Determined to 'die defiantly;' Anderson man wins motorcycle for his charity
Jun. 5—ANDERSON — Knowing death is imminent for most is scary. For Marshall Morris, it's been a blessing.
After being diagnosed with stage 4 bile duct cancer in July 2021, Morris was given about 12 months to live.
He was determined to make the best of his remaining time.
Eight days after his diagnosis, Morris founded "Dying Defiantly," a charity providing end-of-life support to patients, families and caregivers.
"I haven't had a single sad day since I got diagnosed," he said. "God blessed with this ability to accept things as it is and make the best out of every day."
Helping others doesn't cure Morris' cancer and neither do stints.
Periodically, a tube is threaded down his throat to his liver and old stints are removed and new ones installed so that his bile can flow freely.
At first, the process would be repeated very 12 weeks. But as Morris' cancer has progressed, the treatment now is needed monthly.
"I sat with my oncologist and my surgeon a couple (of) weeks back and I said, 'Based on what's happening, the timeline would be about 8 to 12 months,' and they put their heads down," he said.
Morris is determined to leave behind a legacy via his charity. That prompted him to he enter the Dream Chopper contest, in which the winner gets a custom chopper built by Paul Teutul Sr. from the TV show "Orange County Choppers."
Morris was declared the winner May 26 via public voting in the contest. He says he'll either raffle or auction the bike. Proceeds will go to his charity.
Building Morris' motorcycle would normally take as much as a year, which is time Morris likely doesn't have. Representatives from Dream Chopper said they would try to act quickly.
"It's really a great opportunity," Morris said. "I look forward to being a really good ambassador for Dream Chopper and Dying Defiantly."
Follow Caleb Amick on Twitter @AmickCaleb. Contact him at caleb.amick@heraldbulletin.com or 765-648-4254.
