Jason McGaharan

2004 Ina Brudnick Award Recipient

Freshman year in high school is a time full of challenges and excitement, when kids start to negotiate the twisting path to adulthood. For Jason McGaharan, however, entering the ninth grade presented him with more challenges than he ever expected.

While he was involved in heavy-duty football practice before ninth grade classes started, in August of 1998, Jason was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. His entry into high school was delayed by seven weeks, and football had to wait until the following season.

But Jason refused to be conquered by his illness. His attempts to continue pursuing track and field and football resulted in subsequent flare-ups in the spring and fall of 1999. After being knocked down, Jason went right back to physical training and, despite absences due to his illness, he was in the academic top 10 of his class throughout high school. "I always tried to do my best," Jason says, "because I didn't want to look back [at my life] with any regrets."

In spite of his determination, his junior year would present Jason with some serious obstacles to overcome.

In the summer of 2000, a major flare-up put Jason back into the hospital, this time for a month’s stay. Facing his illness and ostomy surgery, Jason depended on his faith, his parents, and his football coach to help see him through his darker days, as well as to celebrate his victories with him. There was also another source of inspiration that entered Jason’s life.

On the eve of his first operation, Chris Gedney, a former football player with the Arizona Cardinals who has lived with ulcerative colitis and had a colostomy himself, called Jason to tell him what to expect. During Jason's recuperation, Gedney met him in person when the Cardinals played the Bengals in Cincinnati.

Jason’s ostomy surgery made it possible for him to have a "stellar" senior year, in which he set the school's football rushing record. Despite having been told he would most likely never play athletics again, among other athletic honors, he was a National Football Foundation Hall of Fame scholar/athlete for excellence on the field, in the classroom, and in the community.

A physical therapy major at Bowling Green University, Jason hopes to become a physical therapist and trainer, and possibly a coach, for young athletes. "I hope to be able to help future young athletes who may be going through tough situations of their own."

For his courage, persistence, and inspirational approach to his future, Jason has added the Ina Brudnick Award to his long list of accomplishments. Jason has this to say about his life so far: "There are some who say I was shortchanged during my years that were supposed to be carefree. But I feel fortunate. I don’t feel cheated... I'm glad I got to 'come back,' and I'm glad I'm having a healthy life."