At 17 years old, Mark Lara got some life-changing news. He’d been diagnosed with testicular cancer. But when he needed his friends, family, and community, they were always there to help him out.
Lara is a senior at Brandeis High School and a linebacker for the Broncos. A pillar of strength on the field, he was suddenly in the fight of his life off of it.
For Lara, Mark 3:5 tells him all you need to know about his philosophy in life, especially during this fight.
“He looked around at them in anger, and deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, ‘stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.”
“Whenever someone needs help, just know someone’s there to help you,” Lara said.
“At times, I would just think, ‘We’re gonna leave this in the Dear Lord’s hands. We’re gonna fight this, we’re gonna fight together.’ We weren’t going through it physically but we were there emotionally for him,” said Rebecca Garza, Mark’s mother.
But being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness at 17 was as much about Mark Lara as it was anything else.
“When adversity comes, it’s not about how you think it might end up, it’s about responding to it,” Lara said.
When he was diagnosed late last summer, it was stunning news to everyone in his circle, including his head coach.
“Initially, it was shock and awe to all of us, including him. But once the plan was set for how to beat it, he just went in and attacked it,” Brandeis head coach David Branscom said.
“He is a fighter,” said Dr. Aaron Sugalski with UT Medicine San Antonio. “He took the diagnosis in stride, he went through all the chemotherapy, went through surgery, took it like a man, and kept going.”
“Every day, he would get up with a smile, even though he was going through what he was going through. He’d just get up and have the best day he could probably have,” said Kristopher Garza, Mark’s cousin.
“Even if I felt down, I just tried to push through it as much as I could,” Lara said.
Surgery to remove the tumor was last December, and by February of this year, he was in remission. And in mid-June came the all-clear to play his senior year of high school football. From then to now, it’s been a remarkable journey.
“No words could describe how excited I was to be able to play football again,” Lara said.
“On that couch for an entire year, that’s all he talked about, ‘I want to be able to get back on the field,’” said Manuel Garza, Mark’s uncle.
“It says a lot about his character because I think I’m tough, but I’d say he’s one of the toughest people I’ve ever been around,” Coach Branscom said.
The lesson is simply life, embrace each and every day.
“I’ve gotta give it to that kid,” Manuel Garza said. “He’s teaching me how to be courageous as well, for him to be out there like that right after everything that happened.
And when Mark takes the field, he’ll be wearing 35. Mark 3:5, meaning so much more than it did before.
“I’m inspired just every day, waking up, and being great at everything I do.”