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By Ashley Szatala
The Fort Worth, Texas, Alumni Chapter has rallied behind a fellow member battling the rare Wilson disease
Joe Scanlan, TEXAS-ARLINGTON 2018, started coming to Fort Worth, Texas, Alumni Chapter meetings while still an undergraduate student. The alumni chapter is somewhat small, so it was easy for the members and Scanlan to get to know each other.
“He’s a very kind, good-hearted man who always cared about other people,” Scanlan’s mother, Cheryl, says of him. It’s a description that members of the alumni chapter echo as well.
Scanlan, an avid sports fan, studied broadcast journalism and after graduating worked as a TV anchor and reporter as well as sports anchor and reporter in Hastings, Nebraska. At the end of 2023 he left his job to return home to Texas after experiencing mental health challenges. Little did he know at the time that the anxiety and depression he was facing were symptoms of a bigger medical problem.
While home, Scanlan began attending Fort Worth Alumni Chapter meetings again and grew close to Brock Ostrander, EASTERN NEW MEXICO 2003. He also began seeking medical assistance for problems with his motor skills. “Eventually it got to the point where he’d stumble when he walked. He had trouble writing, and his voice weakened,” Cheryl Scanlan says.
In spring 2024 Scanlan was diagnosed with Wilson disease, a rare genetic condition that occurs when the body accumulates too much copper, especially in the liver and brain; if those levels get high enough, they can cause life-threatening organ damage, according to the Cleveland Clinic. His diagnosis came as a shock to his family and friends, all of whom had never heard of the disease.
Despite Scanlan’s medical challenges, his mother would drive him to alumni chapter meetings at a local brewery, recalls president Steve Hill, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 1988. “He couldn’t drink because of his medication, but he still came out and supported us.”
On Sept. 23, 2024, Scanlan began slurring his words and told his mother he couldn’t walk. They rushed to the emergency room. Soon, it became clear this wouldn’t be a short stay. The Fort Worth Alumni Chapter began to discuss ways they could help after hearing of his hospitalization. For their efforts, the alumni chapter has been named this quarter’s Mark V. Anderson Character-in-Action Leadership Award recipient.
The alumni chapter knew that Scanlan didn’t have insurance, so their first thought was to fundraise for his medical care. But once the hospital agreed to absorb Scanlan’s medical expenses, they began looking for other ways to help.
“You kind of feel helpless at that point because there’s not a whole lot we can directly do for him,” Ostrander says. As he was searching online for more information about the disease, he found the Wilson Disease Association. Ostrander reached out and soon was on a virtual meeting with the association president, who shared that the nonprofit organization is always in need of funds to further its mission.
He took to the chapter the idea of fundraising for the association in Scanlan’s honor, and everyone was on board. They set up a Givebutter fundraising page in March 2025 and set a lofty goal of $2,000.
“Usually when we do a fundraiser, we’re lucky to scrape a few hundred dollars together,” Ostrander says. “I thought, if we could just get half of that (fundraising goal), I’ll call that a win.”
The nearby Dallas and Mid-Cities, Texas, alumni chapters as well as Scanlan’s friends and family all donated. Eton Pharmaceuticals, the company that makes Wilson disease medication, made a $500 donation to push the Fort Worth Alumni Chapter’s fundraising total to $2,500.
“(The Wilson Disease Association) said $2,500 was extremely significant for them,” Ostrander recalls. The association let them know that the money will be used in preparations for a Wilson disease externally led patient-focused drug development meeting with the Food and Drug Administration, clinicians, researchers and product developers.
““For the first time, patients and caregivers affected by Wilson disease will have a direct voice in shaping the future of treatment. This is not just a meeting — it’s a historic opportunity for the global Wilson disease community to be heard,” association president Rhonda Rowland said in a message to the chapter about their donation’s impact.
The Fort Worth Alumni Chapter is still supporting Scanlan and his family in other ways. Today, Scanlan is still hospitalized with severe brain damage, Cheryl Scanlan says. “He cannot move, he cannot speak, but he can hear. He does respond to the sound of my voice, and sometimes he’ll open his eyes partway.”
“We’ve been grieving Joe for a year. He was kind of a renaissance man. He loved history. He loved old movies. He was just an interesting person, very witty, very smart. And we’ve lost that,” she says. “We decided as a family that the best thing we can do is just love him. And so we do, very much.”
Ostrander visits him once or twice a month, and others try to visit when they’re able. “It’s a very sad and rough situation. He went from just this vibrant young man with all of this promise to potentially being in this state for the next several years,” he says.
His family often treats him to a “spa day,” where they wash Scanlan’s hair, cut it if need be, and keep his face clean shaven. The alumni chapter has been providing Amazon and similar gift cards for the family to purchase spa day supplies like razors.
“He loves that alumni group. The Sigs have been wonderful. The (Fort Worth) alumni have been very faithful with their support of Joe, and I really appreciate it,” Cheryl Scanlan says.
Adds Hill, the alumni chapter president: “Joe is in our hearts, we think of Joe, and we toast to Joe every meeting to continue this fight.”
A person with good character shows trustworthiness, respect and fairness to others, as well as responsibility and citizenship. Those members who go out of their way to help others and those who overcome obstacles and lead with integrity are good candidates for the Mark V. Anderson Character-in-ActionTM Leadership Award.
Sigma Chi introduced the award to recognize the selfless acts of brothers. A formal recognition by the Fraternity allows non-members to appreciate the scope of the organization. For information about the award, see sigmachi.org/character.