When Chris Gathers was diagnosed with an incurable disease in February of 2021, he thought the worst.
"I thought instantly at most I have 2 years, can't believe I'm dying," Gathers said.
He learned he had a low-grade tumor in his brain called an oligodendroglioma.
He endured a 13-hour surgery to have the tumor removed. It took a year to recover. His prognosis was a life expectancy of about 22 years.
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"I was always healthy, always active, and to go from that to not overnight, I had to mourn that old part of me," he continued.
But during his mourning period, he came up with a new idea.
"I had a conversation one night, it was very late, that I was like I'm going to wake up tomorrow and do something," Gathers said.
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The next morning, he got up and slowly started to take a walk. Nowadays, he walks six miles a day with his dogs and records messages to his thousands of followers on Instagram, many relating to his struggles.
"At first I thought I might reach 100 people. I found out that so many people need this positivity," he said.
Gathers and his diagnosis made him a better friend, husband and father.
"I remember telling my daughter early on who is very perceptive, 'I find this to be a gift that you're gonna watch me pick myself up.' I think that's a good lesson for all parents is that don't hide showing your emotions from your kids," he said.
