FREE DOWNLOAD! 14 Nuggets of Wisdom for a Better Life!
What if a young man’s short but extraordinary life could teach us profound lessons about empathy, resilience, and living with intention? In this heartfelt episode of Grit, Grace, & Inspiration, host Kevin Lowe sits down with Christopher Cochran to share the inspiring story of his son, Christian.
Even after his passing, Christian Cochran's life shines bright, continually inspiring others to ask themselves a simple but transformative question: "What's good about today?"
Experience the Impact of Christian's Legacy
Today, we’re joined by Christopher Cochran, a father whose son, Christian, lived a life that was short in years but vast in impact. Diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer at just 22 years old, Christian chose to focus not on his pain but on spreading joy, compassion, and hope. In this deeply moving interview, Christopher shares stories of his son’s humor, faith, and unyielding positivity, alongside the enduring lessons that inspired the book What’s Good About Today: A Purpose Driven Life. This conversation is a testament to the power of perspective and a reminder to cherish the simple beauty in each day.
Mentioned Links
*Christian Cochran Legacy Fund: ChristianCochran.org
*Book: "What’s Good About Today: A Purpose Driven Life": Available on Amazon
Life Lessons for Us All
- Learn how resilience is a decision, not just a trait, and how to practice it daily.
- Discover the transformative power of small, intentional acts of kindness.
- Be inspired by Christian’s motto, "What’s good about today?" and how it can reshape your outlook on life.
I encourage you to press play on this episode right away, so that you too can be blessed by a reminder in how we should all be living as inspired by Christian Cochran.
Today’s Featured Guest
Christopher Cochran is a devoted father, author, and advocate for spreading positivity through personal and collective action. After losing his son Christian to a rare form of cancer, Christopher channeled his grief into a mission to honor Christian’s legacy. His book, What’s Good About Today: A Purpose Driven Life, has become a beacon of hope and a guide for embracing life’s challenges with grace and love. Through the Christian Cochran Legacy Fund, Christopher continues to support causes close to his son’s heart, ensuring Christian’s light shines on.
Hey, it's Kevin!
I hope you enjoyed today's episode! If there is ever anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to reach out. Below, you will find ALL the places and ALL the ways to connect!
- I would LOVE to hear from you! Send me a Voice Message
- Want to be a guest on GRIT, GRACE, & INSPIRATION? Send Kevin Lowe a message on PodMatch!
- Sign-Up to Receive My LinkedIn Newsletter
- Plus Hangout with Me on LinkedIn
- Let's Schedule a Virtual Coffee Date
Show Notes
FREE DOWNLOAD! 14 Nuggets of Wisdom for a Better Life!
What if a young man’s short but extraordinary life could teach us profound lessons about empathy, resilience, and living with intention? In this heartfelt episode of Grit, Grace, & Inspiration, host Kevin Lowe sits down with Christopher Cochran to share the inspiring story of his son, Christian.
Even after his passing, Christian Cochran's life shines bright, continually inspiring others to ask themselves a simple but transformative question: "What's good about today?"
Experience the Impact of Christian's Legacy
Today, we’re joined by Christopher Cochran, a father whose son, Christian, lived a life that was short in years but vast in impact. Diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer at just 22 years old, Christian chose to focus not on his pain but on spreading joy, compassion, and hope. In this deeply moving interview, Christopher shares stories of his son’s humor, faith, and unyielding positivity, alongside the enduring lessons that inspired the book What’s Good About Today: A Purpose Driven Life. This conversation is a testament to the power of perspective and a reminder to cherish the simple beauty in each day.
Mentioned Links
*Christian Cochran Legacy Fund: ChristianCochran.org
*Book: "What’s Good About Today: A Purpose Driven Life": Available on Amazon
Life Lessons for Us All
- Learn how resilience is a decision, not just a trait, and how to practice it daily.
- Discover the transformative power of small, intentional acts of kindness.
- Be inspired by Christian’s motto, "What’s good about today?" and how it can reshape your outlook on life.
I encourage you to press play on this episode right away, so that you too can be blessed by a reminder in how we should all be living as inspired by Christian Cochran.
Today’s Featured Guest
Christopher Cochran is a devoted father, author, and advocate for spreading positivity through personal and collective action. After losing his son Christian to a rare form of cancer, Christopher channeled his grief into a mission to honor Christian’s legacy. His book, What’s Good About Today: A Purpose Driven Life, has become a beacon of hope and a guide for embracing life’s challenges with grace and love. Through the Christian Cochran Legacy Fund, Christopher continues to support causes close to his son’s heart, ensuring Christian’s light shines on.
Hey, it's Kevin!
I hope you enjoyed today's episode! If there is ever anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to reach out. Below, you will find ALL the places and ALL the ways to connect!
- I would LOVE to hear from you! Send me a Voice Message
- Want to be a guest on GRIT, GRACE, & INSPIRATION? Send Kevin Lowe a message on PodMatch!
- Sign-Up to Receive My LinkedIn Newsletter
- Plus Hangout with Me on LinkedIn
- Let's Schedule a Virtual Coffee Date
- Come Checkout the Website
Stay Awesome! Live Inspired!
© 2025 Grit, Grace, & Inspiration
Show Transcript
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Kevin Lowe: Whether this is your first time ever pressing play on this podcast,
00:00:04.816 --> 00:00:06.456
Kevin Lowe: which if it is, well, welcome.
00:00:06.756 --> 00:00:11.276
Kevin Lowe: Or if you've been here since the beginning, I hope you find one thing to be true.
00:00:11.436 --> 00:00:16.656
Kevin Lowe: Is that this is a podcast that you can come to expecting to leave with a smile.
00:00:17.196 --> 00:00:22.856
Kevin Lowe: Leave having gained a new maybe view on life. Seeing life from an angle you've
00:00:22.856 --> 00:00:24.236
Kevin Lowe: never viewed it from before.
00:00:24.676 --> 00:00:28.916
Kevin Lowe: Sometimes I do that through inspiring stories, motivating tales,
00:00:28.916 --> 00:00:34.636
Kevin Lowe: or sometimes it's through those heart-centered conversations about life,
00:00:34.896 --> 00:00:36.696
Kevin Lowe: the stuff that we can all connect with.
00:00:36.836 --> 00:00:39.176
Kevin Lowe: Today, my friend, is one of those stories.
00:00:39.436 --> 00:00:43.116
Kevin Lowe: It's an interview with a father talking about his son.
00:00:43.416 --> 00:00:49.816
Kevin Lowe: Today's guest is Christopher Cochran, but the story is about his son, Christian Cochran.
00:00:49.996 --> 00:00:54.856
Kevin Lowe: Today is going to be a lesson in how to live, but also how to die,
00:00:54.856 --> 00:00:59.076
Kevin Lowe: all taught to us by a young man who left this world too soon.
00:00:59.336 --> 00:01:04.776
Kevin Lowe: And yet, in some way, it was like it was all planned out this way because.
00:01:05.416 --> 00:01:09.416
Kevin Lowe: Well, he packed a lot into the years that he was here on Earth.
00:01:09.636 --> 00:01:13.516
Kevin Lowe: And the legacy he leaves behind is far lasting.
00:01:13.816 --> 00:01:17.336
Kevin Lowe: It made an impact on me the moment that I heard about this story.
00:01:17.556 --> 00:01:21.776
Kevin Lowe: When I sat down and I had Christopher Cochran on the podcast and we recorded
00:01:21.776 --> 00:01:24.436
Kevin Lowe: today's episode, it totally changed my life.
00:01:24.856 --> 00:01:29.196
Kevin Lowe: And my friend, I can only hope and pray that it's going to do the same for you.
00:01:29.376 --> 00:01:34.056
Kevin Lowe: Because by the end of today's episode, I'm going to have you waking up tomorrow
00:01:34.056 --> 00:01:39.436
Kevin Lowe: morning, asking yourself a very important, yet so simple of a question.
00:01:39.676 --> 00:01:41.316
Kevin Lowe: What's good about today?
00:01:41.596 --> 00:01:46.316
Kevin Lowe: With that, my friend, I welcome you to an episode that I hope is going to completely
00:01:46.316 --> 00:01:48.396
Kevin Lowe: change your life from this day forward.
00:01:48.716 --> 00:01:53.896
Kevin Lowe: I welcome you to episode 361. Hey, I'm your host, Kevin Lowe,
00:01:53.996 --> 00:01:57.256
Kevin Lowe: and you are listening to Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.
00:01:58.376 --> 00:02:04.276
Kevin Lowe: I am here in the studio today with a guy I have been so excited to get to talk to again.
00:02:04.716 --> 00:02:06.816
Kevin Lowe: Chris, welcome to the podcast, man.
00:02:07.476 --> 00:02:10.876
Christopher Cochran: Hey, thank you so much, Kevin. I'm so excited to be here with you.
00:02:10.956 --> 00:02:12.796
Christopher Cochran: And I knew we were getting together again.
00:02:13.276 --> 00:02:16.836
Christopher Cochran: The other time was, of course, off air, but just excited to talk to you.
00:02:16.956 --> 00:02:21.276
Christopher Cochran: You always bring such a light to so many conversations. So thank you again.
00:02:21.536 --> 00:02:27.936
Kevin Lowe: Oh, man, I appreciate that very much. Well, well, listen, so obviously the story
00:02:27.936 --> 00:02:32.076
Kevin Lowe: of your son, Christian, is going to be a big part of our conversation today.
00:02:32.296 --> 00:02:38.056
Kevin Lowe: But before even just diving into his story specifically, would you mind just
00:02:38.056 --> 00:02:43.556
Kevin Lowe: kind of giving me an overview of your family before diagnoses,
00:02:43.876 --> 00:02:45.776
Kevin Lowe: before any of that drama?
00:02:46.056 --> 00:02:47.916
Kevin Lowe: What was just family like for you?
00:02:47.916 --> 00:02:54.196
Christopher Cochran: Yeah, I grew up in central Pennsylvania in a small town called Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.
00:02:55.466 --> 00:02:58.826
Christopher Cochran: I have four brothers. I had two loving parents.
00:02:59.126 --> 00:03:03.686
Christopher Cochran: My parents were good people. My mother was a church-going woman,
00:03:03.686 --> 00:03:06.986
Christopher Cochran: so I spent my Sundays going to church.
00:03:07.186 --> 00:03:10.966
Christopher Cochran: Even when I didn't want to, my mother would make sure I was there.
00:03:11.606 --> 00:03:16.326
Christopher Cochran: I grew up very competitively in a competitive environment with brothers.
00:03:16.326 --> 00:03:18.446
Christopher Cochran: I was a wrestler in high school.
00:03:18.566 --> 00:03:21.146
Christopher Cochran: I wrestled in college at the University of Tennessee.
00:03:21.846 --> 00:03:28.166
Christopher Cochran: And so I was raised, you know, in this atmosphere. My father was a Navy guy.
00:03:28.326 --> 00:03:31.306
Christopher Cochran: He was a frogman, which predates the seal.
00:03:31.466 --> 00:03:34.746
Christopher Cochran: So you can imagine growing up in this atmosphere of very loving,
00:03:35.006 --> 00:03:40.006
Christopher Cochran: very tough, and really driving me to be a better person.
00:03:40.406 --> 00:03:45.006
Christopher Cochran: And so I made my way through high school, like lots of people.
00:03:45.226 --> 00:03:50.206
Christopher Cochran: And I was very blessed that this is now 40 years ago. So I was invited to a
00:03:50.206 --> 00:03:52.686
Christopher Cochran: party by a good friend of mine. His name's Brian.
00:03:53.046 --> 00:03:57.286
Christopher Cochran: It was an upperclassman party. I got to go to the party. As I entered the party,
00:03:57.406 --> 00:03:58.586
Christopher Cochran: I was going up a flight of stairs.
00:03:58.746 --> 00:04:04.526
Christopher Cochran: We passed these two girls coming down the stairs. It's the second girl that I made eye contact with.
00:04:04.646 --> 00:04:08.526
Christopher Cochran: And we had a sparkle, you know, sort of like being that this was the 80s,
00:04:08.606 --> 00:04:12.726
Christopher Cochran: like a slowdown version of a movie where you have this connection with someone.
00:04:13.246 --> 00:04:18.006
Christopher Cochran: We didn't talk at all. We didn't say anything. I knew she was an upperclassman.
00:04:18.446 --> 00:04:22.146
Christopher Cochran: Two grades ahead of me, but the next day, I never talked to her that night,
00:04:22.266 --> 00:04:24.166
Christopher Cochran: but the next day she showed up at my house
00:04:24.795 --> 00:04:29.295
Christopher Cochran: I wasn't there. She left a note on a paper plate with my little brother.
00:04:29.835 --> 00:04:34.075
Christopher Cochran: And he gave me that note and said, this girl came by, she was driving a really
00:04:34.075 --> 00:04:37.675
Christopher Cochran: beautiful car, Mercedes, and he was more enamored by that.
00:04:37.835 --> 00:04:39.935
Christopher Cochran: But the name stood out. Her name was Danielle.
00:04:40.115 --> 00:04:42.475
Christopher Cochran: And I said, Danielle, why would she be reaching out to me?
00:04:42.915 --> 00:04:46.595
Christopher Cochran: And so I decided to make this phone call. And I'm glad I did.
00:04:47.115 --> 00:04:50.955
Christopher Cochran: We decided to go on a date. She asked me out to the movies. We went to the movies
00:04:50.955 --> 00:04:56.415
Christopher Cochran: and we had a beautiful relationship, continue to have that. I'm married to her.
00:04:56.735 --> 00:04:59.695
Christopher Cochran: We've been married now, what, 30 years? We dated for 10.
00:05:00.075 --> 00:05:03.315
Christopher Cochran: And so we started the American dream.
00:05:03.615 --> 00:05:08.815
Christopher Cochran: We dreamed of having children. And that led us to the point where we had three beautiful children.
00:05:09.055 --> 00:05:16.995
Christopher Cochran: And so it continues to this day that we are together and sharing life's journeys of ups and downs.
00:05:17.315 --> 00:05:22.695
Christopher Cochran: And certainly, as we'll talk about, the journey of losing our firstborn child,
00:05:22.895 --> 00:05:28.735
Christopher Cochran: Christian, but I came from a good family and I'm very blessed to have had that along the way.
00:05:29.135 --> 00:05:34.075
Kevin Lowe: Yeah, I love it so much. Talk to me a little bit about your three kids.
00:05:34.155 --> 00:05:36.495
Kevin Lowe: I'd love to hear a little bit about each one of them.
00:05:36.695 --> 00:05:43.055
Christopher Cochran: So Christian is our oldest. He is 26. My daughter is 25.
00:05:43.595 --> 00:05:49.915
Christopher Cochran: She's located in Norfolk, Virginia. She is the wife of a naval officer who actually
00:05:49.915 --> 00:05:55.015
Christopher Cochran: serves overseas on the USS Cole right now in the Middle East.
00:05:55.195 --> 00:05:58.835
Christopher Cochran: So he's definitely involved in things that are going on over there.
00:05:59.589 --> 00:06:05.389
Christopher Cochran: He's on deployment. My younger son, Nicholas, is currently enrolled as a junior
00:06:05.389 --> 00:06:08.049
Christopher Cochran: at the University of Indiana, Pennsylvania.
00:06:08.729 --> 00:06:14.449
Christopher Cochran: That's where all my kids went to school. And so all of them are wonderful kids, all different.
00:06:14.729 --> 00:06:17.689
Christopher Cochran: They always say, when you have these kids, you think they're going to be somewhat
00:06:17.689 --> 00:06:21.849
Christopher Cochran: similar, but they couldn't be more different from one another and how they go about things.
00:06:21.989 --> 00:06:26.729
Christopher Cochran: So it does challenge you as a parent as you navigate this life,
00:06:26.729 --> 00:06:31.209
Christopher Cochran: but they're all wonderful children. And I love seeing them every moment I get.
00:06:31.709 --> 00:06:37.829
Kevin Lowe: Absolutely. I just, I wanted to ask that question just because as we continue
00:06:37.829 --> 00:06:41.969
Kevin Lowe: our conversation today, I just want to be sure that I recognize the fact that
00:06:41.969 --> 00:06:46.389
Kevin Lowe: what happens as we talk about the story about your son, Christian,
00:06:46.609 --> 00:06:49.709
Kevin Lowe: I'm sure it's something that has impacted your entire family,
00:06:50.209 --> 00:06:52.689
Kevin Lowe: each one individually, as well as a whole.
00:06:53.009 --> 00:07:00.089
Kevin Lowe: And so as we go today, I just want everyone to understand that we're not just
00:07:00.089 --> 00:07:02.769
Kevin Lowe: talking about you and your son, we're talking about a family.
00:07:03.989 --> 00:07:07.089
Christopher Cochran: Yeah, absolutely. All of us have been affected by this.
00:07:07.229 --> 00:07:09.729
Christopher Cochran: We still continue to this day, and it's only been three years,
00:07:09.809 --> 00:07:12.749
Christopher Cochran: but we navigate, but we're close. You know, that's the thing.
00:07:12.989 --> 00:07:18.289
Christopher Cochran: You know, we support one another, and that's critical when you go through things like this.
00:07:18.409 --> 00:07:22.289
Christopher Cochran: And we all have our ways of navigating grief and how we go about it.
00:07:22.389 --> 00:07:24.809
Christopher Cochran: It's not an easy task by any means, but we're not going to be able to do it.
00:07:25.246 --> 00:07:29.226
Christopher Cochran: But we love one another and we've always been close.
00:07:29.506 --> 00:07:32.846
Christopher Cochran: So it's just an extenuation of things.
00:07:33.066 --> 00:07:38.266
Christopher Cochran: But much like life, you just you have these difficult moments as everyone's going to have.
00:07:38.546 --> 00:07:44.426
Christopher Cochran: Right. It's it's inevitable in this life that everyone things are going to turn on a dime.
00:07:44.706 --> 00:07:50.606
Christopher Cochran: And the question is, how do you react to it? How do you approach life going forward after that?
00:07:50.826 --> 00:07:53.986
Christopher Cochran: Do you give up? Do you not give up? How do you interact with others?
00:07:53.986 --> 00:07:59.606
Christopher Cochran: And so, yeah, I have a beautiful family that has been hit by this tremendously,
00:07:59.606 --> 00:08:04.006
Christopher Cochran: and we all do it in different ways, but we're there to support each other.
00:08:04.426 --> 00:08:09.906
Kevin Lowe: Yeah, absolutely. Well, I guess if you wouldn't mind, would you kind of start
00:08:09.906 --> 00:08:12.946
Kevin Lowe: diving into the story about your son, Christian?
00:08:13.326 --> 00:08:18.006
Kevin Lowe: Obviously, the whole reason that we're here is because of him and the life he
00:08:18.006 --> 00:08:23.386
Kevin Lowe: lived and the legacy he's left. And so I would love for you to kind of take
00:08:23.386 --> 00:08:27.406
Kevin Lowe: it from where you think the best part is, is to start to share his story.
00:08:27.646 --> 00:08:31.246
Christopher Cochran: Well, Christian, yeah, I love talking about Christian. I love talking about
00:08:31.246 --> 00:08:33.686
Christopher Cochran: my kids. So all of them, by the way.
00:08:34.006 --> 00:08:37.326
Christopher Cochran: But Christian in particular, obviously first born, you know,
00:08:37.426 --> 00:08:41.346
Christopher Cochran: after we got married and for a couple of years enjoyed the blissful life of
00:08:41.346 --> 00:08:43.326
Christopher Cochran: marriage, we decided to have a child.
00:08:43.326 --> 00:08:48.486
Christopher Cochran: We knew right from the get-go we were going to name him Christian because we
00:08:48.486 --> 00:08:52.826
Christopher Cochran: knew he was destined for extraordinary things and felt the name was fitting for him.
00:08:53.066 --> 00:08:57.346
Christopher Cochran: Ever since he was born, he was extraordinarily different from everyone else.
00:08:57.486 --> 00:09:01.726
Christopher Cochran: He had this innate ability to show empathy for others.
00:09:01.766 --> 00:09:07.306
Christopher Cochran: Even as a young child, it was quite extraordinary. We would always refer to him as Mr. Comfort.
00:09:08.166 --> 00:09:12.726
Christopher Cochran: And he could comfort my wife when she was going through her birth with the other
00:09:12.726 --> 00:09:17.026
Christopher Cochran: children when they were born, just to let her know that he loved her and he was proud of her.
00:09:17.186 --> 00:09:20.046
Christopher Cochran: And it's something unusual you see in a child.
00:09:20.718 --> 00:09:25.498
Christopher Cochran: So even as Christian was getting older, and I remember when he was eight years
00:09:25.498 --> 00:09:28.998
Christopher Cochran: old, the first day at the bus stop, you know, all kids are clamoring to get
00:09:28.998 --> 00:09:30.918
Christopher Cochran: on that bus, but not Christian.
00:09:30.978 --> 00:09:34.938
Christopher Cochran: He wanted all his friends to get on first. They all would want to be next to each other.
00:09:35.158 --> 00:09:40.398
Christopher Cochran: And he would then let the special needs kids go on next. And he would always be the last one.
00:09:40.678 --> 00:09:43.838
Christopher Cochran: And he did that because it brought him joy to see others find joy.
00:09:44.238 --> 00:09:47.518
Christopher Cochran: Right. And so much of this world we're filled with what's good for me.
00:09:47.658 --> 00:09:51.358
Christopher Cochran: What can I get out of this? And that's not how he operated. even as a young boy.
00:09:51.778 --> 00:09:56.678
Christopher Cochran: And so that carried on. Even as a teenager, we witnessed things and how he was
00:09:56.678 --> 00:10:02.018
Christopher Cochran: giving all of himself to others, whether it was through a smile, laughter.
00:10:02.478 --> 00:10:07.438
Christopher Cochran: He was extremely funny. He just brought he just when he walked into a room,
00:10:07.658 --> 00:10:14.098
Christopher Cochran: he lit it up and you wanted to spend time with him because you just were drawn in to his presence.
00:10:14.318 --> 00:10:17.838
Christopher Cochran: And so ultimately, you know, Christian went to college.
00:10:18.018 --> 00:10:21.958
Christopher Cochran: He went to Indiana University of Pennsylvania, graduated from the honors college
00:10:21.958 --> 00:10:25.738
Christopher Cochran: there. He came back in 2020 at the end of 2020.
00:10:25.898 --> 00:10:30.898
Christopher Cochran: And I remember this was during COVID and he had some back pain and we treated it as such.
00:10:30.998 --> 00:10:34.518
Christopher Cochran: We saw doctors. They said it was nothing because he was incredibly healthy kid.
00:10:34.958 --> 00:10:40.738
Christopher Cochran: And ultimately the pain had gotten so great. We eventually went and got tests, had to have CT scans.
00:10:41.058 --> 00:10:45.338
Christopher Cochran: We were brought into a room. This was during COVID. It was just myself and Christian.
00:10:45.938 --> 00:10:49.658
Christopher Cochran: And the doctors all walked in, their faces were covered. You could only see their eyes.
00:10:49.758 --> 00:10:52.518
Christopher Cochran: But I knew as soon as they walked in the door, they were about to deliver the
00:10:52.518 --> 00:10:57.018
Christopher Cochran: news, the worst news possible for Christian and ultimately what we were all
00:10:57.018 --> 00:10:59.298
Christopher Cochran: going to have to deal with as a family.
00:10:59.518 --> 00:11:04.638
Christopher Cochran: And they told him that he had a cancer and ultimately it was a terminal cancer.
00:11:04.858 --> 00:11:06.858
Christopher Cochran: He had a grapefruit sized tumor on his liver.
00:11:07.158 --> 00:11:11.038
Christopher Cochran: And I'll never forget the first of many acts of superpower. Christian looked
00:11:11.038 --> 00:11:14.198
Christopher Cochran: at me, my knees were buckling. He put his hand on my and he said,
00:11:15.074 --> 00:11:18.934
Christopher Cochran: Don't worry, everything's going to be okay. And he calmly asked the doctors
00:11:18.934 --> 00:11:20.194
Christopher Cochran: how much time he had to live.
00:11:20.354 --> 00:11:23.494
Christopher Cochran: They didn't want to answer that question. And of course, I had to go home and
00:11:23.494 --> 00:11:26.794
Christopher Cochran: we had to have this discussion with his mom. And when we told Christian how
00:11:26.794 --> 00:11:31.894
Christopher Cochran: sorry we were, how difficult this was, he said, it's okay, mom and dad.
00:11:32.114 --> 00:11:36.254
Christopher Cochran: I wouldn't want this on anyone. This is my burden and it's okay.
00:11:36.494 --> 00:11:40.374
Christopher Cochran: He was very accepting of it and not a moment from the day he was diagnosed,
00:11:40.574 --> 00:11:46.614
Christopher Cochran: which was August 26th of 2020 to the moment that he took his last breath with
00:11:46.614 --> 00:11:51.034
Christopher Cochran: us around him here at home on September 1st of 2021,
00:11:51.394 --> 00:11:55.234
Christopher Cochran: almost a little over a year, did he ever complain once?
00:11:55.374 --> 00:11:58.194
Christopher Cochran: He never said, why me? Why did this happen to me?
00:11:58.574 --> 00:12:02.194
Christopher Cochran: Quite the contrary. He would remind us every day, he would say,
00:12:02.474 --> 00:12:05.354
Christopher Cochran: what's good about today? With a question.
00:12:06.014 --> 00:12:08.774
Christopher Cochran: And when we were down, he would say, what's good about today.
00:12:09.074 --> 00:12:12.614
Christopher Cochran: And it would help us remind us that there is beauty. There is wonder.
00:12:13.014 --> 00:12:19.734
Christopher Cochran: There's so many special things that are in this day that we have to focus on, not the negative.
00:12:19.854 --> 00:12:23.914
Christopher Cochran: And there are plenty of bad days, but we try to focus on the good because it's
00:12:23.914 --> 00:12:26.434
Christopher Cochran: a choice, right? It's a choice we can all make.
00:12:26.594 --> 00:12:30.874
Christopher Cochran: And Christian left that legacy with us. And so that's what inspired myself,
00:12:31.054 --> 00:12:34.614
Christopher Cochran: of course, to write the book, What's Good About Today, A Purpose Driven Life,
00:12:34.754 --> 00:12:40.134
Christopher Cochran: to document this love story as a family. So that's Christian.
00:12:40.874 --> 00:12:46.974
Kevin Lowe: Wow. Remind me again how old he was when you guys received this diagnosis.
00:12:47.374 --> 00:12:50.474
Christopher Cochran: So Christian was diagnosed at 22 years of age.
00:12:50.714 --> 00:12:54.814
Christopher Cochran: Like I said, just graduating college, ready to take off. He was I glowed on
00:12:54.814 --> 00:12:56.934
Christopher Cochran: him. And I always hear that tap on my shoulder.
00:12:57.054 --> 00:13:01.314
Christopher Cochran: Dad, don't talk too much about me because he was so humble, you know,
00:13:01.394 --> 00:13:03.314
Christopher Cochran: but you're a dad. This is what you do.
00:13:03.534 --> 00:13:06.874
Christopher Cochran: You talk about your kids. You love your kids. But he was so talented.
00:13:07.474 --> 00:13:10.734
Christopher Cochran: I mean, the most important part is that he was so loving and caring and loved
00:13:10.734 --> 00:13:14.994
Christopher Cochran: us as parents and loved his family. But he was a talented actor on stage.
00:13:15.594 --> 00:13:20.434
Christopher Cochran: He was always the lead in every musical, every play. He had already been in
00:13:20.434 --> 00:13:22.594
Christopher Cochran: a major motion picture of the Batman movie.
00:13:23.154 --> 00:13:28.234
Christopher Cochran: And actually, he was a paid actor in that movie. And so he was ready to take off.
00:13:28.334 --> 00:13:32.734
Christopher Cochran: He was doing so many wonderful things with his life and making an impact.
00:13:33.114 --> 00:13:39.154
Christopher Cochran: But yeah, hit it 22, passed away. actually at the age of 23 on his sister's
00:13:39.154 --> 00:13:42.734
Christopher Cochran: birthday, Kate, September 1st, which I'm not surprised about.
00:13:42.814 --> 00:13:45.094
Christopher Cochran: They were extremely close. They were 15 months apart.
00:13:45.434 --> 00:13:48.074
Christopher Cochran: So he died on that day.
00:13:48.674 --> 00:13:59.814
Kevin Lowe: Wow. How do you as a parent even begin that year to be told that your son has a year to live,
00:14:00.054 --> 00:14:04.194
Kevin Lowe: especially for the fact that we're not supposed to know when we're going to die?
00:14:04.838 --> 00:14:07.938
Kevin Lowe: And yet you guys found that out.
00:14:08.238 --> 00:14:13.438
Kevin Lowe: How do you even how do you even keep living for that year?
00:14:13.738 --> 00:14:16.758
Christopher Cochran: Well, I think our motivation was to try to save Christian. Right.
00:14:16.898 --> 00:14:21.438
Christopher Cochran: There was a less than one percent chance he could even make it to five years.
00:14:21.878 --> 00:14:28.558
Christopher Cochran: So I knew the odds were stacked against us. I never told my wife and my kids the statistics. Right.
00:14:28.858 --> 00:14:32.898
Christopher Cochran: I knew what they were. I had private conversations with doctors that this was
00:14:32.898 --> 00:14:35.598
Christopher Cochran: not going to be an easy journey.
00:14:35.698 --> 00:14:39.438
Christopher Cochran: But we threw everything we could to save Christian.
00:14:39.598 --> 00:14:43.558
Christopher Cochran: And Christian entrusted his family, trusted my wife and I, his aunt and his
00:14:43.558 --> 00:14:46.338
Christopher Cochran: uncle, to, we called it the CC Advisory Group,
00:14:46.718 --> 00:14:54.578
Christopher Cochran: to focus on a 24-7 operation where we researched every possible avenue to save
00:14:54.578 --> 00:14:57.818
Christopher Cochran: his life, whether it was experimental drugs.
00:14:58.398 --> 00:15:02.798
Christopher Cochran: Certainly, immediately, we got him on the standard of care in this world.
00:15:03.098 --> 00:15:05.058
Christopher Cochran: The standard of care in cancer is chemotherapy.
00:15:05.818 --> 00:15:10.518
Christopher Cochran: And you go right to that. Literally, I think we found out on a Saturday or Friday.
00:15:10.758 --> 00:15:16.158
Christopher Cochran: By Monday, he was on it. And he was being hit with the most powerful chemotherapy
00:15:16.158 --> 00:15:17.558
Christopher Cochran: drugs that were out there.
00:15:18.178 --> 00:15:20.838
Christopher Cochran: And we were just trying to knock this thing down.
00:15:22.518 --> 00:15:27.738
Christopher Cochran: And it's such a strong cancer. He had what's called cholangiocarcinoma.
00:15:27.818 --> 00:15:31.718
Christopher Cochran: And it's, by definition, it's called bio-duck cancer.
00:15:31.878 --> 00:15:35.538
Christopher Cochran: The bio-duck is connected to the liver, but ultimately it's what filters out
00:15:35.538 --> 00:15:37.518
Christopher Cochran: all the badness in our body.
00:15:37.598 --> 00:15:41.798
Christopher Cochran: But you can imagine it already at stage four, grapefruit size on his liver,
00:15:42.338 --> 00:15:45.378
Christopher Cochran: had already had started to spread to his lymph nodes.
00:15:45.958 --> 00:15:52.498
Christopher Cochran: He had ultimately kept it at bay for months, but we knew that this was,
00:15:52.658 --> 00:15:54.518
Christopher Cochran: the chemo was not gonna be the answer.
00:15:54.618 --> 00:16:00.798
Christopher Cochran: So we were always researching DNA, RNA factors, we went to every DNA facilities
00:16:00.798 --> 00:16:05.938
Christopher Cochran: to the molecular level to break down his DNAs and find out if there were any
00:16:05.938 --> 00:16:09.538
Christopher Cochran: drugs on the market that could sustain his life.
00:16:09.738 --> 00:16:12.798
Christopher Cochran: And we did, here's the thing about this cancer.
00:16:13.878 --> 00:16:16.358
Christopher Cochran: It's only really seen mostly in older people,
00:16:17.163 --> 00:16:23.823
Christopher Cochran: and in Southeast Asia. Not a kid in Northwest Pennsylvania, right?
00:16:23.963 --> 00:16:28.123
Christopher Cochran: It's just not something you see. So it was extremely unusual.
00:16:29.003 --> 00:16:34.323
Christopher Cochran: And we just knew that we were up against some major odds. He did too.
00:16:34.583 --> 00:16:39.743
Christopher Cochran: I think he knew even when he was diagnosed what was going on.
00:16:39.883 --> 00:16:44.103
Christopher Cochran: He had already accepted this, I think, a long time ago, even before he had cancer.
00:16:44.143 --> 00:16:46.263
Christopher Cochran: I think he lived such a big life.
00:16:46.503 --> 00:16
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