Brighter days for Buzea
Successful bone marrow transplant leaves H-F coach looking forward to healthier future
As a football coach, Homewood-Flossmoor’s Craig Buzea is a risk-taker.
He likes to put the razzle in dazzle.
Whether it’s fourth-and-1 or fourth-and-10, Buzea tends to go for the first down. And most of the time during his 10 years with the Vikings, that gutsy strategy has paid off.
“They give you four downs for a reason,” Buzea said. “I hate punting.”
No question, with greater risk comes greater reward. And with Buzea at the helm, H-F has been rewarded.
The Vikings are 94-24 during his remarkable tenure, including a Class 8A second-place finish in 2014.
In the game of life, however, it’s wiser to avoid that risk and choose the route presenting a clearer, safer passage.
That’s what the 59-year-old Buzea, who also coached at Portage and Michigan City in Indiana, begrudgingly did when it came to his future health. If you recall, he was diagnosed late last year with acute leukemia.
After being misdiagnosed multiple times, he spent weeks in the hospital undergoing intense rounds of chemotherapy. His wife Barb and their two daughters were by his side, fighting the good fight.
In spite of the coronavirus pandemic presenting another obstacle, Buzea was doing well.
In fact, he was doing better than well through much of the spring and summer.
“I was feeling great,” Buzea said. “I was cancer-free for three months.”
In June, however, he was faced with a decision. He could continue on this path and hope the cancer wouldn’t return.
More of a fourth-and-10 scenario.
Or he could receive a bone marrow transplant that, while making his life profoundly difficult for a few weeks during recovery, would puts the odds in his favor of a better, longer quality of life.
More of a fourth-and-1 situation.
“I kept asking, ‘Why do I need to go to the hospital if I’m feeling this good?’” Buzea said. “The cancer wasn’t showing up. But there was less of a chance of the leukemia coming back if I got the transplant.
“When the doctor said to my wife and I, ‘If this were my husband, I’d make him go through the transplant,’ that sealed it for me. Let’s get the transplant.”
Most importantly, the hospital was able to find a donor. A transplant procedure infuses healthy blood-forming stem cells into the body to replace the damaged or diseased bone marrow.
Buzea had the transplant July 2 and remained in the hospital until July 26.
“The transplant was the toughest thing I’ve ever had to go through but it was a success,” Buzea said. “Right now I’m 100% cancer-free. Things are going well. I’ll get another checkup after 100 days. That’s a big benchmark.
“I still have a fight on my hands. But everything is moving in the right direction.”
With a retooled immune system, Buzea is susceptible to catching a virus such as COVID-19.
“I have to be extremely careful,” Buzea said.
He hasn’t seen his players since their Nov. 16 loss to Lincoln-Way East in the Class 8A quarterfinals.
“Oh, man, do I miss the guys,” he said. “You get into teaching and coaching, it’s all about interacting. Putting an arm around a kid, giving him advice. I miss it greatly.”
He holds Zoom meeting with his coaches to scratch his football itch.
“It allows me to take my mind off things,” he said. “Plus, it’s good
to see them and talk football.”
In all likelihood, he won’t make an appearance during the 20 contact days the IHSA has granted for teams the rest of September and into October.
Still, he would love to see his players and coaches in person — and maybe take a drive around H-F’s campus.
If it somehow does happen, Buzea will be sure to bring plenty of tissue.
It will be emotional.
“This is the first time in 40 years I haven’t been involved in football at this time of the year,” he said. “I have to keep it in perspective. People have it a lot worse than I do. I’m grateful.”