Michael Ortiz went to his first softball games of the season July 17, and was greeted with hugs from everyone on his Spin Wildcats C1-Division team as well as opposing players.
It was an emotional reunion and tears of joy no doubt blended in with the sweat on that hot and humid afternoon at Margate Fields.
Ortiz, 41, who works as the director of human resources for Point Roll and lives in East Lakeview, was finally back around the sport he truly loves, among friends and teammates who endured, battled and supported him extensively over the past year, a roller coaster ride unlike any.
The story starts last August, when Ortiz had cold-like conditions. He'd have the chills one moment, then sweat the next. At night, he'd often wake up and be able to wring out his shirt and sheets from perspiration.
His doctors were treating it as a cold, giving him antibiotics.
Ortiz was, at the time, traveling extensively for work, with several cross-country flights each week.
"I remember as if it was yesterday, sitting in a senior management meeting [out of state]. It was just about my turn to talk and I started sweating incredibly," said Ortiz, who was battling a high temperature at the time.
He returned home and the cold eventually subsided—for about a month.
Ortiz was then in New York for work, and yet he could barely move and had no energy.
"When I got back from New York, I told my doctor that he had to do something, that something was not right," said Ortiz who, from August until early-December was still being treated for a cold.
Ortiz was then sent for CT scans of his head, neck, chest, abdomen and pelvic area. Doctors then wanted to conduct a biopsy of his lymph nodes.
On Christmas Eve, Ortiz learned the root of his ills: He had Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of cancer.
"You always kind of prepare for the worst and hope for the best. There's nothing that can really explain what to think when you're told that you have cancer, yet have been so healthy for so long," said Ortiz, who has been living in Chicago for five years and originally is from Marshall, Mich.
Ortiz has long been the picture of health. He works out six days a week and eats a healthy diet. He weighed 194 pounds last August; by December he was only 135 pounds. He had a 34-inch waist on his 5-foot-8 frame, but dropped to a 29-inch waist in late 2010. Also, he was down to a small shirt, not his normal large.
"I still had muscle mass, but was completely shrinking, getting thinner and thinner and thinner," Ortiz said. "When they told me [it was cancer], it was surreal. I had to let it sink it. It didn't seem real to me at first. I kept thinking, 'How can this be? I'm healthy; I do all of the right things; I eat all of the right foods.'"
Then it really hit him, and Ortiz admitted he "got really sad and became very, very depressed."
Quickly, though, Ortiz recovered. "I knew I could not allow this [diagnosis] to control me; I knew I had to control it," he said. "I knew I had to turn things around; I have to remain positive. I'm going to battle this with all I have, and I know that I have great family and friends to support me. And I am going to get through this; I am not going to let this take me out."
In January, his oncologist diagnosed him with Stage 3 cancer. He also had a bone-marrow biopsy, and doctors revealed that, luckily, the cancer had remained in his neck area—but it also had traveled into his bone marrow.
Ortiz started semimonthly chemotherapy at Northwestern Memorial Hospital Jan. 13.
By early April, doctors told Ortiz they had contained the cancer, and that he was showing up as cancer-free.
"I was so relieved, knowing that they got the cancer so quickly," Ortiz said. "That was a huge, huge relief. Part of that was due to eating the right foods, being healthy, working out, being active."
Ortiz has, even during his chemotherapy, been a regular on the weight machines at Fitness Formula Club (FFC) in East Lakeview.
His last day of chemotherapy was June 16—but that wasn't the end of the ride.
On July 5, he was not feeling well, so he went to see his oncologist. "The next thing I knew, I was being rushed to the emergency room; I was in the ICU with all of these gadgets [attached] on me," he said. "They couldn't figure out what was going on. My body ached so bad, so, so, so bad. I couldn't move; I could barely talk. They were doing test after test after test."
Doctors eventually determined that bacteria had grown on the catheter of the port used for his chemotherapy, causing a staff infection, leading to septic shock, pain, lethargy, high fever and pneumonia. He was hospitalized for two weeks.
Finally, on July 18, a healthy Ortiz returned to work.
"I'm doing very, very well. They got the cancer, cleared me of the cancer, and here I am," he said. "As the saying goes … that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
"Going through this, it's opened my eyes to a lot of different things. It's a life-changing event. You have to stop and smell the flowers. You have to stop and look at your surroundings, and be appreciative. We often take things for granted until something tragic like this happens, then you realize all that you truly have."
For Ortiz, his parents, Pete and Ema, were his rock. His best friends, Reed Benedict and Anthony Miceli, also were there for him unconditionally, as were his softball teammates and many others from the gay community.
"Michael has shown remarkable courage and grace in his battle with cancer," said Benedict, 38, who lives in Lakeview and has been friends with Ortiz for 15 years. "Generally upbeat and optimistic, he's sad and depressed when he needs to be without, belaboring the moment. There have been scares and frights along the way, along with victories and triumphs confronting this terrible disease.
"Being by his side to offer support has been as much a blessing to me as to him. Once again we are all reminded that life is worth living when measured in love, the people you surround yourself with, and the time you spend. Rather than the messages we get from our culture that values materialism and achievement.
"Michael is a kind and generous man, and his heart truly cares for others. It's his turn to receive that kindness, and for a while to depend on others. Learning how to depend on others is one of life's most important lessons, and Michael has learned with dignity and the customary difficulty not to be an island unto himself. His care for his aunt Millie during her cancer years ago speaks volumes to the care and love he's received during his own struggle with the same disease.
"We were all overjoyed when his chemotherapy was effective in declaring him 'cancer-free' and I am thankful it was caught so early. I look to many more years with my best friend."
Miceli was actually on the softball field July 17, playing against Ortiz's team.
"I have watched what Michael has gone through from the very beginning and I want to take this opportunity to say he truly is a hero," said Miceli, 46, who lives in Lakeview. "From the not knowing, to the diagnosis, through the fight, and the scary setbacks, one would have not known what this man has endured. What I am trying to say is, I know he suffered week after week, and yet he never let anyone know. He didn't want anyone to feel sad or uncomfortable around him.
"Michael made light of his situation and just wanted to keep everything as normal as normal can be."
Ortiz won't play any softball this summer, although his Spin team still includes him in all team business and decisions. He will, though, be ready, hopefully, to return to left field for a tournament in Fort Lauderdale in November.
"Michael and I were roommates during the Hurricane Showdown Softball Tournament in Fort. Lauderdale last Thanksgiving," said Rob Scaffidi, 43, who lives in Roscoe Village. "It was during that time [when] Mike shared with me his health concerns. He explained that he hadn't felt well for some time and the doctors were eliminating causes and the next step was to test for cancer. I kept a positive mental attitude and did my best to keep Mike's mind occupied. After our games, I'd try to get Mike to join us for dinner and drinks, but he just didn't have the energy or the desire.
"Before all this came about, Mike and I always had the best times hanging out with each other. Whether it was our typical Friday night group dinner or a Saturday night out, I knew to prepare myself to have an amazing time. So, seeing my good friend in this condition was concerning and heartbreaking. It wasn't long after we returned to Chicago [from Fort Lauderdale] that Mike was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. The first time I saw Mike after the diagnosis, I was completely amazed at his positive attitude and knew he was going to beat this disease. He has fought hard and I know it won't be long before we're sitting at a table with good friends, drinking champagne and celebrating life to the fullest—as Mike has always done."
