Transcript: Fletcher Rollinson on Overcoming Adversity, Giving Back, and Embracing Every Moment

And welcome back to the show. We're here with senior Guinness World Record holder and all-around great guy Fletcher Rawlinson. How are you Fletcher? I'm doing great.

Last day of school I'm feeling good. That's gotta be really cool. Well Fletcher let's take it back to the beginning. How would you describe your family and home life when you were a young kid?

My family's always been super supportive of everything I always do. My parents are both great people. I grew up really close to my sister so having that relationship really helped me grow as a kid and just an all-around great home life I think. You know let's start kind of with your story.

When did you first come to U.S. and what kind of brought you here? So I, it's funny, I actually wasn't considering U.S. I came here in ninth grade but I wasn't considering U.S. until a kid in the class of 24 who we were close family friends with. Said to me like oh you got it, you got to tour it and I was like well I'll take a look.

I came into the school absolutely expecting to never go here and I toured it and absolutely loved it and I think it was one of the best decisions I've made. Yeah well Fletcher you have a really unique story and around the age of 11 you know you started to feel something that wasn't quite right. Can you talk about what symptoms or signs led you get checked by the doctors for this? So yeah so you know I started to feel something that wasn't quite right.

I started to feel something that wasn't around the end of my sixth grade year so I was about 11. I started experiencing like I would wake up in the morning. This only happened a couple times. I would wake up in the morning and my right eye would hurt really badly and so I would ask my mom can I stay home for going to school late so I can just make sure that it gets better and then all of a sudden I would get hit with a wave of nausea and then I would throw up and I would get hit with a wave of nausea and then I would have the worst headache I've ever felt in my life and they would usually only last for about 24 hours and then they would go away and it was all completely normal again but during that time I would throw up about 14 to 15 times a day.

Yeah you know you were kind of your childhood kind of took a turn that most people usually can't imagine when you were diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer in 2019. Can you tell us a little bit about that? Yeah so I was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer in 2019. I was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer in 2019.

I was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer in 2019. I was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer in 2019. What do you remember about the moment you found out? What was that like?

I remember getting called into my backyard where my whole family was sitting and just I knew something was wrong really but I didn't know to what level and when they told me I remember just my heart dropping and it felt like the world around me was collapsing and it was one of the worst feelings I've ever had yeah. You know I know a diagnosis like that must have changed everything. Kind of looking to the weeks after that what were they like? Did your support group kind of looking like?

What got you through that? Really just my family. I mean I'm so lucky to have such a great family that always supports me and sticks behind me no matter what and the assurance of my parents and having my sister around to keep things light-hearted was really important for me during that time. I mean it was constant consultations and appointments and scans and just having my family there with me really made a difference for me.

Were there any habits or kind of small routines like music, sports or you know shows or prayers that helped kind of ground you when things were hard? I think talking to friends a lot really helped me through that time. I would watch with my dad a lot a lot of Cleveland sports stuff during that period. Which really connected me back home I felt like and then lots of board games for sure.

Always good to have some board games and then yeah that was mostly what got me through that time. You know going to a more positive moment do you remember that moment when you were cancer-free? What was that like? Kind of what was the process to that and what were your kind of emotions in that?

So the the process there was no actual moment where I was declared cancer-free I guess but there was the time when I stopped treatment which really was a huge moment for me. I mean after I had just finished four rounds of chemotherapy and uh at the end of that I remember having the realization hit me that I was done and finally going home and it was one of the best feelings I've ever had. Well during your treatment your mom actually reached out to Mark Rober. How did that connection happen and what came of that?

So when I was in the hospital like in patient so in the hospital then at getting treatment uh I would watch a lot of YouTube to pass the time and one of the channels I watched a lot was Mark Rober. I had watched him throughout most of my childhood and so watching those videos during my time in the hospital like reconnected me back to those those good moments and um my mom would see me watch him a lot and so she decided to go to the hospital and I chose Mark Rober. I'm sure that you have the same family as I do but you're both in the same age now. Do you remember the first time you went to the hospital and you were in the hospital?

I believe that was that time when I was in the hospital but I didn't know that I was in the hospital. I don't remember much about the time but you said yeah it was the early days. decided to send out an email just not expecting anything saying like oh could you um send him a video while he's in the hospital like lift his spirits I think it would do a lot and uh Mark he's such a great guy he reached back out and said I want to FaceTime this kid and so he uh got my number FaceTimed me while I was in the hospital and then decided while talking to me that if I made it through he was going to throw me a birthday party and so a couple months after I finished treatment I got to go out to California and have a great birthday party and he made it into a YouTube video so it was a lot it was a great experience yeah that's amazing and then during this year's USC speak your mind ice bucket challenge Mark actually dumped the water on you how did that happen yeah so that was funny uh we went out to California sort of to visit him a and I I knew in the back of my head like oh I want I I would love to get him to do it like that would be really funny and so I went out to him and I'm like Mark I have a little bit of a favor could you if possibly dump a bucket of ice water in my head and he was like absolutely and so that was really fun but um yeah yeah good time you know another really really quick experience is you had the chance to announce the Cleveland Browns first round draft pick that's really a once in a lifetime experience what was that day like for you and kind of what has been your connection to Cleveland sports oh you guys did your research um yeah so I got to it was lucky enough to announce the 2020 Cleveland Browns pick um just it was I I don't even remember honestly how it came about but someone heard my story at the Browns and then reached out to the NFL and asked them like can we get this kid involved somehow and uh I remember so that that um since it was the 2020 draft that uh the whole thing was online so that that uh when I announced the pick I was at that was actually pre-recorded so um I remember getting on the call with a lot of NFL execs and them uh running me through the script of what I was to say and it was a lot of takes a lot of takes I was not very good at getting it the first time it's probably nerve-wracking yeah yeah yeah for sure well Fletcher you're known as one of the kindness most positive people around so what's your secret to staying so positive after all that you've been through um really I really what made the difference for me while I was in the hospital was the kindness and positivity of the people around me and so if I were to say what drives me the most positive I would say is the kindness of the people around me to do that to be like that that positive and that kind is um my time in the hospital and what made a difference for me and now wanting to give that to other people you know what are kind of some of the things that get you through those overwhelming and stressful periods in your life we all have them but where are some of the just little things that kind of give you perspective um I mean taking into account I it's I've been I mean high school is a stressful place and uh throughout my time here I've certainly had those overwhelming stressful moments uh my advice to people is just take a step back um one thing is not going to mean the world it's uh could be a big test it could be a big project but you just got to take a step back and realize that if it doesn't go that way that you want it to then it's not the end of the world yeah and let's go to that time in high school here um what are some of the things that you've done that you've done that you've had a big impact on you um I think one really that I enjoyed a lot and um just connected me and pushed me to pursue things in the future is future healthcare professionals club I joined as a sophomore uh excuse me and was in the club sophomore and junior year and then uh eventually during my senior year was lucky enough to be a senior and I was able to do a lot of things uh co-president of the future healthcare professionals club but hearing from the different perspectives of current physicians and doctors really solidified that that's what I want to do with my future you know kind of going into that future obviously as your shirt says you're going to you commit to Tufts University congrats by the way thank you I appreciate that uh looking to your majors do you plan to major in medicine what are kind of some of your goals going forward uh so right now as I've declared or not declared but I've declared that I'm going to I've indicated um I'm going to be studying biology on the pre-med track um so that's what I'm hoping to do it's a lot of school but uh hopefully it'll work out yeah and did you take a lot of biology classes here no not really to be honest I took uh freshman biology and then chemistry and then ap biology and microbiology so I guess a few but not uh anywhere near to what some others have taken while here you know what was kind of your story what got you involved with pre-med was it just a certain experience you had with a doctor or was it just a long love for the so as a kid I really didn't know what I wanted to do I bounced around a lot for a long time I wanted to be a marine biologist I don't really know why but for some reason that's what I wanted to do um and then as as I got into my diagnosis and the hospital um seeing the impact that doctors can have on people's and families uh really made the difference for me and so um yeah it really made me want to pursue that and speaking of you know that impact that those hospitals can have on you've been stayed involved with St. Jude's and held fundraisers um here at our school but do you see yourself staying involved with that community and being a you know giving your support to that yeah for sure um I think St. Jude was such an important piece of my life and I can truly say that they saved my life so I think giving back in any way I can is a really important thing for and an important mission for the rest of my life you know shifting back to U.S. it's your last day here so who are kind of some of the few teachers coaches friends who have really shaped your U.S. journey and just made it a better place for you um I think my sponsor Senora Pacheco has really made it uh an unforgettable experience at U.S. uh some of the teachers um I would probably say Dr.

Yoder uh he's up there for me Mr. Kate uh Mr. McEwen who who else who else do I want to thank here Dr. Fallon of course Dr.

Bone and everyone really that I had class with truly made an impact on me and made me the person I am today and what thoughts are kind of going through your mind you know it's your last day you guys are having a cookout in the parking lot but as you look around at all your friends you know it's like this is your last day with all and what thoughts are running through your mind just trying to take it all in really I mean this is one of the last times that we'll all be together in a setting like this and so uh I've just been trying to talk with as many people as I can uh hang out have fun and looking forward to the summer yeah you know looking back on your U.S. career what do you kind of want to leave a legacy with and if you could go back and do something differently maybe what might you change okay so legacy I think I I'd say I'm fairly happy with what I've done during my time here um I I really like that a lot of people think I'm a kind positive person uh who says hi to everyone um I that was something that I was really happy to hear um as I'm leaving something I would do different what would I think I would probably say maybe taking some of the classes that I was thinking about taking my junior and senior year maybe earlier in my time here uh I mean nothing's stopping you from jumping at that opportunity and I probably should have taken advantage of that a little more but I ended up in the place I wanted to so I want to go back into your career and talk a little bit about your family a little bit more because they're obviously such a big part of your journey um what is your relationship like with your sister and how has she kind of played a role in your life um yeah so my sister and I are very very close we're 15 months apart um she is a freshman at Wake Forest now but growing up really she was always my best friend I mean she was the one I talked to about everything she gave me life lessons about um how to be the person I am and today she constantly annoyed me as a kid which taught me to be resilient and tough but um also her kindness really uh was showing through throughout our whole childhood and I really appreciate that yeah you know you've lived through something extremely hard that most of us can't even imagine so what does living mean to you now what do you kind of cherish differently and what do you kind of hope for in the future? to instill in people um yeah so I when I was in the hospital I really got an appreciation of how important life is um because I was so close to losing it and had so many friends in the hospital that unfortunately weren't as lucky as I was and so I really learned to just cherish every day you have here because um uh your time is limited but you have to make the most of what you have here I mean so like whether that be jumping out opportunities that you are hesitant to or meeting new people or um yeah just really really making the most of your time here yeah and I think a lot of us it takes like something to kind of reset our perspective to think about how fragile life is but do you have any advice for like always being in that perspective? of like we only have so much time make the most out of it yeah I mean just I was saying earlier just take a step back I mean realize where you are and what you're doing and what impact that has and then you'll realize the importance of yourself and your time here you know going to kind of some advice what's one quote one uh kind of saying that you've ever heard that really is just stuck with you and kind of you could tell all the listeners oh um I'm trying to think I'm trying to think one one thing my mind keeps going to this one picture that I really if you haven't seen it before it's known as one of the most important pictures ever taken if you've ever seen it it's of I forget which space telescope but I think I I don't know which one but as it was going away from earth like hundreds of millions of miles away it caught a picture of the earth the pale blue dot yeah the dot in the stray of light and I think that picture really signifies what we are and the like the entirety of it all and that image has always been really interesting and really important to me yeah well I have a question here you know if you could give a motivational speech to someone who's currently going through treatment for cancer um what would you say to that person I would say keep pushing I mean it I know it seems bad now and you're not going to want to wake up and up each day and keep going but if you can just keep your eye on the light at the end of the tunnel that really is important um find little things that get you through the hard times and focus on those and uh really push to uh make it through and continue to be a positive inspirational source for others they're so amazing you know just recently one of the cool events that you held was a blood drive here right what was kind of the process of setting something like that up and how successful was it so um the blood drive we were this was with Future Healthcare Professionals Club and we had sort of been asked by I I think there wasn't a blood drive last year and so they asked us would you guys be willing to run it and uh we jumped at the opportunity because I mean it's such a great cause and helps so many people and uh it was particularly important to me because as someone who's received blood transfusions um quite a few times during my time in the hospital it really it really makes a difference in the lives of others and I knew that and so we jumped at the opportunity and um setting up we I mean we did some work corresponding and making schedules for volunteers and scheduling patients and and then the the day of was really the day where a lot of the work was done I mean the we got here at like 6 45 or 7 and the Red Cross people arrived we had to set up the whole room and um yeah and so we volunteered all day and then we actually luckily enough we reached our goal and passed it which was incredible and um truly makes a difference in the lives of so many people yeah for the people that are hesitant to maybe give blood or give money to cancer research because they don't see the direct impact that it has um can you describe the impact that a donation whether that is blood or money has all right so I'll start with blood I mean as someone who's received blood transfusions to basically save my life in many cases um it really truly does make a difference um my one of the big things with chemotherapy is it lowers the amount of blood cells in your blood and so when they gave me that blood it basically sort of brought me back in a way um and so yeah it really makes a difference in the lives of patients and then uh in terms of donating to cancer research funds I'll use Saint Jude as an example but Saint Jude uh I forget how much but Saint Jude is run off donations and they um they it costs about like three or four million dollars to run that hospital for one day um they provide everything for patients families from care to food to housing and they pay for all of it with no cost to the families so um that is where your donation is going and it truly makes a difference in the lives of the patients um who have these terrible diseases and their families uh whether they would be able to support their care with stuff like health insurance or whether they don't have health insurance and need this care yeah you know one of the really cool things about this episode is you are the last senior we are interviewing of the 24 25th school year I'm honored thank you guys thank you um our senior class I think the the amount of perspectives in our senior class is one thing I really appreciate about it I mean we have we have kids from all over Cleveland um who are involved in a lot all different activities all together and we it doesn't seem like it would happen but we all are we're one basically we're a uh a we're we're unified under the class of 2025 and I think that's really important and we've made a huge impact on the school and so that's what I want our class to be remembered as and then where are you going to miss most about your time at U.S when you move on to Tufts which will get to what you're most excited about but first where are you going to miss most about U.S um U.S I'm just going to miss being in this community I mean it was such a great community for my high school career uh yeah my time here was a great experience I'm just going to miss being here in general I would say yeah and then moving to Tufts what are you most excited for what are you looking forward to there I'm looking forward to be in Boston a lot I'm looking forward to a new city and meeting lots of new people and taking some pretty interesting classes yeah yeah you know looking back on your time you know this is kind of one of the last little questions but what's one of your funniest um funniest moments you've had here oh my funniest moment was not one that was meant to be funny so I I I ran for Prefect um last year I had absolutely no chance of winning I don't really know why I ran but it was it was a good experience and I wrote a speech that sucked it was terrible it was this was in the first you guys have seen how they all give speeches and you vote um but I wrote a terrible speech and I was sitting in the audience and a couple people went before me um and they went up and they all had a little like one-liner at the start of their speech and I was like shoot I didn't put that in my speech so I walked up and I don't know why I said this but I said hello everyone my name is Fletcher Rollinson and here's a little something I wrote I don't know what I was thinking saying that uh needless to say I did not make it past that you know one of our last questions and one of our favorite questions to ask every one of our guests is what is your why you know you've gone through so much countless different uh rounds of chemotherapy countless interactions with people and being on the biggest stages what keeps you going and gives your life meaning every day yeah I think uh the thing that keeps me going every day was that I got a second chance I mean I was lucky enough to be in the the hands of uh geniuses who saved my life and uh with my second chance I I want to make the most of it I it keeps me pushing every day and keeps me moving forward and um yeah well Fletcher it's been great to have you on the show today thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts insights experiences to our listeners much for tuning in and we'll hope you'll join us next Wednesday for another episode of Late Start Show. Thanks Fletcher. Thank you so much guys.