Shayne
Reisinger:
Sports & Fitness
Management
On May 17, Shayne Reisinger will walk across the Lorain County Community College commencement stage, shake hands with LCCC President Marcia J. Ballinger, Ph.D., and accept his diploma.
He’ll do so on his own, without the assistance of a walker or a wheelchair. Some graduates might take that independence for granted. Not Reisinger. He relied on both to cross the stage at his 2019 high school graduation.
At the time, Reisinger had just been released from a six-month hospital stay. He spent months in a medically-induced coma while undergoing chemotherapy and radiation to shrink a football sized tumor in his chest. And while his will was strong, his body was weak.
“I guess I ‘walked’ at my high school graduation,” Reisinger, 24, says using his fingers to make air quotes around the word walked. “But it wasn’t the same.”
This commencement will be different.
A traumatic life event
In November 2018, during his senior year at Keystone High School, Reisinger was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. For a seemingly healthy 18-year-old who loved playing soccer and riding his dirt bike, the news came as a complete shock.
“I started having some congestion and fatigue and my neck kind of swelled up,” he says.
After a few doctor visits, Reisinger and his mom ended up at an ear, nose and throat specialist.
“The specialist had me inhale deeply because I was having some labored breathing on the way there. She said, ‘Something’s wrong with your airway,’” Reisinger recalls.
She sent them straight to the emergency room.
The next part, Reisinger does not recall. That’s most likely dissociative amnesia—his mind blocking out a traumatic life event. From what he’s been told, November went like this.
An X-ray at the ER revealed a large tumor in Reisinger’s chest and showed exactly why he was having trouble breathing. He was rushed to the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus for an urgent bronchoscopy and biopsy. Reisinger was placed in a medically-induced coma due to these sensitive procedures and his inability to breathe on his own.
Doctors started chemotherapy immediately, but the tumor didn’t respond quickly enough. Surgery wasn’t an option due to the type of cancer and its complex location. Bronchial stents were placed in his trachea and bronchial tubes to keep the tumor from crushing his airway and heart. The stents didn’t have the effect the doctors intended and needed to be removed. During their removal, Reisinger’s airway tissue tore, and bleeding ensued. Due to the chemo, his blood didn’t clot, causing him to bleed profusely into his lungs – essentially drowning. Life-saving CPR was performed, lasting approximately 15 minutes while Reisinger was coding. Thankfully, a cardiovascular surgeon who specializes in ECMO support was nearby when the Code Blue emergency call was issued throughout the hospital.
ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenator) is a type of last-chance, artificial life support that functions as the heart and lungs of a person. Reisinger remained on ECMO for 40 days. During this time, the doctors switched to radiation therapy to target the tumor even more as they had discovered the tumor pierced a hole in Reisinger’s airway—the injury they were originally trying to avoid. There were no records of a patient on ECMO receiving radiation therapy at the Cleveland Clinic or anywhere for that matter.
It took a herculean effort among a team of more than 20 doctors and nurses to get Reisinger safely from his bed in one Cleveland Clinic building, to the Taussig Cancer Center, while on the ECMO machine. But it worked. Two weeks later, scans showed a much smaller tumor.
Learning to walk again
Doctors brought Reisinger out of the coma in January 2019. His chemotherapy treatment protocol continued, alongside physical and occupational therapy to regain the muscle mass and strength he had lost while in the coma.
“You never think you’re going to have to relearn how to feed and dress yourself or walk, but I did. I was so incredibly weak,” Reisinger says.
The combination of continued chemotherapy and physical therapy was especially difficult for Reisinger.
“There were days when I would walk with PT, with all these tubes and the pole, with a throw-up bucket in my hand,” he says.
But, alongside a team of physical therapists, Reisinger kept moving. He got stronger. And those physical therapists left an impression.
“Being able to see how much my therapist helped me and motivate me to get better was really, really inspiring,” he says.
Reisinger’s last round of chemotherapy was in March 2019. He was discharged from the hospital in May and, thankfully, was able to graduate from high school.
“The hospital had an employee who was a teacher, specifically for these situations,” Reisinger says. “She works with kids going through stuff like this, so they can still keep moving through school.”
Getting back into it
Reisinger didn’t take any time off after high school graduation, even given all he had been through. He enrolled at LCCC in fall 2019.
“I wanted to get back into it, to try and distract myself in a way,” he says. “Being at LCCC made me think and focus on something else, instead of being down in the dumps.”
While Reisinger had been accepted to a four-year university, LCCC made sense.
“After all that, and I was finally home, it just worked,” Reisinger says.
And being at LCCC kept him close to the family who stayed so close to him throughout his treatment and therapy.
“My parents spent so much time at the hospital, stayed overnight with me and never left me alone, sleeping on hospital chairs, their life was turned upside down, too,” he says. “My little sister was there for me, even when she had her own school and stuff going on. It was very emotional and hard for her to understand since she was only 10 years old.”
Reisinger’s parents have expressed their amazement about their son. Not only because he survived this horrible ordeal, but because of his resilience and his positive attitude.
“He never complains about what happened or about the life-long complications that he faces now. He simply states that he knows not everyone survives this type of illness and someone always has it worse.” says Reisinger’s mom.
Reisinger also found unwavering support from LCCC faculty and staff.
“Pretty much all the teachers in this building were involved in my graduating,” Reisinger said of the Ewing Activities Center. “I’ve told them my story after meeting them and they’ve worked with me. They have been amazing this whole time.”
Giving others hope 
Over his six years, Reisinger took just a few classes at a time at LCCC. But, with that time, he was able to set a career goal. After he earns an associate of applied science in sports and fitness management, Reisinger would like to become a personal trainer and open his own gym, one day.
“I’ve been working with an awesome personal trainer for the last few years,” says Reisinger. “He has helped me gain confidence, strength and feel athletic again. I can’t wait until I can have that impact on someone someday. For now, I might take a step back and just take it all in. But then I’d like to find a job at a gym, become a trainer, and learn as much as I can.”
Some things, however, can’t be learned. And Reisinger knows that, with his experience, he has a lot to give to others who are trying to regain their strength. As for the strength it’ll take for that upcoming walk across the stage, Reisinger is more than ready. It’s been a grueling battle, but he feels like he’s won. And he’s ready to pay it forward—on commencement day and beyond.
“I have been told by many people that know my story that I’m an inspiration for them when they are facing a challenge,” he says. “There are plenty of people who gave me hope and inspiration when I was at my lowest. So, I hope I’m able to do the same for somebody else.”
“There are plenty of people who gave me hope and inspiration when I was at my lowest. So, I hope I’m able to do the same for somebody else.”
