Allen Park — James Mitchell was never supposed to be here.
Naturally, it’s been an emotionally charged month for the Detroit Lions’ rookie tight end. A fifth-round pick in this past year’s NFL Draft, Mitchell, 23, suffered a season-ending knee injury in his final year at Virginia Tech and had his rookie training camp experience limited by the ensuing recovery.
He was finally activated in a game against the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 2 — one day into breast cancer awareness month; a day that would bring his life full circle. His mother, Marcia, made multiple different flight arrangements — impacted by Hurricane Ian — to get there on time.
As Marcia prepared to watch her son make his NFL debut, up on the video board, there he was, talking directly to her. It was the “Crucial Catch” game — the one game a year in which teams and players take time to honor loved ones who’ve endured cancer, and Marcia, a two-time cancer survivor, was receiving a personal shoutout from the “miracle” she came to see.
“As a parent, I was extremely overwhelmed, because I realized I was getting ready to watch my son do what he had worked so hard to do for many, many years,” Marcia said. “And then on top of that, the fact that they were honoring cancer survivors just made it that much more special.”
Marcia was diagnosed with breast cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma shortly after giving birth to a pair of twin girls,Joy and Jasmine, in 1994. She was cancer-free in 1995, but the diseases took a toll. She was told by her doctor that she wouldn’t be able to have kids again.
“We really believe that James’ birth was a true miracle,” Marcia said. “Even when we found out we were pregnant, I took a home pregnancy test, my husband didn’t believe it. … But we were just overwhelmed, overcome with the fact that we were gonna have this miracle in our life.”
Marcia also described James’ birth as “redemptive.”
“I was diagnosed with cancer the first time, weeks after the twins were born,” Marcia said. “And there were so many things that I missed, like them crawling, and their first steps, because I was in and out of hospitals, having a bone marrow transplant. I was in the hospital for like three weeks.
“So, when James came along, I got to see the things that I had missed with my twins. So, it was a very healing and joyful experience.”
The Mitchells are a family of faith. James would hear his father, Jimmy, a minister back home in Big Stone Gap, Va., preach about what his mother went through before he was born, but he never could fully understand it in his younger days. He said that it was probably fifth or sixth grade when he fully realized “what she went through.”
“If she doesn’t go through her first battle of cancer, I may not be here either,” Mitchell said. “It’s funny how like — or crazy — how you gotta go through trials to see the bright spots, get to the other side. I think it’s one of those things, maybe if she didn’t go through that, there’s still a chance I wouldn’t have been here.
“So I really think, and I really feel and believe that (because) she went through that was the reason I was born.”
Just happy to be here
It was around that same time, in 2010, when Marcia was again diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time.
“I just remember being in my living room with my two sisters and my mom and dad, and just breaking down and just going to my room and shutting the door and just crying,” James said. “Cause, you know, at that age I was like 12, 11, so they told us she had breast cancer, and my mind automatically flips to the worst.
“I don’t really think anything could have prepared me for that moment, because I mean, she’s a very strong woman, so she’s portraying to us that she’s fine every day. Little do we know, she’s battling cancer.”
Marcia went back into remission the following year and has been cancer-free since 2011. Their family’s journey has left a massive imprint on who they are as people and how they appreciate life.
“Being there for James’ first game in the NFL, I was very overcome with emotion, and part of that was I was just grateful to be alive, to be there to witness that,” Marcia said.
“And it didn’t have to turn out that way, but thanks be to God, I was there to witness that and be a part of that celebration and joy.”
When his mother was diagnosed with cancer for the second time over a decade ago, James said the hardest part was feeling helpless. He knew his mother was struggling, but she never showed it. Marcia can relate to that. When a knee injury hung James’ pro football career in the balance, she was “heartbroken.”
“When you see your child work hard to accomplish something, and then it’s derailed and you don’t know what the future holds, you’re heartbroken,” Marcia said. “… But, we quickly, or maybe slowly, picked ourselves back up.”
Over the bye week, James went back to his 5,000-person town of Big Stone Gap to spend some time with family. Of course, his mother made him his favorite meal, mac and cheese, which she claimed doesn’t contain anything special besides “mom’s touch.”
He was also in town to be present for the ceremony at Union High School, where his football number was being retired. Like when he did while playing at Union, after the game, Mitchell worked his way through a line of people hoping to take a picture with him and get an autograph “until every last person left,” his mother said.
James’ NFL career is just beginning. He has an incalculable amount of work ahead of him as he works to become a starting tight end in the league. But unlike most, because of his life experiences, those things aren’t typically at the forefront of his mind.
He’s just happy to be here.
“When I’m down, feeling sorry for myself, I always try to think of that,” he said.
“It really gets me going to realize how blessed I am.”
Twitter: @nolanbianchi
nbianchi@detroitnews.com