Ryan Cavanagh is no stranger to adversity.
As a young boy he saw his father brought to death’s door. He watched as each trip his father took to the hospital made a strong, powerful man weaker and smaller. Barely old enough to understand that cancer was destroying his father’s body from the inside out; that he was dying.
“He’d go through these treatments that make you so sick you just want to give in,” Cavanagh said.
But then things changed.
His father grew stronger. He looked healthier. Things seemed to be back to normal. The cancer vanished, or so it seemed.
Years would go by. Birthdays would passed with no sign, no whisper, of the dreaded “C” word. Each passing day was a better chance the cancer was gone for good, the doctors said. Then, like a beast erupting from its slumber, it returned.
It started out as back pain. Ryan’s father, Tom, went to the doctor to get it checked out and was given a bombshell. Cancer. The pain came from a tumor that was pushing on his nerves.
Back to the hospital with the treatments that broke him down. The second time proved only harder. With cancer technology and procedures still in its premature stages, the methods were still new and raw. Treatments became harder as the veins that had already weathered one battle with cancer refused to cooperate for a second one.
At a time when Ryan should have been celebrating his senior year of high school, enjoying proms and making plans for college, he chose instead to remain at home to take care of his father.
“Everything got put on hold.” Cavanagh said. “I lived with him and took care of him.”
But once again, things changed. Cavanagh’s father became stronger and healthier, beating the disease for a second time.
Cavanagh would go on to attend college, first at Nassau Community College and then to Plattsburgh State where he would have a successful career as a face-off man. In his senior year he would be named a team captain and earn all-conference honors while re-writing the record books in regards to face-off statistics. His father there with him every step of the way.
After being named the assistant coach of the men’s lacrosse team at PSU, Cavanagh was anxious to get the team involved in a charity. While riding with his dad over the summer he asked him how he stayed so positive through two bouts of cancer.
The elder Cavanagh told him a story. Although angry at first for having been diagnosed with a form of bladder cancer that had seen no survivors, his outlook changed after one particular day of treatment. Cavanagh, who had spent his career putting away “bad guys” as a homicide detective, voiced his feelings of resentment to his doctor, who decided to take him on a walk that would change his life.
He brought him to the children’s ward of the hospital. There, Cavanagh was shocked to see young children with tubes in their throats, struggling to stay alive, unaware of the life they had yet had the opportunity to live. From that point on, Cavanagh realized how lucky he was compared to those kids, having at least had a chance to live a somewhat full life compared to these unfortunate children.
“He really had a better outlook on his treatments from then on out,” Cavanagh said.
Cavanagh was inspired by his father’s story. He decided he wanted to work with a charity that benefited children with cancer. After doing some research he came across the St. Baldricks foundation.
Founded in 2000 by three executives, the trio attempted to raise money for children’s cancer by shaving their heads. Ten years later, the foundation has grown into a multi-million dollar non-profit organization. Cavanagh said one of the most appealing factors of the charity was the percentage of donations that actually goes toward cancer research.
“If you look at a lot of charities, sometimes 50-60% of the donations are used to cover employee’s salaries,” Cavanagh said. “St. Baldricks is made up completely of volunteers so all the money is going toward cancer research.”
Cavanagh would then embark on a nine month project. The plan was to get the team to get their heads shaved during the day followed by a game that night, all on Long Island, where a majority of the players were from and therefore their families could attend.
The first step was to get a base group of sponsors. Cavanagh was surprised to find how many people were willing to donate when the opportunity presented itself.
“That was the real experience,” Cavanagh said. “To see how many people helped, I was like ‘Wow this isn’t as difficult as I thought’.”
Raising money wasn’t Cavanagh’s only job. Every detail, from who the Card’s opponent would be and where they would play down to what food would be served at the head shaving ceremony was organized by Cavanagh. Even the bag piper that played prior to the game, which was held on St. Patricks day, was set up by Cavanagh.
“I was literally in the office every day filling out tons of paper work,” Cavanagh said.
The event ended up raising $4,000 for the charity, and went off without a hitch. The cherry on top was the 25-8 win the Cardinals posted that night against Briarcliffe. Cavanagh showed no doubts when asked if all the work was worth it.
“When you give something back like that you never regret it,” Cavanagh said.
In the future, Cavanagh hopes to have the team build a tradition of doing St. Baldrick’s and possibly bring the charity to the PSU campus, making it a staple in the community similar to what Relay for Life has become. In the same way that his father did for him a summer ago, Cavanagh hopes to inspire his athletes.
“I’d really like to get all the guys involved in the setting up process,” Cavanagh said. “If we could make it the ‘lacrosse event’ on campus that’d be great.”
Thanks to Coach Cavanagh for being so willing to talk!
-DeFran
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