Cancer is Not an Excuse, it is Motivation, with Bryce Steele

Some life lessons we are forced to learn earlier than others. For Bryce Steele, he learned at age 17 that suffering is part of the journey and that bad things can happen to good people. In September of 2019, Bryce was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called thymoma, which after the initial treatment, would still return two more times. Cancer was not part of his plan of a being a future college linebacker. Initially, Bryce was recruited by over 30 schools around the country to play football including Ohio State, Texas, Michigan, and Tennessee, but cancer narrowed the list and ultimately, he was led to Boston College. When the cancer returned a 3rd time, surgery and treatment set him back physically but he has fought to defy all odds to return to the field. It was during one of his routine scans at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, that Bryce met Matt and Bill Moran in the waiting room. While they connected because of their cancer journeys and several mutual friendships, there was also an admiration and appreciation in how each was living and battling. Matt immediately saw the maturity, charisma, and faith of Bryce and the positivity he carried despite the battle. Prayers, support, this podcast, and some motivational words from Bill would just be part of the relationship that sprung from this chance meeting. In addition, the stories of both Matt and Bryce are being shared in an article appearing on the Jimmy Fund website. In conjunction with the article, a fundraising Giving Page was created to help fight cancer in honor of Matt and Bryce’s journey - http://danafarber.jimmyfund.org/goto/mattmoranandbrycesteele. Direct donations can be made there online, or by mail at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, PO Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284 or by phone 800 525 4669.

Through the diagnosis, treatment, and recovery, Bryce has been surrounded by love from his family, his girlfriend, the University, and from the staff at the Dana Farber Institute in Boston. We hope you will also join us in supporting, praying and perhaps donating. The 2024 football season is also just around the corner for Boston College so keep your eye out for number 2 for the Eagles, that's Bryce. He is courageously preparing and is optimistic about all that is ahead for his future.

The video version of this episode can be found here on Youtube.

Transcript

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Well, hello with gratitude Matt listeners. Bill Moran here. I have exciting news and I have a call to action. Before we play this wonderful episode of Matt Moran and his meeting Bryce Steele in the waiting room at Dana-Farber, we have a call to action. We would like you to support those that are battling cancer and help them find the courage to be grateful. And one way to do that is by donating to the Matt Moran and Bryce Steele giving page at Dana-Farber, its Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, P.O. Box 849168 Boston, Massachusetts 02284. Or you can donate by phone at one 800 5254669. So without further ado, I'm going to let you listen to the inspiring story of how Matt and Bryce Matt informed a friendship that inspired each of them to find the courage to be grateful. Thank you and Godspeed. Well, hello with gratitude, Matt Listeners, my name is Bill Moran, and I'm Matt's older brother, and today I will be your host for Hour with Gratitude. Matt Show with gratitude. Matt As a place people can come to find the courage to be grateful regardless of how powerful this storm is. Matt's goal was to reach and inspire people to practice gratitude on a regular basis. As many of you know, Matt passed away this past August. But please know that Matt confronted adversity and illness and he let it be a catalyst to a life of deeper gratitude, love and faith. Matt's wife, Mary, and the entire Marian family appreciate all your love, prayers, support and generosity. We are so grateful and blessed to have such a supportive, caring and loving community. I'm humbled and honored to be here today with our guest, Bryce Steel. Hello, Bryce. Welcome. Hey, how are you? I'm good. Bryce is a student athlete at Boston College, where he's working towards his degree in communications and entrepreneurship. Bryce is a linebacker for the Boston College Eagles. Bryce is a son of two loving parents, Nicole and Wendell Steele. He attended high school in his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina. And through his outstanding play on the football field, his hard work, skill, athleticism and academic performance, he earned wide praise and was recognized as one of the country's top recruits at safety and at linebacker. And then at age 17, Bryce, his path changed. Scott had a different plan for him and Bryce. First of all, welcome to the show. And why don't you tell us a little bit about you and your family and where you grew up? Sure. Well, first off, I just want to, you know, thank you for having me here today. You know, thank you for, you know, allowing me to take part in something so special. So, yeah, like, like you were saying, I'm originally from Raleigh, North Carolina. My mom's from D.C., My dad's from a small town in North Carolina called Asheboro. And I know I've lived here all my life, except for those two two and a half years where I did attend boarding school in Alexandria, Virginia, before returning back to North Carolina to graduate. I mean, I come from a really supportive and God loving family. And, you know, the state I'm about to share with you would have never been I would have never been able to do it without them. So that's that's great. Well, I'm so, so glad that you're here today and we'll kind of get into. So at age 17, you were diagnosed with cancer, right? Bryce? Yes, sir. And so what did that mean for your. You're a young man. You're a teenager. What did that mean for your trajectory as an athlete? And first of all, how did you deal with that diagnosis? Yeah, so it was September of 2019. I was getting ready to I was preparing for my junior year of high school football. And, you know, I was coming off of a hardware game, successful summer where I was blessed to receive, you know, scholarship offers from some big name colleges, schools like Ohio State, Michigan, Texas, Tennessee, just to name a few. And within that first week of my high school preseason, I began experiencing some sharp, sharp pains in both my chest and my back. And, you know, at the time, I didn't I didn't really think much of it, you know, as I was, you know, a cowboy and practicing, you know, going to mine, gone to my days as if nothing was wrong. And about a week later, the pain just became kind of unbearable. It was kind of hard for me to, you know, sit up straight in a chair. I was having a hard time sleeping at night just because the pain was just so uncomfortable. So, I mean, it was whenever I called my mom because at the time I'm out of school, I school Virginia. So I'm by myself and, you know, call my mom telling her, you know, the pain and everything I'm going through. And she suggests that, you know, I go to a nearby hospital and get an x ray and as on, you know, I get ready to the hospital. She's already in her car. Like I said before, my parents were, you know, supportive and they were, you know, 4 hours away. But as soon as I told them something was wrong with me, the way they got to North Carolina, to D.C. like this, you know, it's that's good. It's you know, that's that's that's love right there. And, you know, they were able to make it make it to the hospital there. And I got my X-ray and obviously, you know, x rays and so bombs and everything. So they couldn't tell what exactly it was. All they saw was a dark kind of a shadow behind my heart. And since they couldn't really tell what it was, you know, they suggested that I go get more tests done. So instead of, you know, staying up in Alexandria, I decided to go back home and seek medical help at Duke Hospital in Durham, North Carolina. And there I received a CT scan, and that was when the city's hearing came back or the results of, you know, there being a mass behind that was growing behind my heart. Now, at the time, they couldn't really tell if it was malignant or benign. And so I ended up having a biopsy done, and that's when the results came back. And they diagnosed me with a rare form of cancer called By Momma. By Mama is whenever. And so everyone's born with a thymus gland and around ages 14 to 15, our times grow and kind of shrinks and like becomes nothing almost. And instead of mind shredding your mommy came on a tumor. And, you know, after I had the biopsy done, I quickly had surgery, you know, within a turnaround of maybe a week and a half, two weeks. And then I also, you know, after surgery, they removed the very remove the mask. And I also had radiation treatment at Georgetown University from December of 2019 to January of 2020. And after that, you know, I just continued to do, you know, scans every six months before college. At that point, You know, we've got a whole pandemic in the middle of that, too. So you're you're back January of 20, 20, you're back in you're getting treatment at Georgetown Medical Center. The health was was it improving and were you getting back to strength? Yeah. So luckily, my radiation treatment wasn't, you know, super extensive on the body. I was able to continue working out throughout that radiation. And even though I had to miss my junior year of high school football, you know, my mindset was are like, that's behind me. It's time to focus on my future or focus on now and in the future. So, you know, even though I was going to radiation, I was still preparing both physically and mentally for my senior year of high school football. Right. And so you're trained and working hard. And how did how did the recruiting process continue or change or, you know, what happened there? Yeah. So prior to me ultimately getting sick, like I mentioned before, I was I was blessed enough to have a lot of a lot of different, you know, colleges to choose from in my recruiting process. Unfortunately, when I did get sick and I missed my entire junior season, a lot of that, a lot of those schools kind of stopped recruiting me as hard, understandably. You know, I missed a whole season and at the time I wasn't really sharing with the public what my health issues were. So a lot of schools, you know, were asking me like, hey, you know, why haven't we seen any film from you or, you know, what's going on? Like, what's what's happening? And I kind of just not kind of brushed them off. But at the time my focus was on my health. And so I didn't really dive into detail with them as to, you know, everything that I was going through. So, you know, college, college football, NFL football is all the business. You know, if you know, if you can't perform, unfortunately, then move on to the next. And, you know, unfortunately, that's exactly what happened. You know, a lot of those schools that were recruiting beforehand, a lot of them start recruiting me and ultimately before my senior season, my school list of, you know what, at one time was 30 plus different schools dropped all the way down to maybe three or four different schools that I had to choose from. Well, and ultimately, you earned a football scholarship to Boston College and things happened for you and not to you. And you signed a letter of intent and you joined the BCC Eagles early in 21. Is that kind of the timeline? Is that. Yeah, So you get up there in January? Kind of. Yes, sir. I you know, I graduated from Newburg High School in Raleigh, North Carolina, early and then I early enrolled that Boston College in January of 2021. Yeah. So you you train with the Eagles and was that when you kind of transitioned from safety to linebacker or how how did that kind of happened? Yeah. So I mean all of high school I was kind of looked at as like a bigger, bigger linebacker, I mean a bigger safety like all these and you know, ABC offered me, I had a couple scholarship offers from different schools. Some schools were wanting me to play safety, some schools wanting to play linebacker. Boston College wanted me to play linebacker. And I mean, after seeing how four one is a prestigious university and then also they've produced a lot of good, you know, talent at linebacker specifically. So ultimately, even though early in my high school career, Boston College was a, you know, on my mind of time, after everything that I had gone through, I felt as though Boston College was the place for me. Well, so you get up there, you start taking care of business and you're you're the fall of your first year. At first for football season at Boston College, you earn significant playing time. You establish yourself on the field. You establish yourself off the field as a leader and like kind of just kind of describe that first season and what it meant to be, you know, playing the game that you love and that you're, you know, you've worked so hard to be able to do. Yeah. So like I mentioned before, my earlier road injury in January of 2021 and I was, you know, still getting my my scans, you know, every six months at the time and you know, may rolls around May of 2021 rolls around. I get my scans. And this was the first time that my cancer had came back. And so at the time, I was still being seen that, you know, Duke Hospital. So I had a surgery again in May 2021. And fortunately, I was able to, you know, still get back in shape and be ready for my freshman season later on that year. Like you mentioned, I was able to observe the play as a true freshman, which, you know, now that I'm looking back on it, without God, that wouldn't have been possible. Now I mean, you can't, yeah, go through what you did and, and we'll talk a little bit about how your faith has been impacted by all this, but I kind of want to give the listeners kind of a little bit of a timeline on of your career and and the challenges that you face throughout it. So and I'm glad you interjected that, you know, the spring of 21 and the surgery and what it meant and the work that you had to do to get back in there, who who helped you with that? Like, did did mom or dad, like Matt? We haven't mentioned your girlfriend Madison yet. 13 minutes into this and Madison's not gotten a mention. So maybe we kind of begin with the family, and I call it your rope team. Yeah. You're buddies with Matthew Reavie. He's your teammate on your BC Eagles. MATTHEWS, A Cincinnati kid played at St Xavier High School, and he's a teammate of yours. And his uncle, John Reedy, always calls it the rope team. And what I think of the rope team is like, if you're hanging over a cliff on a rope and you look up, who do you want to see up there on the other end of that rope? Well, for you, Bryce, Who is that? Who do you want to see up there? So first it was certainly my parents. My mom and my dad are probably to of my biggest inspirations in the world. You know, just seeing how how hard they work every day to provide for my brother and I. It's it's it's unmatched And then next my old head is in as a new coach. Phil MATTHEWS, he's with the Pittsburgh Steelers right now. But he was also he also played a huge, huge part. And, you know, helping me get back in shape, both, you know, physically and mentally. And then also my my trainer from North Carolina, Ian Walker, as well. I've been training with him since I was around like 14 or 15 years old. And without without at the time. I know you mentioned Matty earlier. Unfortunately, me and Matty were not together at that time. Okay, it's all good. And then obviously my little brother as well, I can't can count him out. I mean, really, everybody had a huge, huge impact. And me, you know, working every day, striving to get back into shape, just constant support, you know, just telling me because, I mean, obviously there were days where I woke up and I just was not feeling like, you know, working out or my body was fatigued and I was just tired. And, you know, they just kind of help to remind me each and every day like this is your goal and this is what you need to do in order to reach that goal. So, I mean, it was pretty easy with the support system that I had. That's beautiful, Bryce. And I'm so, you know, I it's not lost on me. The perspective that you have as a young man in the spring of your, you know, really before your first full college football season, what you had to endure, get ready to get on the field and those people that helped you. Wow, What a what an inspiration. And and I'm so you know, so we kind of I kind of fast forward to that first season but you know it was a great, great season and you get out there and what did it mean to kind of like, you know, finally suit up and, you know, step on the field and get some action? I mean, words can't even describe it honestly. You know, in the high school, you know, I made a lot of friends, a lot of teammates of mine, you know, went on and play powerful football. And, you know, not all of them were able to play as a true freshman. And so for me to have gone through what I had gone through with my health and then still managed to see the field as a, you know, 18, 19 year old kid, like I mentioned before, you know, without God in my family, I don't think I would have been able to do it right. So you had that great season and then you move on to the off season and I'm hopeful. I don't. But you can tell the story so I'm hopeful that, you know, you continue to get better from a sense of the football standpoint, improving learning. You adapt to your academics and things are on a good path at that point, right? You're getting ready for your number two, right? Yeah. So your number two comes around on the field and it's another successful season. I mean, you establish yourself as a starter, a leader on the field. And you know what? What does that mean to you? To, you know, increase your increase your status on the team and, and, and your contribution to the team. Yeah. I mean, it meant a lot when I was younger, I my mom or I was I was I felt like I was a pretty sheltered could even when I was playing on the you know little league pop one or two teams for football. And then I was basketball or baseball. I was always kind of a keep to myself kid. And I would try to always lead by example rather than being a vocal leader. And my sophomore year before my sophomore season, you know, I told myself, all right, like, what are some obviously you have some physical goals that you want to set for yourself on the field, whether or not it's, you know, a certain amount of tackle or a certain amount of or or whatnot. But what are some mental goals that you really want to focus on? And one of those goals that I that I really tried to hone in on in the offseason and and leading off of the season was being more of a vocal leader. Obviously, I realized that, you know, everyone at the next level, me in the NFL, you know, you have to set yourself aside some way, shape or form. Everyone's big, strong, fast, and if you're able to show coaches that, you know you have a good football IQ or you know, you're a vocal leader and you're able to lead the team and grab guys attention and make the people around you better. You know, not only will you be making the team better, but, you know, you'll be winning games. Everybody's happy. And that's a lot of what you were able to do your second year at ABC and then you go into the off season. So kind of timeline, it's it's you know, early part of 2023 and why don't you kind of, you know, the next thing you know you're sitting in the waiting room and you meet two guys from Cincinnati. Yeah. And and now you're doing a podcast. So yeah, I know we kind of fast forward, but. Yeah, so kind of going back a year, my cancer had came back once again in 2022 and then at the time I was still going to Senior and Duke Hospital and Duke Hospital felt as though they couldn't help me in the way that they had hoped for. And so they they suggested that I, you know, go to Dana-Farber up in Massachusetts was in a way, worked out because, you know, I was already at Boston College at the time. And so once I was at Dana-Farber, they recommended that instead of like how Duke was out and he just scanned every three, six months, Dana-Farber, that I just scanned every three months. And so whenever I met you and met, I was, you know, just in there for my for my you know, three month annual C.T. checkup. So I kind of I kind of want to set the stage a little bit for the listeners. So and bear with me here. Right? So Matt and I were there, Matt was here, and he was he was seeing his cancer treatment team, Doctor McGregor and the whole medical team, and he was having some trouble with a lesion on the low back and it was causing some problems with getting around. So he was kind of walking with a limp a little bit. And and so we were we were there and and and that's really that's the only reason I was there is because Matt just kind of felt like he needed somebody there. Just, you know, if he needed an errand run or something like that, I would be there and I was happy to be there. Well, we go back, we meet with Dr. McGregor, and he he didn't get it wasn't a great visit that day. It was a it was a tough day. He got some tough news. And earlier we'd we saw you. And we're you know, and Matt and I are we're we're huge sports fans and we have an affinity towards Boston College. I mean, what by the way, Bryce, you are the third linebacker that has been on with gratitude. Matt So the first was one of Matt's high school classmates and former B.C linebacker John Rivera. The second is probably a little bit more widely known to our listeners. Luke Quickly, Luke was a BC standout and is is going to be inducted into the college Football Hall of Fame. So and hopefully, you know, who knows maybe Canton someday but so you're the third so we're happy we have a little tradition and we're happy to have you but so we we saw you and you have this, you know, this gray T-shirt on says B.C football, you know, eagles. And then you're just four for whatever reason. Or remember, you carried a little backpack and were like, me and what is this guy doing here? He's like the picture of health. He looks like he just came off the practice field, you know, you know, And so everybody has their journey and their story and you're going to let you tell yourself a little bit more in a second. But I wanted to set this up. So we so then we come out and I don't see I'm kind of be honest with you, Bryce. I was that was a tough day for me emotionally, you know, with my brother. And things aren't going well. And so I, I excuse myself, I go to the restroom and, and, you know, kind of gather myself, wipe some tears out of my eyes, and I walk out and the next thing you know, you and Matt are talking like you're old friends. And it was just beautiful. So I'll let you kind of pick up from there. So you and Matt or chatting and then kind of how did that come about? But yeah, I mean, I was just I was just sitting in the waiting room, like I mentioned before, I was, you know, where they needed the results because being a city scale waiting to get the results back and me with my oncologist and I knew that I was going to be there because, you know, the appointments take all day. So, you know, I brought my backpack because I was I'm sorry, this was school work, done, studies on film, you know, just try to be productive in my my time there. And I was just sitting there and and next thing you know, you know, Matt walks up to me and, you know, he's just, you know, asking me if I want to be C we just start talking. So I'm, you know, just tell him, you know, I play football, Boston College, and then he kind of talks to me about how like his connects to Boston College and everything and he's like, well, you know, not really. I was like, Of course I know that. Really. So we it was it was like like you said, even though it was for a source and a time, you know, we were we were talking as if we had known each other for forever. And and it was it was definitely a special moment. And I mean that that day had had more of an impact. And then, you know, you can imagine on me. Yeah, it was well and just, you know, Bryce, it meant the world to us and to Matt. And I know you guys exchanged phone numbers or Matt got your phone number and, you know, we Matt and I went, we went back, we were staying at a friend's place and we went back and he texted you and and and said, Hey, man, I hope everything's going well. And and I was so touched. Matt shared this with me. You texted back and you basically say said the same thing. But you also said, you know, Matt, you and your family are going to be in my ah, in my prayers. And that I mean, that was pretty powerful for a you know, you're you're dealing with your diagnosis, your scans and things changed for you that day. And we'll get into how that they changed a little bit. But you know, you weren't thinking of yourself. You were thinking of other people and that that meant the world to Matt. I know that for sure. And so things did change. Bryce What? What you know, what, what happens with the result of those scans? Yeah. So the cancer returned for a third time and this time it was a lot more aggressive than the first, first two times. You know, at the time, you know, I was training, you know, getting ready for, you know, another my, my junior season, which, you know, in terms of the NFL like that's like and then for the NFL, you can play three years of college football before you try to get graduate with so and so for me, you know, I was looking at this year as my my money year if I get it. And you know and that's. I was yeah yeah. And so I get the resource back at tell me it came back more aggressive and that I was going out to have you know surgery once again. And so you know being that I had already gone through this a couple of times beforehand when they told me, you know, you're going to have to have surgery, I was like, all right. Like, let's just go ahead, get this over with so I can, you know, get back in the weight room, start training again and get ready for my junior season. And that was when, you know, they told me basically like, slow, you're all, you know, this this, this surgery is going to be a little bit more invasive than, you know, the surgery that you had prior to. And so obviously, I was listening to all the, you know, big words and terminology they were using at the time. But my mind was focused on are, you know, I get my health is, you know, and and one and one shape like when can I get back on the field. That was that was that was my mind said where can I get back on the field? What? I get back on the field? And you know, that was when they told me like you, you will be playing this season. And, you know, I just remember, you know, breaking down in tears because, you know, even though I had, you know, gone through this before, it it never suffered in the high school would have never taken me out for a fall season. And the way that these doctors were describing the surgery in this procedure, they, in a way, made it seem like my body would never be the same. And that, you know, they weren't sure how far I would be able to continue my, you know, football progress on. And so as a 20 year old, Tom, I was 20 at the time. I was, you know, not at all what I wanted to hear as a young kid, you know, since I could throw football coach of football, it's been a dream of mine. And play in the NFL. And so to hear, you know, doctors who were obviously, you know, really knowledgeable about, you know, this specific full a chance to tell you, you know, we're not sure if we're going to be able to achieve your goal. That was definitely a tough time for me. Where did you. I just remember where. Did you. Sorry. Yeah, I know. I appreciate. It's it was beautiful. And I was just going to ask, where did you draw strength from? I mean, you are that is, I, you know, I just want the listeners to think about that. I mean, it put themselves and we can't even it's almost unfathomable to do it. But where did you draw strength? Was it your faith and your family? What did what helped you get up in the morning? Yeah. So throughout this journey, I really feel as though my relationship with God was strengthened more than ever. You know, I was really trying to dive into the Bible and really interpret it and try to figure out like because at first, you know, when I was first diagnosed with with cancer in 2019, as I would call myself back then, I would say that I was pretty young and immature. I would kind of question God and say, you know, why me? And what I learned throughout the past 3 to 4 years is that, you know, bad things happen to good people. And for a while I thought that God was punishing me for, you know, something that I had done prior to in my life. And, you know, it took my mom, my dad, my pastor, and, you know, a lot of support for our family friends who tell me, you know, you're not a bad person. This isn't God punishing you. Like I just said, Good thing, bad things happen to good people. And so, you know, obviously, whenever these these doctors told me, you know, you're you know, you're not going to be able to basically run the same way, breed the same way, you're not going to be able to reach their full potential. As far as athletically, you know, I just really just looking to dive into the Bible and just try to come up with something, not come up with something, but try to find something in the Bible that kind of blanked out everything that they were saying. And one scripture that I came across that that really got me through this whole journey was Isaiah 5417, and it read No weapon formed against the Israel Prosper. And every time that I rise against the in judgment, thou shall condemn. And so I have a I have a couple couple of tattoos on my body. And this was actually my first first tattoo that I got done on early. Know how well you guys can see it. And that's and that's Isaiah 5417. Yes. Wow. Yes. That's so powerful. So that's worth you. 24 seven. 24 seven. I mean, any time, any time, you know, get down on myself or even I was going to throughout this throughout this whole journey, I would just literally look down my arm, read it, and then I would be I'd be, you know, good to go. That's so powerful, man. That's just, you know, and for it just again, as a 20 year old to to, you know, take that path in that journey and strengthen yourself and restore your resolve to to to reach for your dreams in. Man. Wow. So kind of like the one thing you've got family and friends. And we did refer to Mattie Madison came into your life, right? She's your girlfriend, right? So, yeah. So what does it mean to have her and and your other friends, you know, support you on this journey? Yeah. So when I was so after I, you know, got re diagnosed in May 20, 23, I the doctors because obviously I was trying to tell doctors, you know, if you were if you were to listen to me in the doctor's office as they're telling me every day, I was like, all right. You know, they were saying, are their surgeries going to be, you know, super invasive? You know, we're going to take out so-and-so amount of your diaphragm is they're not there. Learn how to arena, breathe and run everything. I was like, I like, is there anything that we can do to make the surgery? The least amount of these are possible. And they said that, you know, I could try chemo. They're not, you know, guaranteed if it's going to work or not. But you know, it just to give it a shot to see if we could shrink it and make the surgery smaller. So I ended up doing a couple of hours of chemo. And that first round, first round bout that was around that really knocked me off my feet for a couple of days. But and so Matty and I, we live together with our little dog, Remi, and my mom, you know, came out to visit me obviously throughout this. My both my parents come to visit me throughout this whole ordeal. And Matty was especially supportive because, you know, there were times where, you know, I was waking up tomorrow night throwing out I didn't want to eat anything because, you know, just the typical side effects of of chemotherapy. And, you know, she was by my side throughout everything. You know, she was standing over, you know, Henry Perry.

Tyler's at 2: 34:45

00 in the morning long throwing up in the trash can, you know, asking me what I need, you know, DoorDash, asking me stuff from Walgreens or door to asking you food, you know, just to really be in my support system as a as well as both my parents, too. But, I mean, it's one thing to have, you know, mom and dad taking care of you, but to have someone who, you know, isn't, you know, related to you doing the same thing, if not more on it. It really speaks volumes as to how big her heart is. But and like I say, you know, that's amazing. You know, and I don't want to interrupt you, but that was that was really powerful. So you you how many rounds of chemo did you have? Bryce So I had two rounds. I said the first round was that knocked about my fever for a couple days, mostly because I didn't really know what to expect from it. And also I kind of messed up, you know, because they give you certain medication to take afterwards to kind of give you some energy because it really knocks you out. And I want to say I was bedridden for about 2 to 3 days. And then after that, even though I knew I wasn't going to play that upcoming season, I still wanted to work out and be around the team. So even though I was going through chemo, I was still waking up every day, you know, going to workouts, doing the same workouts as the team. I might not have, you know, always been in first place. But, you know, I still managed to finish the workout and it was in I mean, I knew I wasn't going to play this season, but it was just being around the guys, being around, you know, my brothers, making me feel as though I was getting ready for the season, you know, even though I knew I wasn't. That also, I think had a huge factor. And, you know, me being able to push the lock on because I'm like in my mind is like, okay, if I can get 1% better each and every day, you know, that's me getting 1% closer to my goal. So true. So then we kind of, you know, you then have the surgery after the chemo then. Yeah. So I and again, this is, you know, nothing. My God, I got two rounds of chemo and, you know, I got some scans done just to see how much the chemo had done. And my oncologist was like, This is before they, of course, cut me open to to actually see everything. But college. This was like, you know, the chemo didn't really do much to the cancer cells. We could try a different a different form of chemo or different type of chemo. But I mean, I'm not really sure that that's going to work either. I suggest that you just go ahead and, you know, get the surgery. And so, you know, I was like, all right, you know, if they don't feel as though chemo is going to benefit me, you know, I'm not going to put myself through because essentially chemo was like poison in my eyes. Like it it yeah, it's it messes your body up. So I was like, you know, I'm not going to keep putting my body through that. If, you know, doctors feel like it's it's not doing anything. So, you know, I went ahead October 3rd, had the procedure on. And it turns out that the chemo actually did shrink, you know, more cells than, you know, Doc, the mycologist thought and the surgery was less invasive than what they were describing to me earlier that year. And I mean, I was in the hospital for about three weeks. You know, I had, you know, like five or six chest tubes. I have like a a scar probably like this long that runs all the way across my back here. It was definitely it was definitely a tough couple of weeks in the hospital. But, I mean, like I said, my my girlfriend was there every day. My parents were there every day. There was never there was never a part throughout this entire journey where I felt alone. So then started to recover from the surgery and, you know, kind of get us that's, I guess, late 20, 23. What else is going on in your life with respect to your athletic career, your academics and all that? So we're kind of paint a picture for the listeners on that timeline. There. Yeah. So between chemo and then me being in the hospital for my surgery, I missed a decent amount of school like that semester. And you know, luckily all my, all my teachers were really understanding of my situation and I was able to, you know, make up all my work before the semester was over with, turn it and turn it on. My assignments, pass all my courses despite, you know, missing almost half of the semester on. And if you were to look at me the day that I left the hospital, I probably couldn't even walk maybe ten or 15 feet without being out of breath. Like, that's how bad. That's how bad it was at one point. And now now, you know, I'm I would say that I'm almost, you know, 85% back to, you know, when I was out prior to my surgery. That goes as far as, you know, strength, my wind, as far as being in shape and conditioning and everything. And like I said, none of this would've been possible without God. I mean, it's definitely been a long journey. But, you know, I've I've, I've, I feel like I've bounced back and prove those doctors wrong. Well, Bryce. Well, we we talked over the phone a short time ago, and and, you know, I really I wanted you to come on and kind of tell your story, but it's. It's your story. It's your journey. And and I want to respect that. And and we are. But I think it's such a powerful story. And it also shows what kind of man you are to be willing to to share this with others. And and you're not doing this for attention. You're not doing this for anything other than you want to help other people, you know? And that's that's a beautiful thing. I was so impressed after I met you that and, you know, my my parents taught me a couple of things and they said, hey, if you if you met somebody and you were impressed by what they have done and what they're going to do, write them a note. And so I was so moved to write your note and and word got back to me that you'd receive the note. And I'll kind of let you take it from there as to what And again, this is not about me. This is not about my note. It's just about what other people mean to other people. And we met for 10 minutes, man, And you're on a podcast now and I wrote you a note and what you know, so what, what did all that mean? Yeah. So I mean, for one, obviously it was just nice to, to, to hear from from you again, there was one phrase, obviously, you know, the entire note was, you know, really impactful to me. But there was one phrase that you wrote down, and it was how I never used my situation as an excuse, but I use it as motivation instead. And for me, that that one, you know, sentence alone, I can't even, you know, describe like the impact that it had on me. I actually had the letter framed as right next to my right next to my bed on my dresser. And that way, you know, every time I wake up in the morning and obviously I turn my phone alarm off, but that's the first thing I see is that letter and that statement. Every time I look at that letter, that's frame that's the phrase that, you know, gives me started with my day each and every day because not that it's not like I want by me coming on this podcast, like you mentioned before, like I'm not, you know, coming on the podcast to talk to my to talk or talk about my situation, to have people have some form of pity for me or anything like that. That's not at all what I'm, what I'm looking for. What is more so to, to, to share my story. Because I know for a fact that, you know, I'm not the only, you know, 17, 18, nine year old kid that, you know, had, you know, dreams of playing pro sports and was diagnosed with some form of or some health condition that, you know, doctors told them, you know, your dream is are going to be like you can't reach gym because of whatever health condition you have. So my as my message or my purpose for really sharing the story with what they want is that regardless of what what social situation they going through, there's always light at the end of the tunnel. And so that's kind of how I viewed this entire situation. And and also, I mean, as long as you have the right people in your corner, no matter the situation, you will always be prosperous. Yeah, well, and you have and you continued to be so kind of like. So the plan, you know, going forward is we're going to you're going to train, you're going to do the work and you're going to earn an opportunity to get on the field for the Eagles, right? Yeah. So the supply here. That's cool. Well, Florida State better be ready because. Number two is coming. Number two's coming. So say for our listeners, Bryce was number two. So thank you. Figured that out. But yeah, so one of the things and I and I really want to drive this home because I think it's important and then we're getting close to wrapping up here. Bryce But so Matt passed away as everybody knows, and, and I was humbled and honored to speak at his funeral. And I spoke of his family and I spoke of his his loving and amazing wife, Mary, and their two beautiful and talented and loving daughters and, you know, Matt, I talked about how Matt loved to be a dads, you know, a girl dad. And and we talked we talked about, you know, his life and kind of took him through and what different people meant to him and everything. And Bryce, I got to tell you, man, I only told and I spoke for a long time, you know that I can talk. I spoke for 11 minutes and I only told one story and that was it. I was you know, I didn't use you by name, but I mentioned you in Matt meeting and what that meant to Matt. And then I come to learn what that meeting meant to you. And I spoke of that. And I, I just thought it captured the essence of what Matt was. But it also showed what a true champion you are. And so I just can't thank you enough for that. I'm a little I want to I don't want to talk about Christmas gifts, but Matty did give you kind of a cool Christmas gift this year. What did she give you? She did, Yeah. So she she knew how much she knew how much that that letter and specifically that phrase meant to me that you wrote. And so she got me a pair of cleats and then had the had the phrase, you know, never use my situation as a excuse, but as motivation printed out and, you know, cursive for me to wear or I'm not going to wear them because obviously they mean more to me than just some normal cleats. But they're actually sitting in my locker right now at school. So every time I you know, the first thing I do, obviously, when I get to the facility is, you know, Grandma Cubby, grandma stuff from the club, you get changed, you know, So as I open up my locker that the first thing there and so that's kind of like my reminder, my, my, why I do what I do every day is seeing those cleats and and statement. That's that's it's pretty cool. I'm glad that she came up with that clever idea and and I'm thank you for sharing that with us. And I know when you get out on the field it's you're you give it your all so you know I guess so we're going to close to wrapping up here I want to is there anything else that you'd like to share with the listeners that we haven't really been able to discuss about you, about your journey, about this diagnosis has meant to you, but but how you've prevailed and prospered beyond it through God and through your family. In my eyes, everything happens for a reason. And, you know, even though it took me a while to to see that I am definitely a true believer, is that now and I mean, like I mentioned earlier, there's always going to be light at the end of the tunnel. So whatever, you know, whatever tough situation you might be going through, eventually it will come to an end. And as long as you, you know, have a good support system and, you know, stay faithful to God, you can do anything you put your mind to. Oh, that's beautiful, Bryce And I think that's a good place to kind of wrap up our our time here today. As much as I'd I'd love to continue and the friendship will continue, this episode will end. So as we close out today's show, I will encourage listeners to follow Bryce's career on and off the field. He's, as you well can see, he's an impressive young man and and really a true inspiration to everyone. And we will end show with Matt's close out, he always reminded us to do three things every day, to live life to the fullest, find something that you're grateful in regardless of how powerful the storm is, be truly present to those you are with. Pay attention to what you're feeding your mind, body and soul. Again, thank you to our guest, Bryce Steel. To our listeners, remember to subscribe to the show, share it with friends and comment with gratitude. Matt Listeners, until next time, find the courage to be grateful. Godspeed my friends.