No self-respecting Ohio State fan would miss a Bowl game – especially against rival Clemson even if it meant postponing potentially life-saving brain surgery. Local resident Connie Cox, in fact, did just that.
Cox, who is originally from Columbus, Ohio, is well known around New Smyrna Beach, Florida, where she currently lives, for being one of the biggest Buckeye fans in the area.
She received a devastating diagnosis of glioblastoma (GBM) just days before the big game and doctors wanted to send her to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. GBM is the same kind of brain of cancer that Beau Biden, John McCain and Ted Kennedy had.
“When that doctor told me he wanted to transport me right away to Jacksonville for brain surgery the next day, I told him, ‘No way! I had to cheer on Ohio State and help the Buckeyes end the Curse of Woody Hayes!’ No way was I going to miss the Ohio State-Clemson game!”
Satisfied after cheering on the Buckeyes to a whopping 48-29 Sugar Bowl victory, Cox reconvened with her doctors at the Mayo Clinic and rescheduled her surgery for Friday, Jan. 8.
During these first few days of the New Year, Cox turned her attention to the things she had hoped to accomplish during 2021 before she received the GBM diagnosis. Her focus for the past four years has been on building a medical clinic for the Village of Gaitu in Kenya, Africa, where she has volunteered with a missionary group.
In addition to helping the Gaitu children with sports equipment and classroom supplies, Cox instilled her love of Ohio State in them – even teaching them the O-H-I-O Buckeye cheer. Her diagnosis has now made this 2021 goal more urgent, prompting her to call upon her vast connections to help her bring this medical clinic to fruition.