Stand Up for Joe Bradley
As the Stand Up for DAWG Nation event unfolded at Comedy Works, Joe Bradley was surrounded by supporters. What Joe didn’t know was that he was about to become the next recipient of DAWG Nation. Before the comics took the stage, we toasted to the prior year’s recipient, Miles Batchelder and family John and Krista Batchelder in celebration of Miles ringing the remission bell. We shared laughs with our dear friends from St. Louis, Jon Orelt and teammates Jared Schmierbach and Matthew Heath. We cheered on Van Stone and Nicole Stone for his return to the ice. Of course the night wouldn’t be complete without a surprise check presentation. We were honored to surprise Joe Bradley with a check and a Survivor jersey to celebrate his victory over cancer. We did so with the help and leadership of Blue Bear Waste, led by Shaun Hollis and Andrew Perzi! We are honored to walk alongside these families in their journeys with so many helping hands.
We Make Tough Guys Cry
Our motto rang true once more as we made another tough guy cry. Through tears coming down his cheeks, Joe expressed his overwhelming gratitude. He articulated the power of a community coming together to support him and set him back on his feet after he literally drained his bank accounts to save his own life. He talked about this in greater depth on the DAWGPOD where he and John Michael Liles were featured guests. That episode can be found here: Season 2, Episode 5 (John-Michael Liles) Thanks to your help, Joe is back to what he loves most- being a father and an avid outdoorsman.
Prostate Cancer Turns World Upside Down
Joe Bradley’s world was turned upside down last September when he was diagnosed with Advanced Prostate Cancer. At only 41 years of age, Joe was included amongst a small group of men who are diagnosed before 50 years old. A busy career in the construction industry and raising 3 boys between the ages of 12 and 21 added to the storm. His fight began right as the worst wave of COVID-19 was taking over the country. The team of doctors decided on a very aggressive strategy which included intervals of twice-daily treatments that were both physically draining and painful for Joe. The strategy provided to be correct as joe received an all-clear diagnosis just three weeks ago.
Celebrating Remission
As any good hockey player would do, Joe celebrated his remission with family and friends by returning to the ice for a Friday drop in. He also looks forward to resuming sports with his three boys and a return to the outdoors and his love of archery and bow hunting. Joe is the second youngest to achieve the “Big 8” and the youngest to achieve the “Big 9” in harvesting all 9 species of big game within CO. To complement his love of archery, Joe creates beautiful, handmade recurve bows.
While fortunate to have health insurance, the duration of his fight left him in debt to cover full deductibles for both 2020 and 2021. Thank you for working together to put these costs in remission as well!
