Cowboy Up: Ailing fan has a Community of support

Nearly six years ago, after diagnosed with liver cancer, Michael Hayes, in so many words, was told to go home and wait for the inevitable.

There were no experimental medications to be taken or new drug trials to enter. The doctors gave him an estimated six weeks to live. He was homebound and in a wheelchair.

An unimaginable fate for anyone, yes, but especially difficult for a die-hard cowboy who still wears his one and only first-place bull-riding trophy around his waist -- a belt buckle Hayes won in the fall of 1980 on the Western OK Rodeo circuit.

"Cowboy Up," he said.

And that's what the Arkansas native did.

"That term refers to someone, anyone who finds themselves in between a rock and a hard place to just do what has to be done," Hayes said. "If you fall off then get up, dust yourself off and keep trying. Kind of like that wheelchair. Not really my type of horse, but no one ever seems to climb out of anything as quickly as one falls in."

Now beating the odds one day at a time, Hayes seemingly is using absolute will power to outlive the death sentence handed to him six years ago.

He'll tell you it's a combination of things -- "keeping the faith" and the care and attention from his wife -- but something else has helped Hayes cope with the solitude that comes with terminal cancer.

The NASCAR.COM Community, the social networking club where avid fans come to meet friends and fellowship about the sport they love. Hayes is a member and goes by the screen name THUNDRSTRUCK. He has been a prolific blogger on the site since his diagnosis.

"It is only natural for me to have seen the blogging as a way out," Hayes explained. "You see this PC is my window to the world as there are still times when I cannot go out, for one reason or another. I am homebound, so I still live a little vicariously through the eyes, ears, noses and feet of everyone I see on the NASCAR site. Through them, I am able to do what they do, you just need an imagination."

Then again, Hayes said he started blogging because his wife got tired of listening to him talk so much.

"I write to keep her happy," he laughed.

Michael Hayes

THUNDRSTRUCK

Learn more about Michael Hayes and keep up with his insightful blogs through the NASCAR.COM Community.

• More

"Besides, if I didn't write, I really think I would bust, so much inside to say," he added. "To know that the blogs are read is gravy."

His blogs are more than just read on NASCAR.COM; they are highly regarded by hundreds of members on the Community site.

In fact, in 2009, Hayes was awarded NASCAR.COM Community's Blogger of the Year by the Fans Voice Award, the official voice of the fans and members of the Community site. Hayes also parlayed his popularity as a blogger and won the Face of Wrangler contest, as well.

"I entered the contest this year as a joke but really I just wanted a new pair of jeans," he said.

Now he has an entire Wrangler wardrobe on the way to his house and a bundle of cash to boot. The cash will go to charity but he is keeping the new threads.

"I had a lot of campaigners and voters from the NASCAR.COM Community," Hayes said. "They supported me and my blog in a big way. Knowing that they read them is a great feeling. I guess everyone has pride; even if it is sinful they tell me. If by chance someone can get something from my words, that is a blessing aimed toward me."

Hayes, a retired civil engineer and land surveyor for 27 years, stopped taking the medications for his liver disease years ago. Now he's living on what he calls "God's time."

"The cure is worse than the hurt itself sometimes, but I live a blessed life and have had the opportunity to do many great things," he said.

But don't misunderstand him. Hayes is not giving up.

"I still have my bucket list," he said. "... a trip to Daytona and Talladega."

Related:
• Winners: Eighth annual Fans Voice Awards