Update: South Bend's David Filer was a tennis prodigy. His battle with cancer ended this month
Editor's note: On Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, doctors informed the Filer family that David IV has two-to-four weeks to live. He was taken home, where he will receive Hospice care. This story was completed and published online before Friday's prognosis. David died at home on March 12. You can view his obituary here.
SOUTH BEND — For 16-year-old David Filer IV and his father, there is special significance in 6-0, 5-0 (40-love).
In tennis, the wrong side of that score is as bad a spot as you can be in and marks the moment before profound defeat. Young David Filer has been there.
It was in the middle of a match at The Midwest Closed Tournament in East Lansing, Mich. David, just 9 at the time, doesn't remember all the details, other than he was in rough shape, one point away from getting bounced from the field. Somehow, he battled back. He found a way to win, beating extraordinary odds to do so.
Fast forward some seven years and the now 16-year-old South Bend-native is metaphorically fighting his way back from 6-0, 5-0 (40-love). In February 2022, David was diagnosed with a rare form of glioblastoma, a cancer that attacks the brain and has a very low survival rate.
David was living in Orlando, Fla. at the time, pursuing a tennis career as one of the top nationally-ranked players in his age group. He's been addicted to the sport ever since winning his first tournament at age 7. He's won seven Midwest championship trophies since.
When he turned 10, David was considered a "blue-chip" potential, meaning he was ranked in the top 10 in the country. The sky was the limit and a college scholarship and an eventual spot on the pro circuit was the goal. Major championships was the dream.
"He had," former South Bend Racquet Club pro Dan Bigg said of David, "the highest ceiling of any player out of this area."
'One of the worst days of my life'
The headaches were the first sign that something was wrong.
David started getting them frequently in 2021, but he and his parents chalked it up to stress between school and his intense training.
By then David had left Stanley Clark School in South Bend for online schooling in Orlando, where he began training and competing in International Tennis Federation tournaments.
Each weekend was a new destination — and more headaches.
In January 2022, David and his dad, David Filer III, flew from Orlando to Chicago for a tournament in Wisconsin. When they landed, David told his dad he had the worst headache of his life.
The next weekend at a tournament in Medford, N.J., David suffered another brutal headache. That was the last tournament he has played.
The following weekend David and his mother flew to Phoenix for a tournament he never made to. The headache that weekend was so intense that David was admitted to Phoenix Children's Hospital. A CAT scan revealed a tumor that required immediate surgery.
The subsequent biopsy revealed the Glioblastoma and David's life changed forever.
"That," he said. "Was one of the worst days of my life."
'Am I going to live'
David Filer III had just minutes to prepare for the unthinkable conversation he was about to have with his son; informing him that he could die.
David lay in a bed at Phoenix Children's Hospital, a bandage wrapped around his head, when his dad told him about the cancer.
"I was shocked and scared," David remembered. "I was in tears and very concerned that I’m 15 and going to die soon. But after that I changed my attitude toward life. I used to be such a down person in life. I tried to be more positive. That has made such a difference."
The average glioblastoma survival time is 12-18 months, according to The Brain Tumor Charity. It's more prevalent in older adults and can be difficult to treat. Only 25% of patients survive more than a year and just 5% survive more than five years.
For David, the diagnoses was a reminder that 6-0, 5-0, (40-love) was something he's climbed back from before. He could do it again.
“It shows that no matter what circumstances you're in," he explained. "you can always work your way back."
Just days after his surgery, David returned to The South Bend Racquet Club — where he has been training on-and-off for the past five years — to hit balls with his dad.
“It was just good to hit in general," David said. "The doctors said I potentially wouldn't be able to talk or walk and five days later I'm back on the court."
Those first sessions back were bumpy. Some days he had trouble seeing, whiffing at the ball. David's best shot was his backhand. His dad said it still isn't back, but it is getting closer.
The local tennis community rallied around David. About a month after the diagnosis, the University of Notre Dame tennis team honored him with a "Fight for Filer" game. Filer, ahead of the Irish's match against Florida State, hit a ceremonial first serve in front of a crowd wearing "Fight for Filer" T-Shirts.
A Go Fund Me page was established to help defray medical costs and has raised over $132,000 to date.
David's potential was no secret. At his best, David had the most talent, hand-eye coordination and athleticism Doug Gossman has seen in his 30 years coaching tennis.
"David was the best I have ever been around," Gossman said. "He could hit incredible shots when he was in bad hitting positions. He could hit a winner. He was such a fighter. He would run his butt off to get to any ball, no matter what it took."
When David returns to South Bend, Gossman works on bettering his fitness and vision.
"Sometimes he has a hard time moving, so you don't run him as much," Gossman said of their sessions. "You make adjustments to how he is feeling. For him it is vision, so when he first came out we dropped the ball. Next step was toss it from 15 feet away, then the other side of the net until full court."
'We will deal with what happens'
Every couple of months, the Filers return to Orlando for an MRI. For some 30 minutes, they relive that tense fear of the unknown they first felt in Phoenix.
Any sign of a relapse could force David off the court.
“Whatever is in there is in there," David said. "We will deal with what happens. I do worry about it returning. But I'm not going to know until it actually happens, so I can’t be too nervous about it.
"That first (follow-up) MRI was so nerve-wracking. When we heard it was good, we were so happy and crying tears of joy."
Since then, five more MRIs have been clean, too, but more recent symptoms are cause for concern as David's headaches began recurring around Christmas time, along with dizziness.
That sent the Filers back to the hospital in Orlando where another MRI came back clean, and David soon resumed his training, practicing a couple hours a day or until his body tells him it's time to quit.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 16), David and his dad returned to South Bend Racquet Club, escaping the day's rain for a session with Gossman.
As David approached the door, the ladies at the front desk acknowledged how much he's grown since his last visit. One employee showed off the new red and blue sneakers the club's pro shop had in stock. Of course he already had a pair.
David and Gossman walked to the back courts, where they began volleying to warm up. David's shot was smooth and echoed throughout the building with each strike. There was no indication that David has chemotherapy infusions every couple weeks or still takes chemotherapy pills five times per month. Or that he had trouble balancing or walking in a straight line that morning because of vision impairment.
His volleys with Gossman that day were a vivid illustration of a skilled young player who still has dreams to fulfill.
Living life to the fullest
Even so, the elder Filer knows well the realities his son's diagnosis entails and said he's careful to keep his hopes in check. With each dose of optimism, dangers continue to lurk.
David's next MRI scan is scheduled for April, when he could move closer to the two-year mark doctors set for him to potentially have a prolonged life.
"That will be a big one," David's dad said last month. "I would be on cloud nine on April 15 if that is clean.”
But the past couple of weeks have been challenging days for the Filers. David began experiencing more cancer symptoms to go along with his headaches, such as acid reflux, nausea, and trouble swallowing and speaking.
He spent a week in the hospital as doctors thought he might have had a stroke, but they have since backed away from that diagnosis. David is home, but has suspended his training routine for now.
Filer III says there isn't any definitive proof the cancer is back, but the optimism that was building seems to have waned.
"I cant say with a straight face that I'm not worried something won't happen soon," Filer III said. "But we are praying.
“... This past year has been about keeping David positive and telling him, 'yes you can still do this. His goal is still to go pro. We are going to make sure that is what it is until it can’t be.”
In David's life, he's overcome obstacles before.
"Every day," he said. "I have that reminder that I have something very unlucky."
Now, his dreams go beyond tennis.
He wants to one day have a family.
To own a home.
To grow old.
"Just have a nice life," David said. "That is my goal."
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend native David Filer fighting his way back to tennis court
