Scarred For Life - But Loving It Wyoming Aide Figures Living With Cancer Beats The Alternative Of Not Living At All
The day before the Super Bowl, Larry Korpitz, an assistant football coach at Wyoming, buried his father, who had died of a brain aneurysm.
The day of the game, Korpitz experienced numbness on the right side of his body.
The day after, he was lying in a hospital bed two doors down from where his father died. The diagnosis: cancerous brain tumor.
Half a year and 33 radiation treatments later, Korpitz, 46, stands on the sidelines determined to get on with his 11th season with the Cowboys.
“You get a tumor, they take it out,” he said. “If they don’t, it will kill you. There’s not much more you can say about it.”
There is more to say, but Korpitz would rather talk about the Wyoming football team, which opens its 1996 season Aug. 31 at home against Idaho. He is the offensive coordinator and his wide-open offenses consistently post high numbers, including a No. 12 NCAA ranking in total offense last year. It should do even better this year with the return of all but one starter, including star receiver Marcus Harris.
Few players knew about Korpitz’ situation until camp started last week. He’s now 15 pounds lighter and sports a sizable scar starting from his forehead and blending through thin blond hair to his left ear. It’s a visible reminder of when University of Colorado Medical Center doctors removed four-fifths of the tumor more than two weeks ago.
“Coach Korpitz is the most hardheaded person I have ever met in my life, so I don’t know how the heck they got that scar on his head,” jokes quarterback Josh Wallwork. “I don’t know how they got in there.
“He’s made it very clear to us that it shouldn’t be a distraction to us. But yet it should be something inspirational. I lost my uncle last year and he was only 46 years old, so you never know when it’s your time to go.”
Korpitz has not been sick because of the tumor or treatment. Taking the stitches out last week caused him to miss his first practice since becoming a coach in 1972. Korpitz hopes for few disruptions, even though he has to return to Denver every six weeks for monitoring.
“I’m pretty optimistic about the whole thing,” he says. “This is kind of an unusual brain tumor. It is one that is incurable and it is something that I am going to have to live with the rest of my life. But (doctors) think they can control it through medication and even surgery on occasion.”
Coach Joe Tiller says Korpitz has remained sharp and responsive during fall camp.
Korpitz hopes the situation stays that way.
“There are people who live with this type of tumor for a long time and there are some who die within a year,” he says. “I just thank God I’m alive.”