Norick Mathias Fighting Osteosarcoma

As a lifelong friend and teammate of Norick, I was inspired by his courage and determination over the course of this past year to run in the Cleveland Marathon on May 22. My training will include raising money for Norick and his family for uncovered medical expenses. Take a look at his story below:

In January 2021, Norick had some hip pain after he went jogging with his dogs. Then, in March, a trip to the orthopedist resulted in being told it was just bursitis, a common injury in young athletic kids. But unfortunately, the pain kept getting worse even after a cortisone injection, and when eventually it became unbearable, Norick went to the ER; it was then that his whole world changed instantly. Norick was diagnosed with stage 3, high-grade osteosarcoma in his right pelvis on March 25th, 2021. He had no other choice but to leave college to start chemotherapy immediately at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. The tumor was very large, measuring 6” x 4.33”, but they hoped chemo would shrink it. After seven months of intense and brutal chemo of the highest protocol (which included two months of in-patient treatment due to the dangers involved), the tumor shrank slightly, but it wasn't enough. The tumor was still involved in the nerves in his iliac, sacrum and lower spine. Full amputation of his right pelvis and entire right leg (external hemipelvectomy) and partial removal of his lower spine were deemed medically necessary to save his life.

 

The two-day (33 hours total) surgery started the day after his 20th birthday in October. He had a lot of complications after the surgery- primarily debilitating phantom pain & massive nerve pain in his remaining leg and foot. He stayed at Memorial Sloan Kettering for over ten weeks. He persevered, and after additional time in an acute in-patient rehab facility in NJ (alone with no visitors allowed inside as Covid restrictions were in place), he finally was able to come home in January 2022- over three months after the surgery.

 

He is living his new normal- where even the most mundane tasks (that we all take for granted) are difficult. Yet, Norick has never complained about having such a rare type of cancer. He has never felt sorry for himself. He has never asked, “Why me?” He keeps persevering forward. He is now working extremely hard at Burke Rehab and making a lot of progress. He works through excruciating pain and other obstacles to accomplish his goal for that session. He’s working on balancing his new body and building stamina and strength in his remaining leg. He is determined to succeed. His goal is to be able to walk again (with as much of a “normal” gait as possible) by using a prosthesis. To achieve this, he needs a state-of-the-art one that would allow him to get back to his active lifestyle like before cancer and the amputation.

 

While his parents and his parent’s insurance (for which he will age out of and hopefully be able to acquire his own coverage) can handle the expenses now, he will have many future ongoing and potential unforeseen expenses revolving around his medical status. For example, he will need constant checkups mainly with his two surgeons and oncologist and require continuous scans every three months. In addition, he has and will continue to require countless medications and supplements, modifications to accommodate his future independent living situation (ramps, railings etc), mobility equipment like a prosthesis (which needs to be replaced every 3-5 years and may not be covered by insurance in the future), crutches and wheelchairs, meetings with pain management and rehab doctors and much more. Therefore, the funds raised will help towards all future expenses to assist Norick in being as independent as possible, get the best care possible & help him keep living the best life he deserves.