Mike Wrazen

“He is very optimistic,” says his fiancée, Jill Swan. “Always looking toward the positives, and approaches life head on.”

 But the 43-year-old learned devastating news this past January when he was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, after months of unexplained weight loss. It’s what doctors call a, “silent and deadly” cancer.

Despite the heartbreaking discovery, Mike has made a commitment to living life with hope and kindness, especially setting a positive example for the couple’s 6-year-old daughter, Gabriella.

“We find hope in each other and in our daughter, as well as our faith,” Jill exclaims. “We really hold one another close.”

Mike, a professional welder, has continued to work through the 15 rounds of chemotherapy, even going into work the day after treatment with a chemo bag attached to him. It’s a further example of his motto of “not giving up, and powering through the challenges”.

Treatment for Mike failed this September and his cancer metastasized, so now the family is looking to cherish every single moment they have together. Mike is retiring at the end of November to enable him to spend undivided time with his girls. This means that support is important, now more than ever.

“I reached out to Del, and told him our story and he put us right in the queue for a t-shirt in honor of Mike,” Jill says. “This is home. We wouldn’t chose to live anywhere else. Buffalo is truly the ‘City of Good Neighbors’. We feel the community wrapping their arms around us.”

Mike Wrazen’s shirt launched 11/23/20 and closes out 12/6/20

This story is written by Kate Glaser and provided in partnership with Hope Rises: https://www.facebook.com/hoperisesnews