‘I Don’t Want My Kids To Have A Stepfather’

Local doctor Jonathan Wise battles brain cancer with courage and strength so he can be there for his family.

For 35-year-old Jonathan Wise, being a father means being a protector and provider.

He wants to be there when his children falter. He wants to be there to applaud their triumphs. He wants to see them make a seamless transition into adulthood and equip them with the necessary tools and skills to make their own mark on the world.

So it’s no surprise that the possibility of not being there for his three children—Payton, 9, Britton, 7, and Camdyn, 2—crushes his heart. Although he is financially comfortable as owner of a bustling chiropractic office, he never thinks about material possessions such as exotic cars and fancy homes.

“There’s only one thing I desire in life. Each morning, I pray that I live long enough to raise my children and walk my two daughters down the aisle.”

So far, he has fought a courageous battle with cancer to make that dream become reality.

Dr. Wise, who owns Wise Chiropractic in Mount Dora, was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumor in September 2013. The average life expectancy for patients with his type of tumor—astrocytoma—is only seven years.

Astrocytoma is the most common brain tumor, accounting for more than 80 percent of primary brain tumors in adults. It is classified on a scale of 1 to 4, depending on the severity and size of the tumor. Dr. Wise has Grade 2 astrocytoma, which grows slower than its higher-grade counterparts, according to the American Brain Tumor Association.

Sitting in his office on an unusually warm November morning, he removes a black hat to reveal a surgical scar that runs the length of his skull. He is bald from chemotherapy, and radiation has left a patch of skin on his head red and slightly blistered.

I ask him what probably seems like an unfair question.

“Are you scared?”

He answers calmly.

“No. I feel fortunate because my tumor is operable, and some people with my grade of tumor have surpassed odds by living 20 years. Their inspirational stories give me hope.”

So far, he has endured two major brain surgeries, undergone a clinical trial, and received numerous rounds of oral chemotherapy and radiation. He exercises and eats healthy. In short, he fights the disease each day with every ounce of courage and strength he can muster. Throughout his fight, these attributes have become more than mere words; they have become a way of life.

He has no other choice. His children mean the world to him. So does Missy, his high school sweetheart whom he now proudly calls his wife. And he means the world to them.

“When he arrives home from work in the evenings, the children become excited and run to the door to greet him,” Missy said.

Dr. Wise has not allowed cancer and the accompanying side effects to disrupt quality family time. Since his diagnosis, the family has vacationed in the North Carolina mountains and visited local theme parks such as Sea World and Universal Studios. But it’s the little things that he enjoys most—like spending a winter day together picking out the perfect Christmas tree, taking family walks around the neighborhood, pushing his daughter on a swing, or reading to his son right before bedtime.

For Dr. Wise, these precious moments with family are every bit as therapeutic as they are enjoyable.

“I feel most comfortable when I’m around my family. My family is what inspires me to fight back against this disease. Being around them also helps me maintain a good attitude, and there’s no doubt that having a positive attitude is one of the key ingredients in fighting cancer.”

He’s especially looking forward to an upcoming ski trip in Utah.

“Those ski trips used to be reserved for the men in our family,” Missy said. “Now, he has decided to take me and the kids. One thing people don’t realize is he has enjoyed a lot of normal days where he feels pretty good and can participate in activities. Cancer patients can actually live pretty normal lives.”

Being able to enjoy those normal days has been a long, arduous road filled with many detours and speed bumps. In addition to enduring extensive treatments, he has suffered debilitating seizures that have taken away his driving privileges.

The other side of medicine

After graduating from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 2012, Dr. Wise fulfilled a childhood dream by becoming a doctor and opening his own chiropractic clinic.

Since then, he has spent each day battling disease and illness, constant but fascinating foes that he approaches with meticulous consideration and care. State-of-the-art technology such as spinal decompression, electric muscle stimulation, and laser therapy has helped him successfully treat the grimmest cases of sciatica resulting from herniated discs and degenerative disc disease.

“There’s no better feeling than helping people overcome debilitating pain and regain their quality of life.”

What he never thought about was becoming a patient.

“Never, ever. I’m a Mormon who never drank alcohol, smoked cigarettes, or chewed tobacco.”

But cancer does not respect socio-economic status, religion, race, or healthy lifestyles. And that’s the harsh reality Dr. Wise learned in September 2013 after suffering an unexpected seizure at work. He was admitted to Florida Hospital Waterman that day and underwent a computerized tomography (CT) scan that revealed a lesion on his brain. A biopsy confirmed the lesion was cancerous.

This devastating news was delivered six weeks before his wife gave birth to their third child, Camdyn.

“Hearing that diagnosis turned my world upside-down,” he said. “My wife and I were excited to celebrate the joyous occasion of having another baby, and suddenly we’re facing cancer square in the face. It’s hard when your life goes from being completely normal one day to terrifying the next day.”

After getting over the initial shock and the gamut of emotions that accompany a cancer diagnosis, he decided to attack his tumor with “all guns blazing” by marrying conventional medicine with holistic modalities. The chiropractor who emphatically believes in a nontraditional approach to health without drugs or surgery would be introduced to a new world of medicine replete with surgical tools, needles, clinical trials, state-of-the-art therapies, and cancer-killing drugs.

In February 2014, he flew across the country to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. There, surgeons performed a craniotomy, the most common procedure for brain cancer where doctors remove a portion of the skull’s bone to expose the brain.

“I remember waking up from that surgery and barely being able to see,” he said. “I looked at my phone and saw the time and had no idea what those numbers meant. It was a very tough surgery and took almost a full year to recover.”

However, the entire tumor could not be removed without damaging vital brain tissue. As a result, he agreed to undergo a clinical trial known as dendritic cell vaccine, which was pioneered by Dr. Linda Liau, a neuro-oncologist at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. The vaccine is designed to add months—even years—to the lives of brain cancer patients. Dendritic cells are extracted from a patient, sent to a lab, and exposed to a protein that produces an immune response against cancerous cells. The dendritic cells are injected back into the patient and help trigger another type of cell, T lymphocytes, to kill cancerous cells left behind after surgery.

Following the clinical trial, his cancer remained stable for nearly one year. But a follow-up scan revealed that the tumor had increased in size. In February 2015, he underwent a high-tech surgery at Cleveland Clinic called NeuroBlate, which kills cancer with laser-guided blasts of heat to attack brain tumors. That procedure shrunk the tumor, which, as of this writing, has not grown.

He recently completed six weeks of radiation therapy at the Ackerman Cancer Center in Jacksonville. The center is one of the few places in Florida to offer proton therapy, which can deliver precise, high doses of radiation to accurately target cancer cells without damaging surrounding tissue.

“I’ve always seen medicine from a preventive and wellness side, and now I’m seeing it from a life-saving side,” Dr. Wise said. “I’ve been fortunate to receive some of the most advanced cancer treatments out there. I have to admit that I’m blown away from what doctors can do from a medical standpoint.”

But Dr. Wise hasn’t strayed from his holistic roots. In fact, he adheres to his company motto of “Eat Wise. Think Wise. Move Wise.” He’s currently taking a supplemental regimen that includes vitamins, magnesium, and probiotics for digestion. He faithfully follows the ketogenic diet, which entails drastically limiting carbohydrates and sugar. And he walks, performs multi-joint lifting techniques, and completes sets of pushups and sit-ups on a daily basis.

“It’s important for me to remain active. My neuro-oncologist said studies show that people with my condition who exercise every day live twice as long.”

Life with cancer

During the past two years, Dr. Wise has spent a considerable amount of time in hospitals and doctor’s offices. These days, though, he continues working at his practice four days a week, which offers a much-needed distraction from his ongoing cancer battle. He gives adjustments, conducts exams and x-rays, and provides patient consultations.

Seeing his cheerful demeanor is heartwarming to his office staff.

“He’s never down or sad,” said office assistant Holly Huling. “He always has a positive attitude and worries about others more than himself. He inspires me to be a better person because when I think of his situation it really puts life in perspective.”

Still, working a full-time job can be an arduous task for a cancer patient.

“The lights in my office bother my eyes sometimes, and I tire out much easier than I used to,” he said.

He also knows a debilitating seizure could strike at any moment. Because the tumor is located in his left parietal lobe, he has suffered three grand mal seizures that are caused by abnormal electrical activity throughout his brain. Imagine feeling a debilitating headache, your eyes rolling up in your head, and your body shaking violently—all before blacking out and losing consciousness.

“One time I had to go to the hospital because the seizure was so bad,” he said. “When you regain consciousness, you feel mentally and physically exhausted and sleep for hours.”

Anti-epileptic medication has kept his grand mal seizures under control; he hasn’t suffered one in more than a year. However, he does experience less severe seizures that cause his right arm to tingle and his hands to open and close uncontrollably.

“When I have those seizures, I lie on my back and they eventually stop. However, because of the tumor, my vision has been affected, and I can no longer write in cursive. Those things show how complex the human brain is.”

Florida driving laws require patients to be seizure-free for at least six months before they are re-issued a driver’s license. As a result, Dr. Wise has not driven a vehicle in more than a year. In fact, he sold his car and relies on his mother and wife to drive him to and from work.

“My mother and Missy have been my rocks,” he said. “It is easy to overlook a cancer patient’s family members. They’re fighting every bit as much as I am, and they’re also experiencing the same emotions.”

Not driving barely fazes him. He focuses on things he can still do. And as a chiropractor, he relishes the opportunity to help others who, like himself, are hurting.

“Being relatively young, I was never really able to relate to people who are sick,” he said. “Since having cancer, though, I feel much more compassionate toward people battling cancer and other illnesses. I view their problems on an entirely different level. Having cancer really makes me believe strongly in what we are doing here.”

But his most passionate role in life is being a father and husband. He realizes the day could come when his brain tumor increases in size and his quality of life becomes nonexistent. That’s why making precious family memories now trumps everything else in life.

“I used to work around the clock, but now that I’m sick I realize I don’t have to work as hard as I once did. I have a great staff that can pick up the slack. This allows me to attend my children’s soccer games and spend more quality time with my family. I was missing out on things like that before, but now I relish the opportunity to be there for them and support them.”

One of his favorite activities is family home evenings, a Mormon tradition held on Monday nights. He and Missy, who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Eustis, involve their children in wholesome family activities such as prayer, scripture, and gospel reading.

“I want my children to become upstanding citizens,” he said. “That’s why it is important for me to make an impact on their lives while I’m still here.”

And for that, his wife is forever grateful.

“He’s everything a woman could hope for as the father of her children,” Missy said. “There’s nothing he loves more than being a dad.”

PHOTOS: Fred Lopez+Provided