Just because Phil Archer retired last week from KPRC 2, doesn't mean we have to stop paying tribute.
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After I posted about his then upcoming retirement, I received a touching email about the kind of thing Archer did behind the scenes.
"Mike:
I read your story about Phil Archer with much gusto and had to testreach out. Thank you for sharing those anecdotes. My name is Isaac Avilucea, and I'm a reporter in New Jersey. I have never had the privilege of meeting Phil in person, and didn't know much about him until I read your post.I was shocked to learn how he almost lost his life during the 1978 Moody Park Riot, only to be dragged to safety by some kids."So a lot of things luckily happened in the right order to prevent it from being a really bad day for my mom," Archer said.Those words resonated with me because I could say the same thing about Phil's act of generosity for a stranger.In December 2016, I was diagnosed with Stage IIIC testicular cancer. It had spread to virtually every major organ in my body, including my brain. I was initially given 1-2 years to live, until I transferred to University of Jefferson Hospital in Philly.My chances for survival improved to 50 percent. I'm not sure how Phil became aware of my story, all the way in New Jersey, but he did. He tracked down my phone number, like a reporter would, and called me up.He told me he wanted to do what he could to help, so he started a GoFundMe page for me. I took an eight- month sabbatical from my newspaper, The Trentonian, to undergo nine rounds of chemotherapy (three of them high dose at UPenn) and underwent a last-step RPLND surgery at Sloan Kettering. The last thing a cancer patient wants to worry about while fighting for their life is money. More than that, surviving cancer is as much about chemotherapy as kinship. Many of the comments left in the GoFundMe steeled me on my worst days.I was miraculously cured November 16, 2017, when the doctors told me the biopsy showed the football-sized teratoma tumors they removed from my abdomen were benign. I look forward to celebrating my fourth cure anniversary this year.I am often amazed about the interconnectivity of humanity. Those kids saved Phil back then, so he could help save me, nearly three decades later.To quote the legend himself: A lot of things luckily happened in the right order to prevent it from being a really bad day for my mom.Best,-IA"
Isaac Avilucea, The Trentonian newspaper reporter in Trenton, New Jersey that wrote to me, said it best when writing about now former channel 2 reporter Phil Archer.
