After being away for more than a month, Powell City Councilman and Powell Volunteer Fire Department member Geoff Hovivian was fighting back the tears after being escorted home by an entourage of first responders with sirens and lights blazing to welcome him back. It was a happy surprise after a challenging trip.

Hovivian had been hospitalized in New York and underwent surgery for complications from Lynch syndrome.

“Words can’t describe it,” he said with his emotions choking him. “I don’t know what to say. I’m honored by the amount of support and everything that I've just received from my family here in the community and my family back East.”

Lynch syndrome is a condition that increases the risk of many kinds of cancer and is passed from parents to children. Families affected by the disease have more instances of cancer than expected, including colon cancer, endometrial cancer and other types of cancer. It also causes cancers to happen at an earlier age than usual.

Hovivian had a 4-inch mass removed from near his colon in late March and remained hospitalized for treatments. Returning to a celebration helped lift his spirits.

Captain Pete DiPilla picked up Hovivian at the airport Friday in what was supposed to be a quiet ride home. Department volunteers waited in Ralston to spring the surprise escort. They then headed to the fire department for an impromptu reception.

Hovivian is the Ward 1 councilman and became the youngest person ever elected to city council in 2020. He is originally from Los Angeles, California. His mother passed away when he was 13, and his father found it difficult to raise four kids. Hovivian was then sent to Fort Shiloh Boys Home in Clark. He took a first responder course and showed a strong aptitude for that type of work. He was soon enrolled in an EMT course and has been working at PVHC for the past 13 years.

“I love helping people,” he said during a Tribune interview after the election.

Hovivian faces months of chemotherapy, but happily the treatments can been done locally, he said. He may also undergo immunotherapy after chemo.

Hovivian’s longtime friend Kaitlynn Long has sponsored a Go Fund Me account to help him with medical expenses and months without being able to work.

“Geoff is always the one to take the shirt off his back for anyone in need and has served the community well as a volunteer firefighter, EMT, member of the city council and as a friend,” she said.

The charitable fund is still short of the goal of $26,000. Hovivian said his recovery has been “as smooth as I could have hoped/wished for.”

However, he will have a long road to full recovery. The tumor removed tested positive for adenocarcinoma. However, the
tumor was slow growing and they also tested 38 lymph nodes; all came back negative for cancer.

“Praise God for that!,” he said in an update after
surgery.

Lymph nodes are found at the convergence of major blood vessels, and an adult will have approximately 800 nodes commonly sited in the neck, axilla, thorax, abdomen, and groin, according to the National Institutes of Health. The nodes filter incoming lymph and play a role in infection as well as in malignancy.

To donate to Hovivian’s fund, visit gofundme.com/f/funds-for-our-geoffrey.