High School Football Coach Tackles Tumor
Photo by Tim Barber Chattanooga Times Free Press Report.In 2008, Mark Mariakis was a successful high school head football coach at Ridgeland High School in Rossville, Georgia. His team had just won a regional championship and things were great. During that winning season, Mark noticed some ringing in his right ear and was having some trouble hearing. So when the season was over he went to see a doctor. He never thought after having an MRI that the doctor would tell him that he had an acoustic neuroma – a benign tumor wrapped around his auditory nerve.
Mark and his wife Debbie found the House Ear Institute and the House Clinic on the Internet. Mark had surgery to remove the acoustic neuroma in March 2009. Although he lost hearing in that ear, House Clinic surgeons, Dr. Rick Friedman and Dr. Marc Schwartz, were able to preserve his balance and facial nerve.
Just months after surgery, Mark was back coaching his team to a second regional title in the fall of 2009.
Always generous with his time, Mark is a favorite interview for local news sportscasters and the sports writers. Last November, Mark coached the Ridgeland High Panthers to a 3rd straight Regional Championship. No team in that part of Georgia has won 3 straight Regional Championships in over 50 years.
Every day Mark makes a difference in the lives of the players on his team. Every year players on Mark’s team receive scholarships to play football for Division I schools. Some day those players may play in the NFL and be the next Super Bowl Champions!
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