When #BetterThanDying Isn’t Enough

I started blogging several years ago, and with blogging came community. I was part of a network called the BlogFrog, a fun discussion board where bloggers gathered to just.. hang out.

I “met” some really great people there. One was this dude named Scott. He was one of a very small number of daddy bloggers in a sea of moms. He was snarky, pulled no punches, and most of all, he was hilarious. He would tell tales about his “4C’s” – the 3 sons and 1 daughter he had with his wife, affectionately just called T.

T – her real name is Tracy – was clearly the love of his life. He shared their love story, how they met on the beach, how they married quickly. How much he supported her being home with the kids, being a mom who chose to extended breastfeed, cloth diaper and home school.

He bitched about how much he hated his job, how he hated the hour long commute each way, and how crappy his bosses were. Talked about getting out of there, finding something he loved and that would support T & the C’s.

He talked a lot about body hair, and PODO (Pants off dance off, for those not in the know. You know – makin’ babies?) He was a pro at making you laugh at the most inappropriate things.

He was also a hell of a friend. When Jeep was raising money for St. Baldrick’s, Scott reached out to a syndicated radio program, The Bert Show, and asked him to share. Bert did, and went above and beyond, making a significant donation to push Jeep over the $3,000 mark in his fundraising.

When I was having a bad day, a tweet from him was good for a smile. Every time.

Until last spring. Scott was found unconscious at work, face down on his desk, not breathing.  He had suffered some kind of seizure, and was comatose for days. Eventually, scans showed cancer in his brain.

Scott fought that cancer the same way he did everything else – balls to the wall. He was a big Cross Fit guy, and eventually helped coordinate a fundraiser called Kettle Bells for Brain Cells to help fund brain cancer research, held in June.

On July 15th, 2015, Scott got the news none of us wanted to hear. The cancer, which had appeared to go into remission for a short time, was back. Aggressively. This time, the mass was in his brain stem. He was told to start making arrangements and saying his goodbyes. 

Yesterday, August 4th, 2015, Scott, known to many of us as “This Daddy”, lost his battle against glioblastoma. He leaves behind his wife Tracy and four children.

Scott – thank you. I appreciated our friendship. I loved talking football smack with you, giving you crap for refusing to change diapers, and griping about stupid work stuff together. You swore to us all over and over that you were a big asshole. I’ve been watching twitter for a while, pal, and there are an awful lot of us who disagree. There are an awful lot of us who think you’re a pretty damn swell guy. We’ll keep pushing on back here, #stillkickin and fighting the good fight. Forever #BetterThanDying.

We love ya.

@TaxMegan & @ProFBallPlatter