“Brian is the most strong-willed, genuine person you will ever meet,” said Atlantan Sammie Finley.
Friend and workout partner Finley was speaking proudly of friend Brian Burnaugh, an elementary school assistant principal. Sammie has known him for years.
“Two weeks after his last procedure he was in the gym working out with me,” said Finley. “He wanted to do what he was doing before the surgery. He has not let anything get in his way. That’s Brian.”
As a child, he had seizures. By the age of 21, Brian was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. “I was told I had 5 weeks to live,” said Brian, now 42. “I made all kinds of morbid jokes, it’s how I dealt with it.”
Victims of the cancer suffer persistent headaches, seizures, vision problems, even trouble with cognitive abilities. None of this stopped Brian.
Over the years, he has endured temporary blindness, seven brain surgeries and many other procedures.
“I consider myself very lucky,” said Brian. “My family, siblings and my family of friends have been very supportive. My school, my friends…they helped me through all of it.”
“Anybody that knows Brian at the gym really loves him,” said Mike, owner of Gravity Fitness. “To us, he’s a role model.”
Brian loves to teach, and enjoys his career as an assistant principal in Atlanta. “I’ve got to stay in shape, stay updated on the new technologies,” said Brian B. He is always on the lookout to hire people who are like him and have a passion to be ‘good teachers’. “The young people can relate to you better if you know what interests them,” he said.
“Brian is an inspiration to anyone he meets,” said Atlanta dentist Dr. Chip Hill. “He has been through so many personal trials over the years and always makes the best of any situation. Aside from his strength of character, he is the truest of friends with a heart of gold and a smile that brightens even the gloomiest of days.”
That should be the qualifications for any hero. Hometown News salutes the bravery of Brian B. and the many students he represents.
-- -Ray Macon
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