Mansfield High School football coach Daniel Maberry received difficult news Friday – he has been diagnosed with stage-four lymphoma.
Maberry says he know something wasn't right and knew he needed to get checked out.
"I was walking out on the field and my legs were feeling weak, and I was like 'man, I'm out of shape, I gotta start working out again.' Everybody said I was white as a ghost and so I said 'OK I'll go get checked out' even though I didn't feel bad. I didn't really feel bad except for my muscles were getting fatigued," said Maberry. "So I went in and the doctor said I was anemic, and we had to find out what was causing anemia."
A bone marrow biopsy revealed he has stage four lymphoma.
"It was a very hard day to say the least," Maberry said. "The first thing on my mind was my little girls. The fear of me not being there for them and not being there for my wife."
Maberry a husband and father of two young girls - ages 6 and 9 - plans to fight cancer no matter what and use his battle as an inspiration for others.
"It's just opened your eyes to so many different things, like how much time do I get to spend with my girls, I want to spend more time with my girls, I'm going to have better relationships with people around me, you know," said Maberry. "You know there's been a lot of positives that come out of it, believe it or not, you know? As many negatives as there are, because there are, but there's been a lot of positives that have already come about."
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Maberry calls the diagnosis a blessing. In the middle of the toughest adversity in his life, Maberry is relying heavily on the Mansfield community that has meant so much to him, and the faith on which he says he needs now more than ever.
"I've gotten to see first-hand what I mean to other people," Maberry said. "God has allowed me to see how I've blessed people."
Maberry says he is "absolutely" going to fight his cancer with treatment, recalling that he often asks his football players, "What are you going to do when adversity hits you in the face? How are you going to respond to it? Well, adversity has hit me right in the face, and I know how I'm going to respond to it," said Maberry. "I'm going to live my life for the Lord, and the Lord is going to give me strength."
His assistant football coaches have created a GoFundMe page that, as of Friday afternoon had already surpassed it's goal of $50,000 for the Maberry family.
HOW TO HELP: GoFundMe.com/WeAreMansfield
