Turkey Bowl organizer survives brain cancer, ready to take the field
by Erica Peterson
Jan. 14 started like any other Tuesday for Hinckley resident Pete Meadows. He went to work at 1st Day School Supplies with his father, Mike Meadows, and spent a typical day at the office.
The 27-year-old remembers locking up and going home, watching Netflix with his wife of four months, Anita, then going with her to a class at a gym. That’s where his memories of the day end.
“I have no memory of the middle of the class, I have no memory of leaving the class,” Pete said. “I have no memory of walking out, getting into the car, starting the car or driving us home.”
The day’s subsequent happenings have been told to him by Anita. They stopped to pick up groceries before going home. She said he was not acting like himself, but she attributed it to his joking nature.
When they got home, Anita handed him a protein shake and noticed his eyes looked glazed. Before she could say anything, Pete crumbled to the floor. He had three grand mal seizures in 45 minutes.
Hinckley EMS rushed him to the Brunswisk ER, where doctors discovered he had a baseball-sized mass on his brain. He was moved to Cleveland Clinic’s main campus, and the next memory Pete has is of lying on an operating table and seeing a doctor and a screen with a shape that looked familiar.
Pete organizes the annual charity Meadows Turkey Bowl with his father. Over the years, they have talked to a lot of cancer patients and seen a lot of MRIs.
“From the Turkey Bowl, I’ve seen what brain tumors look like,” Pete said. “I said to the doctor, ‘Do I have a brain tumor?’ And he said, ‘Yes, you do have a tumor.’”
Pete gets choked up remembering the diagnosis. “I’m 26 years old, four months into my marriage; you never think you’re going to hear the words, ‘You have brain cancer,’” he said.
The diagnosis rocked the entire Meadows family, which has dedicated itself to raising more than $2 million to help those in need, including cancer patients, through the Turkey Bowl, for decades.
“Pete and I last year sat and held hands with people who are battling cancer, battling brain cancer,’’ Mike said. “We always said the thing that’s in common between us and the people we are playing for is the day before [the cancer diagnosis]. The day before, life was normal. Everything was happy and laughing and going to work and eating burgers and pizza. Where the break happens is the next day, when that diagnosis or that tragedy strikes.
“We’ve always felt as a family, ‘There but for the grace of God go I.’ Never in a million years did we think it would be us.”
From the result of the biopsies, doctors leaned toward a diagnosis of a low-grade oligodendroglioma, a rare cancer that is slow-growing and has a higher survival rate than other brain cancers.
“The doctor said, ‘If you have to have a tumor that’s cancerous, you want this tumor,’” Pete said.
That diagnosis wasn’t verified until the tumor was removed.
Through connections he made through his church, St. Ambrose, and the Turkey Bowl, Pete found Dr. Raymond Sawaya, a neurosurgeon at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Pete knew immediately after meeting him that Dr. Sawaya would operate on him, he said.
“I shook his hand, and he looked me in the eyes and said, ‘You help all these families. We’re here to help you now,” he said.
Dr. Sawaya was able to remove the entire tumor plus margins during the four-hour surgery.
His follow-up scan two weeks later revealed Pete did not need chemotherapy or radiation.
Pete said he sees his journey as one of faith, not cancer.
“I think a lot of times when people go into the battle against cancer, their faith might be a little shaken,” he said. “I believe faith led me to all those situations: to get to Texas, to the best doctors and the best medicine.”
Turkey Bowl 2020
Pete plans to play in this year’s Turkey Bowl on Thanksgiving, Nov. 26. This year’s game has been dedicated to Pete.
Mike moved the game to Hinckley last year after shifting 1st Day School Supplies to town. The inaugural game in the township, played on the field behind 1st Day School Supplies, 2659 Center Rd., raised a record $390,000.
Over the 30 years the game has been played, it has raised more than $2.25 million for the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
The Turkey Bowl has always donated 100 percent of its proceeds to charity, but about six years ago, it narrowed much of its focus to the fight against cancer.
Mike emphasized the game is dedicated to Pete, but no money will go to him. The proceeds will continue to be used to help those in need. And that need is even greater in light of the pandemic, Mike said.
The theme this year us “You Can’t Stop Us,” whether it’s cancer or coronavirus.
“We’re going to play the game, and we’re going to be safe,” he said. “This year, more than ever, people need us. The money we raise is going to save lives.”
Spectators will be physically distanced at the game, which starts at 8 a.m. And instead of having the traditional breakfast buffet, Mike is working with food trucks to provide refreshments in a safer manner.
He is thrilled that the Turkey Bowl and his family have been embraced by Hinckley.
“Last year, part of our message was that we wanted to be a part of the community,” he said. “How did God bless us that when my son had a seizure, in minutes the Hinckley Police Department arrives and calms his wife down and in minutes, the fire department is on top of it? Who could have imagined that when we said we wanted to be a part of the community that the community would have rallied around us in our moment of need?”
Though he is looking forward to the football game, Mike said it’s really just a celebration of the real reason for the event: fundraising. Those who want to donate to the Turkey Bowl can visit meadowsturkeybowl.com.
Feature image photo caption: Pete Meadows (r) and his neurosurgeon, Dr. Raymond Sawaya, review the films of Meadow’s brain before and after a surgery that successfully removed a tumor. Photo courtesy Pete Meadows