Ego74
1
Played with the Bucs from '95-'98
35 years of age and dying of cancer
Gimino: Teammates rally behind Bouie's battle | www.tucsoncitizen.com ®
Tony Bouie has cancer. Exactly what kind he will find out Wednesday. But it's bad. It's in his liver, elbow, neck, hip . . . the damn disease is all over his skeletal system.
Time is beginning to be measured in months.
Bouie, at 35 years old, married with two young daughters, the chairman and CEO of a burgeoning company, a former All-American football player at the University of Arizona, was just about on top of the world a month ago.
He went to get a checkup in order to increase his life insurance. He felt fine. The blood work came back. He was denied. Since then, it's been a whirlwind of doctors, discovery and depressing news.
The results of the second biopsy on the tumor in his liver are scheduled to come back Wednesday. Then, the proper course of chemotherapy can begin.
He will not be alone in this fight.
True to the nickname of the defense he helped lead as a free safety - Desert Swarm - his ex-teammates have quickly rallied to his cause, and not just in moral support.
"It's been one of the blessings to come out of this, to realize just how special those times were in your life," Bouie said Tuesday by phone. "It's been wonderful. I've heard from guys I haven't heard from since 1994 and '95. It's pretty cool and really humbling."
Former UA offensive lineman Eric Johnson helped set up a foundation for medical costs and for Bouie's daughters. Natalie is 3. Eboni is 1. (See box for how to donate, 8A)
"It looks like he is going to need some help," said Johnson, a neighbor of Bouie's in Anthem, north of Phoenix. "We're just trying to take the stress out of where the money is coming from so they can focus on what is important."
<table align="center" bgcolor="#bf0000" width="790"><tbody><tr><td height="2">
</td></tr><tr><td> <table align="center" bgcolor="white" width="780"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td> <table align="center" bgcolor="#bf0000" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" width="775"> </table><table align="left" bgcolor="#bf0000" border="1" width="770"><tbody><tr><td rowspan="9">
</td></tr><tr><td width="210">
</td><td width="130">
</td><td width="130">
</td><td width="130">
</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" bgcolor="white">[SIZE=+2]Tony Bouie [/SIZE]</td><td align="center" bgcolor="white">[SIZE=+1]S [/SIZE]</td><td align="center" bgcolor="white">[SIZE=+3]23 [/SIZE]</td></tr><tr><td>College</td><td align="center">Height</td><td align="center">Weight</td><td align="center">Date of birth</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">Arizona </td><td align="center" bgcolor="white">5-10 </td><td align="center" bgcolor="white">190 </td><td align="center" bgcolor="white">7-Aug-72 </td></tr><tr><td>How acquired</td><td colspan="2">Undrafted free agent 1995 </td><td rowspan="4">
</td> </tr><tr><td>How left</td><td colspan="2">Camp cut 1999 </td></tr><tr><td>Seasons played</td><td align="center">Games</td><td align="center">Starts</td></tr> <tr><td bgcolor="white">1995-98 </td><td align="center" bgcolor="white">57 </td><td align="center" bgcolor="white">4</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>
35 years of age and dying of cancer
Gimino: Teammates rally behind Bouie's battle | www.tucsoncitizen.com ®
Tony Bouie has cancer. Exactly what kind he will find out Wednesday. But it's bad. It's in his liver, elbow, neck, hip . . . the damn disease is all over his skeletal system.
Time is beginning to be measured in months.
Bouie, at 35 years old, married with two young daughters, the chairman and CEO of a burgeoning company, a former All-American football player at the University of Arizona, was just about on top of the world a month ago.
He went to get a checkup in order to increase his life insurance. He felt fine. The blood work came back. He was denied. Since then, it's been a whirlwind of doctors, discovery and depressing news.
The results of the second biopsy on the tumor in his liver are scheduled to come back Wednesday. Then, the proper course of chemotherapy can begin.
He will not be alone in this fight.
True to the nickname of the defense he helped lead as a free safety - Desert Swarm - his ex-teammates have quickly rallied to his cause, and not just in moral support.
"It's been one of the blessings to come out of this, to realize just how special those times were in your life," Bouie said Tuesday by phone. "It's been wonderful. I've heard from guys I haven't heard from since 1994 and '95. It's pretty cool and really humbling."
Former UA offensive lineman Eric Johnson helped set up a foundation for medical costs and for Bouie's daughters. Natalie is 3. Eboni is 1. (See box for how to donate, 8A)
"It looks like he is going to need some help," said Johnson, a neighbor of Bouie's in Anthem, north of Phoenix. "We're just trying to take the stress out of where the money is coming from so they can focus on what is important."
<table align="center" bgcolor="#bf0000" width="790"><tbody><tr><td height="2">
</td></tr><tr><td> <table align="center" bgcolor="white" width="780"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td> <table align="center" bgcolor="#bf0000" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" width="775"> </table><table align="left" bgcolor="#bf0000" border="1" width="770"><tbody><tr><td rowspan="9">
</td></tr><tr><td width="210"></td><td width="130">
</td><td width="130">
</td><td width="130">
</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" bgcolor="white">[SIZE=+2]Tony Bouie [/SIZE]</td><td align="center" bgcolor="white">[SIZE=+1]S [/SIZE]</td><td align="center" bgcolor="white">[SIZE=+3]23 [/SIZE]</td></tr><tr><td>College</td><td align="center">Height</td><td align="center">Weight</td><td align="center">Date of birth</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">Arizona </td><td align="center" bgcolor="white">5-10 </td><td align="center" bgcolor="white">190 </td><td align="center" bgcolor="white">7-Aug-72 </td></tr><tr><td>How acquired</td><td colspan="2">Undrafted free agent 1995 </td><td rowspan="4">
</td> </tr><tr><td>How left</td><td colspan="2">Camp cut 1999 </td></tr><tr><td>Seasons played</td><td align="center">Games</td><td align="center">Starts</td></tr> <tr><td bgcolor="white">1995-98 </td><td align="center" bgcolor="white">57 </td><td align="center" bgcolor="white">4</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>
