KARL PEARSON
When you watch today’s Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game between the Oklahoma Sooners and Florida Gators, at least one member of the Florida contingent will be providing an extra sense of inspiration to a very interested fan some 1,500 miles away.
If the viewer looks closely enough at coach Urban Meyer on the sidelines, they will note that he will be wearing a yellow wristband inscribed “BUZZSTRONG #55” in honor of SS. John and Paul assistant coach John Buskirk and his wife, Jessica. Buskirk has been battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia for four years.
There is no better time for such a show of support for the Buskirks as John has undergone another series of serious health challenges just in the last two days.
According to information obtained from Buskirk’s blog, http://coachjbuzz.blogspot.com, John Buskirk, who has been hospitalized at Cleveland Clinic, was detected Tuesday with swelling in his eye that was diagnosed as a fungal infection in his sinuses and in his eye. He was taken for a CAT scan, then to surgery Tuesday night.
According to the blog, extensive surgery was required that lasted well into the early hours of Wednesday. The infection turned out to be in a lot of the tissue which had to be removed. As a result, doctors were forced to remove Buskirk’s eye and part of his nose to rid him of the infection.
Buskirk has been returned to the intensive care unit of Cleveland Clinic and his doctors are hopeful they have the infection under control. According to the blog, it was feared that he might be required to stay on a ventilator for an extended period or that he might not recover from the surgery at all.
However, Buskirk’s fighting spirit continues to win out. Later on Wednesday, the blog reported that Buskirk was already off breathing assistance and was talking to his wife and friends.
As the blog reported, “(Wednesday) morning, he was giving the doctors the thumbs up, and mouthing Jessica’s name. They pulled the vent a few hours ago and he has been doing fine.
“The surgeons will be checking in on him and making a decision as to whether or not more surgery will be required. They have him on a ton of antibiotics and are trying to get his white blood cell counts up.”
Another boost to Buskirk’s spirits came a short time later as Meyer first called, then sent text messages about what the Gators were doing in their final practices for today’s game. After practice, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow called with more words of encouragement, according to the blog.
“If you think John was happy to make it out of surgery, you should have heard the excitement in his voice recalling this phone call,” the blog said.
If individuals are interested in getting one of the bands Meyer will be wearing, they are available at SS. John and Paul.
Buskirk’s fighting spirit is shared by his wife, who in the latest blog update late Wednesday night, spoke to that characteristic in her husband.
“Well, John has proven once against what a tough SOB he is,” she wrote. “He is such a strong, inspirational and just amazing man. He has such a passion to love.
He expressed that to one of his friends.
“(A friend) came in to see him today and he told her, ‘I have too much (crap) left to do,” Jessica wrote. “He has so much more of his life to live and if he has to do that with one eye and part of a nose, he is going to do it his way.
“He is so happy to be awake and alive today. We didn’t think he would be awake and communicating this quickly.”
Jim Timonere, SJP’s head football coach for whom Buskirk worked this season, said he is constantly amazed by the couple’s resiliency, especially John’s.
“From last night at 2 or 3 a.m. when he just got out of surgery to when I talked to Jessica at 1:30 this afternoon, the progress has been amazing. She told me she was putting the call on the speaker phone, and I was really afraid something was wrong, so when I heard John’s voice, I just lost it.
“Hearing his voice with spirit like there’s nothing wrong just floors me. Nobody should have to go through the things John and Jessica have had to go through, but if anybody can do it, John’s the man that can do it.”
Timonere said he hopes to go to Cleveland Clinic today to see the Buskirks.
“I’m hoping to be able to go up and watch the game with them (today),” he said.
