This Wichita couple uses WSU basketball as an escape during their final days together

Like many Wichita State fans on Tuesday evening, Mike and Mary Jane Furches will sit on their couch and gather around their television to watch the Shockers take on Lipscomb at 6 p.m. Central time on ESPN in the National Invitation Tournament semifinals.

But for this Wichita couple, it could be their last time watching together.

Last July, Mary Jane Furches, 70, was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Doctors tried an operation to remove the cancerous cells, but they had to abort and Mary Jane almost died on the operating table. Nine months ago, she was given less than a year to live.

“For us, Shocker basketball games are two hours where we can escape the pain and our reality,” Mike Furches said. “We realize the next game the Shockers play could be the last game my wife ever gets to see them play or we get to see and experience it together.”

The diagnosis was even more difficult for the couple to accept after Mary Jane had defeated breast cancer just one month before.

Going through chemotherapy drained Mary Jane. For 39 years, she was a teacher in the Derby school district. But the illness sapped her strength and left her too weak to move on her own. Soon, Mike was responsible for being her full-time caretaker on top of paying bills, shopping for groceries, and cooking the meals.

“I couldn’t do it without him,” Mary Jane said. “He’s been my rock. He’s been my strength.”

But the toughest part, at least in the early stages, was the toll that chemotherapy took on Mary Jane. She suffered from what is known as “chemo brain,” in other terms, dementia.

“One day she asked me to go get her some water, so I get up and get a water bottle and open it for her,” Mike said. “She started to pour it on her feet and I stop her and say, ‘What are you doing?’ She said, ‘Oh, I’m just watering the flowers.’”

Mary Jane has since improved. She says she no longer is in discomfort. She doesn’t feel nauseated so much and she has a much better grasp on her memory.

The thing that turned her spirits? When Shocker basketball season started in November.

“It’s so special to me because with this cancer, I’m stuck at home and I can’t really do much right now,” Mary Jane said. “Watching the Shockers play brings me a whole lot of joy and they give me something to look forward to.”

Mike and Mary Jane were season-ticket holders for the Shockers in the recent past. They both were known for being rabid fans. Mike, with his long white bushy hair and beard, used to dress up like Santa at games. Mike said he and his wife appeared on the Kiss Cam multiple times over the years at Koch Arena.

Although the two can no longer attend WSU games, they still watch religiously from their home. And don’t let her sickness fool you, Mike says, his wife is still as passionate about her Shockers as she’s ever been.

“I joke around and tell people that she’s worse than I am now,” Mike said. “She’ll be screaming and yelling at the television, rooting on the Shockers. It’s more than just a game to us. It’s something we love to do.”

In a way, the last year has exposed Mike to a new layer of love.

He grew up in an abusive household where he said love was a foreign concept. Mike and Mary Jane have been married for 40 years and the relationship has shown Mike new depths for his love. He never thought he was fit to be a full-time caretaker until he had to rise to the occasion.

Now, no matter how much he has to sacrifice, Mike says it’s just second nature now to take care of the woman with whom he raised two children.

“My wife is the greatest gift God gave me and thinking about losing that is tough,” said Mike, choking up. “I don’t think we love each any more than we already did, but I think we cherish our moments more, if that makes any sense.”

In a way, Mike and Mary Jane have found a way to appreciate each other.

“It may sound terrible, but we now look at it as a blessing in knowing the life expectancy so we can cherish the time that we do have left together,” Mike said.

So for at least one more night, Mike and Mary Jane will enjoy going through their game day rituals and spending time together watching Wichita State basketball and cheering on the Shockers, especially senior Markis McDuffie.

“I’ve always liked Markis ever since he started playing as a freshman,” Mary Jane said. “I like the guys who have been there for some time, so I can get to know them. I know I don’t know them personally, but I enjoy yelling for them and supporting them as much as I can.”

Watching one more game together is all that Mike can ask for. But he can’t help to think about how special it would be if the Shockers were able to win one last championship.

What a final memory that would be.

“What a blessing it would be to see them cut down the nets one more time, I don’t care if it’s in the NIT or whatever tournament,” Mike said. “To see the Shockers back on top, that would be truly special because unless there’s some type of miracle, this could be the last time we get to watch it together.”

This story was originally published April 1, 2019 at 5:16 PM.