Cokeburg Moose holding spaghetti dinner for friends dealing with health conditions
Angelo Rio Lopez, at left, and Levi Jordan play basketball for Bentworth High School several years ago.
Levi Jordan, who recently underwent a colonoscopy, is a student at California University of Pennsylvania. Jordan works to raise awareness of Crohn’s disease.
Angelo Rio Lopez was diagnosed last August with intestinal metaplasia, a pre-cancerous condition, and more recently with gastroparesis, a disease that prevents stomach contents from emptying into the intestines.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated.
At Bentworth High School, friends Levi Jordan and Angelo Rio Lopez were teammates on the Bearcats basketball and football teams.
Instead of talking about Xs and Os these days, though, the two young men are discussing the medical conditions that have impacted their health.
Last August, Lopez, 23, was diagnosed with intestinal metaplasia, a pre-cancerous condition, and more recently with gastroparesis, a disease that prevents stomach contents from emptying into the intestines.
He is scheduled to have surgery Monday, when doctors will remove the pyloris muscle from his stomach in order to make it easier for food to pass.
Jordan, 21, has suffered from Crohn’s disease for five years, and seven weeks ago underwent a total colectomy, where doctors removed his entire colon.
Both have spent time in and out of the hospital this year for complications caused by their conditions.
“I’ve talked with him about everything he’s been going through. We went out to get something to earlier this week, and I follow his posts on Facebook, I’ve texted him, called, him, told him I was praying for him,” said Lopez.
On Oct. 24, the Cokeburg Moose Lodge 1625 is hosting a spaghetti dinner to raise funds to help offset medical costs associated with the men’s health issues.
The dinner will be held from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., and because of COVID-19, the spaghetti dinners will mostly be take-out. A Chinese auction is planned.
Angelo’s Restaurant is donating 500 dinners toward the event, organizer Barbara Benedetti said.
Lopez first began having stomach issues last year, and on a vacation to Mexico in August he became so ill that he had to fly home for medical treatment.
Lopez, who had weighed around 185 pounds, dropped to 140 pounds as a result of the intestinal problem.
He currently is on a gastroparesis diet, where he eats small meals – consisting mostly of bland foods – five or six times a day, and avoids fried and spicy food.
“I try to keep positive,” said Lopez, who is a Type 1 diabetic. “I think it could always be worse, there’s always someone worse off than me.”
Despite battling his illness, Lopez graduated recently from California University of Pennsylvania with a degree in business administration with a minor in economics.
He is on a medical leave from his job at Nike in Tanger Outlets. Lopez said his medical condition has had an impact on his energy level. He enjoys spending time with his family, and he likes to play video games and watch sports.
“It’s definitely had an impact on how much I can handle,” said Lopez.
Jordan, a junior at California University of Pennsylvania where he is a fisheries and wildlife major, said fatigue also affect him, and it’s frustrating.
“I’ll wake up after eight hours of sleep and I’m still tired, I’m exhausted. It’s annoying,” said Jordan.
About eight months ago, Jordan said he felt some cramping, and knew a flare-up was starting. Then, he began to bleed, and his pain worsened. Medications proved ineffective, and doctors determined the surgery was Jordan’s best option.
“At first, it took some getting used to, but it’s been great. I’m not having to find a bathroom, I’m not rushing for urgency. You kind of live life again,” he said.
A few weeks ago – the day after he was released from the hospital following the colectomy – Jordan was diagnosed with epilepsy.
He took off the fall semester of school in order to heal from the colectomy, and he is adjusting to the new diagnosis.
“I don’t let the disease bother me,” Jordan said. “I have a great support system. My entire family and so many people are always like, ‘You can do this.’ I don’t think I’ve ever had anybody tell me I can’t do something and I don’t let myself believe I can’t do something.”
Jordan started a vlog, and he is creating a YouTube show chronicling his health journey and raising awareness about Crohn’s Disease.
He especially wants to talk with children about the condition, so he named his colostomy bag Bruce – after a character in Finding Nemo – to make it less scary for them.
“I want to make people more aware of Crohn’s disease and what it is. It’s a disease no one wants to talk about because it’s about poop,” said Jordan. “It’s becoming more of a young person’s disease, and kids don’t understand it so they’re scared. I want to share my story and help them understand it’s not the end of the world. The sky’s the limit.”
Both men understand their conditions are lifelong, and that the road ahead will be challenging.
“It does scare me a little bit, but I try not to be scared because I know God’s watching over me,” said Lopez. “It’s life. You take it a day at a time and you go about everything the best you can. I don’t have any worries.”
Note: Spaghetti dinner tickets cost $10. To purchase tickets or for more information, contact Barbara Benedetti at 724-503-5512.
Tickets are also available to purchase at Eighty Four Agway, Poochtique & Spaw, Janet’s Hair Design, D’Orazio Auto Service, the office of attorney John Peterson and PCSA Water Co.