Photo source: Facebook
A Fort Hamilton high school volleyball player who played through his illness to help his team reach their playoff semifinals died of cancer early Tuesday morning, just after turning 18.
Eduard Nogay passed away at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan just after the final minutes of his birthday ticked down to midnight, the Daily News reported. He was surrounded by his family, friends and coaches, who had arrived at the hospital Monday evening expecting to attend his birthday party.
“It was a beautiful but devastating moment,” Kim Tolve, one of Nogay’s coaches, told the paper.
Shortly after having a breakout season last year, Nogay was diagnosed with a sarcoma andunderwent a full arm amputation. But he continued playing, even after the cancer spread and caused a collapsed lung.
“I told the coach that regardless of what’s happening, I’m gonna get the surgery, I’m going to get this done with, I’m going to train my arm and I’m going to reach the same level I was at last year,” Nogay told News 12 in this video filmed midway through the playoffs.
Follow Emily Johnson on Twitter @emilyjreports
