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Greg Fusco with his family at his sister Angela Ustupski’s wedding. Starting from left, his sister Andrea Huber, father Mike, mother Desi, Angela Ustupski, Greg and sister Laurie Fusco. | Provided photo

Gregory Fusco dies; kept family’s spirits up during cancer fight

Gregory Fusco spent almost half of his 28 years in a grueling cancer fight that resulted in at least 25 surgeries and the loss of his sight and sense of taste.

Yet he learned to skateboard, rollerblade, shoot a gun, go snowmobiling and camping, ride a tandem bicycle, fish for largemouth bass and play baseball with a ball that beeped.

“He was doing flips, blind, at the skate park,” said his mother, Desi.

He also juggled, did magic and yo-yo tricks, hit the casino to play roulette, built giant snowmen, played guitar and wrote songs, danced the Moonwalk and the Worm and made delicious apple pie shots that were a hit at parties.

Greg Fusco and his three sisters; (left to right, top row) Angela Ustupski and Laurie Fusco, (bottom row) and Andrea Huber seated next to Greg. | Family photo

Greg Fusco and his three sisters; (left to right, top row) Angela Ustupski and Laurie Fusco, (bottom row) and Andrea Huber seated next to Greg. | Family photo

And he saved the life of a 3-pound Yorkshire terrier by figuring out the dog had somehow swallowed one of his tags. Mr. Fusco, who at that point had been blind for about two years, not only cleared the blockage, he did compressions that helped bring the pup back to consciousness. It was named Rocky for its fighting spirit and became his loyal companion.

The Oak Lawn resident connected a community of relatives and friends who feel grateful he lived to be 28, long enough to celebrate many milestones with them, including standing up in their weddings and meeting and holding some of their babies. He died Sunday at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

“I feel so blessed to have raised him,” his mother said. “He didn’t want to leave us.”

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His father, Mike, said Greg worried more about his family’s grief than his sadness at leaving them.

“He told me ‘Don’t worry about me, I don’t want you crying about me,’ ” his father said. “The way he lived was incredible. He never, never complained. He just did it.”

When he faced his third bout with cancer, he said, “ ‘I think I have cancer three times because I have three sisters,” said his sister, Laurie Fusco. “He said, ‘I took all the cancers for you guys.’ ”

Greg Fusco’s first communion photo. | Family photo

Greg Fusco’s first communion photo. | Family photo

At 10 months old, he was diagnosed with retinoblastoma and lost an eye to the disease, his cousin, Chicago Sun-Times Managing Editor Chris Fusco, reported in stories published earlier this year.

For the next 15 years or so, he enjoyed good health while attending Kolmar grade school, McGugan Junior High and Richards High School. At 10, he loved accompanying his dad to his job downtown at Strube Celery & Vegetable. He was such a cheerful kid, and so willing to help, at the end of the day he sometimes pocketed as much as $100 in tips, his sister said.

Young Greg liked playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater game on his Nintendo 64. He performed magic with items he collected from Riley’s Trick Shop in Palos Hills.

Greg Fusco as a Richards High School football player. | Family photo

Greg Fusco as a Richards High School football player. | Family photo

He played baseball and football and wrestled at Richards High School, his father said.

At about 16, he had to battle cancer again. Mr. Fusco was playing cards when he said he couldn’t see the Jack or the Queen. “I’m losing my sight,” he told Laurie. For a short time, he could still see shadows. “Then he couldn’t see anything — pitch black,” his sister said.

His subsequent diagnoses included olfactory neuroblastoma, when he lost sight, taste and smell, “which was really hard on him because he loved to eat,” Laurie Fusco said. Osteosarcoma led to tumors on his face and in his throat. His mother estimated he had at least 25 operations, including facial reconstruction.

Between operations, he tried to live a normal life. He belonged to the Chicago Comets, a team of blind players who play with a beeping ball and bases that buzz. He listened to Nirvana, Green Day, the Dave Matthews Band, Sister Hazel, Simple Plan and Smash Mouth. And he was thrilled to meet Phil Esposito, Bobby Hull and Denis Savard at a Blackhawks game.

Jimmy Sinclair, who became friends with Mr. Fusco when they were both 5, recalled his cheerful stoicism. “Even when he was going through all the stuff and he was in all the pain, and you asked, ‘Greg, how are you doing?’ [he’d say] ‘I’m fine, how are you?’ ”

He loved holding his infant nephew, Rylan. He liked pizza puffs and Gardetto’s snack mix, said his sister, Andrea Huber.

And he enjoyed foot rubs, thunderstorms and fishing in Franklin Lake near Eagle River, Wisconsin.

Greg Fusco, 27, waits for doctors during a pre-op evaluation at Rush University Medical Center on Aug. 9, 2016. | Lou Foglia/Sun-Times

Greg Fusco, 27, waits for doctors during a pre-op evaluation at Rush University Medical Center on Aug. 9, 2016. | Lou Foglia/Sun-Times

In his final days, his mother brought Rocky, the Yorkie whose life he saved, to visit him at the hospital. “I took his hand,” she said. “I think he knew I was petting the dog with his hand.”

Mr. Fusco is also survived by another sister, Angela Ustupski, and his grandparents, Cayerl and Charles Fusco. Visitation is from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Chapel Hill Gardens South Funeral Home, 11333 S. Central Ave., Oak Lawn.

Family and friends will meet at 11 a.m. Wednesday for a funeral Mass at St. Linus Catholic Church, 10300 S. Lawler Ave., Oak Lawn. After the service, a lunch to celebrate his life is planned at 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park. “He didn’t want us looking at each other, crying at a luncheon,” Laurie Fusco said.

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