StoryCorps at SHC: Meb & Ranjit Steiner

Ranjit Steiner (RS): I think the day that we found out that I had cancer, we had already been kind of prepping for it because initially I had torn my ACL and then they found the tumors. So we were kind of anticipating it. It was obviously a little bit shocking to be diagnosed, but having that followed up with the news about not being able to play sports anymore, it was devastating. 

Meb Steiner (MS): For me the thing that really stood out in that whole few days was when you got the news from Dr. Marina, she came in the room and talked with you and explained everything and then said, "Do you have any questions?" And you asked your question, "When can I play football again?" And she just looked at you and she said, "Well, never. You'll be lucky if you can walk." And I remember just kind of the world froze and I just was staring at your face and I saw that heartbreak on your face that day, and I know that after that nothing more was registering for you that day. But I just really remember that being one of the most pivotal moments. And as a mom watching your child's heartbreak and not being able to do anything about it is really, really hard.

RS: By not being able to play sports anymore, I kind of had to put my attention into other things and it helped me kind of explore other elements of myself. And I honestly felt like I kind of had to do that because as much as we talk about the positives, especially in our family, it was extremely difficult. And not just the chemo, it was afterwards. I felt a lot of the times, you're the kid with cancer, but people don't see the other side of it. And we were so positive throughout the whole experience through high school and even after the treatment that I think a lot of people didn't realize how challenging some aspects of it were.

So many times when you talk about things like this or you talk about any hardship, people's immediate response goes to, it's inspirational or it's amazing that we went through that. This is just the cards that I was dealt. So I always think about, yes, we went through it, but it's also until you get hit in the mouth, you don't know how you're going to respond. You'd be surprised how quickly and capable you are of adapting and being able to deal with the challenge.

MS: I think there is something very special that gets forged in a family when you have the possibility that you could lose somebody forever. So I'm glad I didn't lose you forever.

Produced by Stanford Health Care with interviews recorded in collaboration with StoryCorps, a national nonprofit whose mission is to preserve and share humanity's stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world www.storycorps.org

Sound Editor: Emily Hsiao

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