

The more cells we can kill, the longer I’ll be here. I’m going to be here. I’m watching my son get married next year.

“So I’m on chemo for the rest of my life. I was upset when they first told me. In January, I was upset and angry because they gave me a timeframe, and that’s when I took back my life. I said, ‘No, I’m on God’s time. I’m on His time, His plan.’ I’m fighting hard, as hard as I can. The last few weeks, I’ve been very emotional. Has it been tough? Yeah. Has chemo kicked me down? More times than not. But I’m trying every day, and I have the best support group in the world. The LGBT community are some of my biggest supporters. I have rabbis praying. They pray for me in mosques. There are prayer chains for me everywhere. They want me to get better. For the longest time, I didn’t post anything on Facebook. And finally, after I shaved my head, I said, ‘This is what six months of stage 4 pancreatic cancer looks like.’ I wanted to keep my bangs, but as he was buzzing my head, they were coming off in his hand.

“So I’m going to keep it shaved for the summer, and then see if it’ll grow again. It’s a long battle. And to think, five years ago, the minute they said you had stage 4 pancreatic cancer, you went into hospice and died. There was no optimism. My faith’s gotten stronger. I’m like, ‘I know He’s got this, and I’ll get through this.’ I’ll never be cancer free. But the more cells we can kill, the longer I’ll be here. I’m going to be here. I’m watching my son get married next year. My biggest thing is, I’m not ready to go yet, too much to do. You have to stay positive; you have to fight.”

Interviewed by Jay Max

‘I’m hoping that I’ll get that lifesaving call to come in and get a kidney.’

Dix Hills

“I was born in Huntington and lived most of my life there. I’m fortunate enough to work as a citizen advocate in the town where I grew up. In November, I started feeling sick. I thought maybe it had to do with stress. Shortly after, I had a terrible nosebleed and started noticing when I would go to bed, I couldn’t lie sleeping on my back. I couldn’t breathe. And as that progressed, my legs started swelling up.

“My coworkers saw me at Town Hall and said, ‘Jonas, you don’t look right. You really need to be checked out.’ So, I finally had blood work done and I got a phone call saying the doctor has my results to go over. I asked him when I should come in and he said, ‘Now.’

I’m going to dialysis three times a week, and that’s keeping me alive.

“I went right to the doctor; he sat me down and said I have one hour to get to the hospital. They had a whole team of doctors come by. It was very overwhelming. My kidney levels were not normal. They did an emergency procedure to put a catheter in my jugular, and they started dialysis right away. I eventually had a biopsy of my kidney which showed that I have FSGS [focal segmental glomerulosclerosis], a rare type of kidney disease. It makes the kidneys deteriorate very rapidly. They said I need to get listed for a kidney transplant.

“A friend of ours recommended going to this organization called Renewal. Their whole mission is to help people like me find a living kidney donor. It’s a simple program. They take samples of a cheek swab and send it to a lab that looks at your blood type and antigens. They’re trying to get someone who’s the best match. You can do it from home. Renewal mails a swab kit and envelope to everybody who wants to donate. It takes five minutes, and you never know, you could be the person who saves a life.

“So, we’re still waiting. My wife’s here with me today and I have a 14-year-old son and an 8-year-old daughter, and I want to be here to help support them and see them grow up. My daughter had a father-daughter dance, and I couldn’t go. I’m going to dialysis three times a week, and that’s keeping me alive. It’s hard. I’m just hoping, relatively soon, we’ll hear some good news, and I’ll get that lifesaving call to come in and get a kidney.”

To learn more about kidney donation or to see if you’re a match, please contact Renewal at 718-431-9831, ext. 209 or email R25727@renewal.org.

Interviewed by Jay Max