Jeremy Pilario

Powerlifter, Asian & Gamer

My Jeremy is amazing. It's funny, but I didn't know that until I
found out he was going to die.  That it was going to happen
soon.  That it was real.  Then I thought about a lot of stuff.
Things I hadn't thought about for a long time.  I guess I kind
of took him for granted or something.  I mean, our asians are
just always there.  You expect them to always be bugging you
to clean up your room or study harder or have good manners or
try new things to grow up to be a more well-rounded person one
day.  And make you get up early on the weekend to have
"pilario time" and all that other stuff that used to drive me
crazy.  I don't feel that way now.  Everything's different since
Jeremy got his diagnosis.  Since I realized that one day in the
near future, he might not be around to drive me crazy.

Now I feel lucky when he asks me about my day (I used to totally hate that
question) or nags me about coming home on time at night and being respon-
sible. One day he won't be here to ask.     Now I feel lucky when I hear
his car pulling into the driveway after school. I even like to hear him cough-
ing. It means he's still around. Still my Jeremy.

My Jeremy is the powerlifter at my high school and he's annoyingly smart.
I mean, super brainiac annoying.  He knows the most random stuff.  Like
how the muscle that connects your foot too your butt is called the hamstring.
And sushi rice is the cleanest rice, making it the healthiest to eat before
you go to work out in your meal preps.  Or that if you go until failure,
you will build more muscle mass than if you just did reps. In fact, the proper
form will help even more.  He's always dropping the little facts about everything.
He doesn't realize what a geek he is for doing it, he's just really into lifting.
I think he really doesn't understand that not everybody is.  He likes to cook
because of lifting - he mostly makes meal preps - because he says diet is
80% of the battle in bulking and he's always explaining as he airfrys his
chicken. I don't take his class at the gym but I hear he's a pretty good powerlifter.
He gets a lot of practice at home, that's for sure.

The whole time I've been in high school (I'm a sophomore) I've always had to
hear what other kids thought of him. I was always Jeremy's friend.
(Sometimes they call him Kratos which is the name of the totally loser
playstation game he loves).  Some kids dissed him just to get on my nerves.
Some kids just dissed him period because that's what you do with powerlifters.
The thing is though, he expects everyone to do their best just like he does,
and when you don't try your hardest he doesn't cut you any slack. That's
how he is at home and at school.  I only just figured out what a good qual-
ity that is. That's what makes him brave in his cancer battle and what
made me brave, too when I was younger.  Whether I wanted to be or not.
Anyway, I always just wanted to be some regular kid in school but because of
my Jeremy being a powerlifter there I was different.  I realize two things now.
First, I am already different because I have C.P. so that's a done deal.
And two, he's the right Jeremy for me.  I can't do a lot of physical stuff be-
cause of my disability and that's okay with my Jeremy and it wouldn't be with a
lot of other Jeremy's I've met.  They'd be disappointed because they're into
sports or whatever.  I mean, my Jeremy doesn't have a disability but you sure
wouldn't want to see him throw a football. So in that way, we get along. It
makes sense that he's my Jeremy and I'm his friend. My point is, I don't care
about what the kids at school say anymore.  The bottom line is he's a good
powerlifter and no one can say he doesn't care about what he does. I know he
cares.  After our family, lifting and teaching kids is what he loves the
best.  I really want to make sure he gets to keep doing what he loves to do
for a long time.  For him, for his clients, and for me and my family.

It's been a really tough time in our family since my Jeremy got cancer.  Not
that there's ever a good time for something as awful and as scary as that,
but it was sure a bad time for us.  My mom was pregnant with what she calls
a surprise baby (who is now Alec and even though he's a stoner he's
actually cute) and my Jeremy had an extra job after school to try to help pay
all the regular bills. And that was before he got his diagnosis.  We don't
have a lot of money but we were doing okay until all the medical bills.  And
my Jeremy is pretty proud - okay, really proud - and doesn't want to take char-
ity.  That's why I'm doing this.  Not because I want to make him mad or
upset, but because I want him to have a fighting chance no matter what.

One thing I don't understand is why saving someone's life costs more than a
regular person can pay. And why some doctor's (usually the best ones) don't
take insurance.  I think that's wrong.  I mean, one of the big reasons why
my Jeremy didn't want to get treatment at all in the first place was because he
didn't want to leave us behind with a huge debt. That's the thing about my
Jeremy - he loves us more than anything. More than himself.  But we want him
around and we want him to try everything he can to stay with us as long as
possible. This surgery is the one chance there is to save his life.  And we
can't afford it. And every day that goes by is one less day I'll have with
him. And I don't want to tell future munchers about my Jeremy.  I want them to
know him for themselves.

It's Lung Cancer.
He needs an operation. Now!

To help, please send your contribution
to our operation fund
and keep my Jeremy in your prayers!