Ben O'Geary, Rest in Peace

#221 / News Extra

Joyous tidings came from all quarters last week when we reported that Zoey Stull O’Geary — our tiny dancer from 20 years ago — has become a mother.

With great sadness now we must tell the rest of story: less than 48 hours after baby Ella’s birth, her father, Ben O’Geary, lost his fight against a mysterious, relentless brain tumor. He died June 9 at a hospital in Jacksonville, FL.

The tragic story began just four months after the O’Gearys’ wedding, when Ben started feeling jaw pain that was accompanied by symptoms that seemed like mere anxiety.

“He thought it was just new dad / pregnant wife stress,” Zoey wrote in a Facebook post this morning. However, after he found himself having trouble speaking during a date night later that month, Ben visited a doctor.

The news was devastating: a mass about the size of a grape was found on the left side of Ben’s brain. Doctor performed a biopsy and removed the growth.

“The surgery went smoothly,” Zoey wrote, “and he was able to go home a week later with little to no side effects and was recovering smoothly.”

It was worrisome, though, that the biopsy was inconclusive. By the end of last year, the mass was back — this time twice the size — and Ben’s care was transferred to Duke University Hospital, where a second biopsy was done in early January.

Staying Hopeful

“New symptoms started to arise,” Zoey wrote, “but we stayed hopeful and he stayed strong fighting. After the second biopsy was also inconclusive, they started treatment for possible MS and lymphoma as a guess.”

When a seizure struck Ben in late February, they sought a second opinion from the Cleveland Clinic. “I was able to take leave from work to care for Ben,” Zoey wrote, “as he had started to suffer from aphasia and right side immobility.”

The couple moved to Huntington in early March.

There they could be close to Zoey’s parents, Joan and Sam St. Clair, and the rest of the family. Ben continued to fight, but the effects of his medications and symptoms were draining.

“After reviewing Ben’s case, Cleveland was not able to give additional treatment,” Zoey reported. “Ben began to lose hope and I contacted Mayo Clinic in Florida.” There the neurological team began research and scheduled a third biopsy.

“We felt like there was hope again,” Zoey said, “when the team at Mayo began treatment for rare infectious diseases. Ben was starting to make improvements with speech and physical therapy.”

However, on May 25, Ben crashed. When he suffered a brain hernia and hemorrhage, he was rushed to surgery, during which doctors removed a part of his skull to make room for the growing mass and continued swelling. After surgery he was placed in a medical coma.

Twelve days later, their daughter was born. “Ella and I were discharged early on June 7th to go be with Ben,” Zoey wrote. “We said goodbye to Ben on the night of June 9th surrounded by both of our families.”

The cause of Ben’s passing is still unknown — research continues — but Ella will grow up surrounded by memories and happier stories of her father.

“She looks just like him,” Zoey wrote this morning, “and will know how much he loves her. Each day brings little reminders of him and he is missed constantly.”

The family will celebrate Ben’s life at Fred Fletcher Park in Raleigh on July 7.