Oya

It's about still having that fight. You know, just never giving up.

Jae

It's important to have people who look like you and people who can relate to you sharing your story.

Oya

My name's Oya Gilbert. I have multiple myeloma, and I'm here to tell my story.

Jae

My name is Jae Nichelle. I'm a spoken word artist, and I'm here to meet Oya today. And really listen to what he's been through so far. I'm ready for him to tell me what words I should use.

Oya

You have to have something, because if you don't have hope, we have nothing.

Jae

Hi, how are you?

Oya

How are you doing?

Jae

Good.

Oya

It's unfortunate that it took cancer for me to see the world the way I see it now. Once I started educating myself, not only understanding myeloma, but understanding like the disparity in healthcare with African Americans, it started making me ask different questions when I went to the doctor. So I have spent a lot of time trying to reach out to the African American community.

Oya

Having somebody to speak to that looks like you, that can really relate.

Jae

It makes all the difference.

Oya

It makes all the difference.

Oya

I'm definitely the dad that wants to see my kids be better than me. What I asked God when I got diagnosed is just let me have an opportunity to, you know, make sure they're OK.

Jae

Yeah.

Oya

Right now, I say God's got this disease in a flight pattern around the airport and he just won't let it land.

Jae

Right after we had our conversation, I went in my notebook and I just jotted down lines that stood out to me. When he started talking about his kids and appreciating the time that he can have with them, I was emotional, just kind of listening to him talk.

Jaidyn

My dad teaches me how to be like a upstanding citizen. He'll teach me how to be a man in the future. He's been doing this ever since I was born.

Jace

I think there's a lot of the things that's really special about my dad. It's like he can really make us, like, have a lot of fun.

Unknown

Keep going.

Oya

You like that joint?

Unknown

Yeah, totally.

Jae

I know that he has such a love for hip hop and music.

Jae

There were a few things that he said. They stuck out immediately, and I wrote them down because they just hit me when he said it. For Oya, I hope that he feels seen and feels like this is a representation of him.

Oya

Oh my God.

Jae

Hello.

Oya

Hey.

Jae

Come in. Come in.

Oya

Right here? Oh my goodness.

Jae

In a moment, Oya Gilbert's life changes. Turns out a multiple myeloma diagnosis is not dramatic like on TV. It's just a moment. The word incurable. A moment. You asked me what I see when you're in front of me. I see a Black man trying. A Black man living in a world where we still often only hear Black men's stories when they're dead or dying.

Jae

And living looks like a lot of things. Living looks like kayaking with sons and driving with a daughter.

Oya

This moment for me is, you know, unforgettable. It's a moment that's sketched into my brain.
Some of the most important people in my life were here to witness Jae speak from the heart about me.

Jae

Living isn't always easy. It looks like battling discrimination on top of depression, on top of disease. Like a long, long road to diagnosis because a Black man's concerns for his health were dismissed for over a year. Canceled plans, hospital trips, not knowing what to tell the kids, or what this is. Finding a reason to keep going. A reason. Living looks like still dreaming.

Jae

A refusal to let cancer suffocate you while you're still breathing. Living looks like Oya. Not a patient. Not a story. But a regular man. Living looks like keeping an eye on that plane, but hoping to God it won't land. Thank you.

Oya

It's a conclusion to something I've been talking about my whole life. I'm trying to take the gift - that God's grace that he's given me, this extra time. I want somebody to watch this piece and get some hope. Just keep pressing. That's what I hope they get. Hope it brings a little joy and a little encouragement to keep pushing.