People are very sad about the death of actor Gary Sinise. You may know Sinise from his role in Forrest Gump. He posted a tribute to his son Mac after he died after a battle with chordoma, a type of cancer that affects the spine.
Sinise says Mac was only 33 years old when he passed away on January 5. On January 23, he was laid to rest.
The actor paid tribute to his son by talking about how he worked with his son when Mac joined the “Gary Sinise Foundation as our Assistant Manager of Education & Outreach.”
“His friendly and upbeat personality inspired people through our Gary Sinise: A Call to Action exhibit in the Education & Outreach Center. He also helped with everyday tasks and events in his community and across the country.” “Being a dad, having him work for the Foundation was a gift,” Gary wrote. “I couldn’t wait to see him grow with the group.”
Mac could also play the drums and would sometimes fill in for Gary’s Lt. Dan Band’s drummer. “Father and son rocking out for the troops was a lot of fun.”
In August 2018, Gary’s wife and Mac’s mother, Moira, was also diagnosed with breast cancer. This was just two months before Mac was diagnosed with the rare form of cancer.
“A real kick in the gut. I checked out the web to see what was there. One in a million people will get chordoma. Only about 300 people in the U.S. get Chordoma each year, and it starts in the spine. About 70% of the time, the first tumor can be taken out and the person is no longer sick. But 30% of the time, or about 90 people a year, the cancer comes back.
Mac’s tumor came back and started to spread after two surgeries, one to remove it and the other to treat an infection. Mac would fight for four years.
Mac kept up with his hobbies while he worked to find a cure for a rare cancer. He started a podcast for the foundation and finished a song he started in college called Arctic Circles.
“Mac lost his battle with cancer the week the album came out.” He died at 3:25 p.m. on January 5, 2024, and was buried on January 23, 2024.
Gary wrote, “We are heartbroken and have been getting by as best we can, like any family who has lost a loved one in this way.” It’s so hard for parents to lose a child. My heart goes out to everyone who has lost a loved one or been through a similar loss.
The proud dad put Mac’s music on YouTube for everyone to hear. “The video for “Arctic Circles” comes with a special text message from Mac that I found on his phone after he died. He was excited to share this piece of music with all of you, so he planned to post it.
During this very hard time, our thoughts and prayers are with Gary and his family.
