WORTHINGTON, Ohio (WCMH) — Surrounded by family and friends at the kitchen island, Worthington’s Blaise Parrill smiled sheepishly as the familiar words and tune of “Happy Birthday” rang out in his home.  

“Happy Birthday dear Blaise!” the group belted and, seconds later, the now 19-year-old blew out the candles to much applause.

A 19th birthday isn’t exactly known as a milestone, but for Parrill, every birthday is a milestone and a miracle.  

“They literally read him his last rights and said he’s not going to live but a few more days unless we figure out what is going on,” his mother, Sarah Walsh, said while thinking back to all her youngest son has been through.  

Around Thanksgiving in 2009, Walsh knew something was wrong with her then-3-year-old son: He was lethargic, spending more time sleeping than awake. He was stumbling and falling down. Parrill couldn’t even feed himself.  

She took him to Nationwide Children’s Hospital. A month later, Parrill’s condition was still a mystery.  

“His blood markers did not show for cancer,” Walsh said. “They could not find a tumor in his body. They did all these tests. They did spinal taps. I mean he went through the wringer. It was very scary because we had no idea what this was. We had no idea what was wrong with him. They said we don’t think he’s going to live past Christmas.” 

Walsh remembers holding Parrill inside the chapel at Nationwide Children’s Hospital for a last-minute baptismal just in case. At the same time, in a last-ditch effort, a fellow at the hospital took Parrill’s MRI images home and poured over them all weekend.  

And she saw it: a shadow that ended up being a tumor.  

“That was hiding between his heart and his spinal column,” Walsh said. “They scheduled him for surgery the next day, it was on Jan. 6.” 

It wasn’t just the cancer Parrill had to fight. While going through treatment, he developed a rare autoimmune disease called Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome that affects the neuromuscular system and causes muscle weakness.  

“There’s a lot of memories of staying in the hospital and walking around, having to sit through multiple, multiple days of just not doing anything,” Parrill said. “And you’re sitting in a hospital bed.”

“I never, ever would have guessed that he would be such an amazing athlete that he is today,” Walsh said with a proud smile.  

When Parrill was in seventh grade, he went to a wrestling tryout day at Worthington McCord Middle School.  

Immediately, he was hooked. 

“When it’s just you out there, it’s all on you and it’s by yourself,” he said. “Whether you win or lose, you take whatever you have from that match and you put it back towards yourself.” 

Parrill stuck with the sport all through middle school and high school and eventually became a two-time team captain at Worthington Kilbourne.  

This past season, his senior year, Parrill found himself at the district championships with a huge possibility to qualify for state; then once again, he found himself having to fight not just his opponent but his own body. 

“Just didn’t have enough air in my lungs to catch my breath,” he said. “I could breathe throughout the match, but I couldn’t, like, catch my breath, so I was panting a lot and it just caused me to lose that match.” 

“He literally collapsed in his coach’s arms, and they had to carry him to the auxiliary gym,” Walsh said.  

Parrill went to the emergency room and was diagnosed with a panic attack but cleared to compete.  

“I’ve gotten over something way harder than this; I could just get over this again,” he said. “I texted my coach and I said I’m coming back for that state qualifier spot.” 

“I was devastated at that point, you know, for him,” Walsh said. “And so then we knew that he was going to have to what’s called ‘wrestle-back.’”  

He did. Parrill fought his way through the consolation bracket and claimed the fourth and final spot for the state tournament in the 113-pound weight class.  

In March, 15 years after his initial release from Nationwide Children’s Hospital, he took the mat at the Ohio state wrestling tournament inside the Schottenstein Center.  

“It’s even fascinating to myself that I’m able to do that,” Parrill said when thinking back on his journey. “A kid that sat in the hospital for so long to being where I am today.” 

“He has drive, he has strength,” Walsh said. “He hopes to be able to give other children hope. Other kids hope, other parents hope, and families hope, and that’s the one thing that kept me going is hope. And if you continue to have hope, you know, and that hope might be minuscule, but if you continue to hold on to that, and if you have a community or if you have somebody, even one person that is holding your hand and getting you through these really, really hard times, you know, you can, you know, you’ll be surprised at the challenges that you can overcome.” 

Parrill said he will be wrestling in college and is still trying to decide where to go. He finished his senior season with a 45-8 record and hit the 100 varsity wins mark.  

He has also been cancer-free since fifth grade.