During a 2018 Hokies football game in Tallahassee, Mike Goforth—Virginia Tech’s associate athletic director for sports medicine—noticed something was wrong. With pixelated vision and trouble walking, he sought help, only to be told he might be experiencing a brain bleed.

What followed was even more serious: a CT scan revealed calcification consistent with a cancerous brain tumor. The diagnosis was daunting, but Mike felt reassured by the expert care and calm confidence of his medical team at Carilion Clinic.

Just one day after Thanksgiving, Dr. Cara Rogers performed a six-and-a-half-hour brain surgery that Mike describes as part of a "wonderful" experience—an unlikely word for such a crisis, yet a true reflection of the compassion and excellence he encountered.

The journey tested him physically and emotionally, but it also deepened his gratitude—for skilled surgeons, for steady nurses and for life itself. Stronger relationships and a renewed perspective emerged from an experience that could have ended very differently.

Watch Mike’s powerful story of resilience, trust and the healing power of world-class care.