Michael Strahan was afraid his daughter would die after she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
The “Good Morning America” cohost has reflected on how the last year has been “a lot scarier” than he imagined as he watched his child, Isabella Strahan, go through chemotherapy and radiotherapy before being declared cancer-free in July. He’s admitted there will never now be a time he isn’t worried about her health.
“Yes, as a parent you hear that your kid has cancer and you go, ‘Whoa.’ You have to control your thoughts because your brain thinks of the worst case scenario, and then you work your way back from there. I don’t think I’ll go through the rest of my life without some worry in some shape or form about this,” Michael told Town and Country when asked if he was scared his daughter would die.
Although Michael — who has Tanita and Michael Jr. from his first marriage to Wanda Hutchins and Isabella and her twin sister Sophia with spouse Jean Muggli — wants to “forget” the last year, he thinks it also brought his family even closer together.
“There were times when we said, ‘We know it’s painful and tough, but it’s temporary.’ The last year is one we hope to forget, but at the same time it’s shown us a lot of important things about who she is and about who we are and about how we show up for each other as a family,” he reflected in the interview.
“Normally we don’t even share clothes, and now we were all nice to each other,” Isabella quipped.
“I can tell things are pretty much back to normal: She’s fighting with her sister over clothes again,” Michael added.
Isabella had to learn to walk and talk again amid her treatment. The former football player found that particularly “tough” to see.
“It was definitely tough and painful to watch that. It was like, ‘How soon is it going to come back?’ It was painful for her to get out of bed and move and do those things that are completely necessary for her to do,” Michael recounted. “As a parent, to see that was unsettling at times. But throughout this entire journey, Isabella has inspired and helped us all by how she has approached what she was facing.”
“She has worked so hard, and with such amazing spirit. And she is still on a journey with her vision, balance and getting her weight back,” he said.
Doctors have told Isabella they don’t think the disease will return and she’s determined to make the most of every day.
“I’m happy to be here. I think this year has made me stronger,” Isabella said. “The people in your life are what makes it enjoyable. Now I don’t say no to anything. I don’t think, I’ll do it next week. You don’t know what next week will look like.”
