Bachelor Nation alum Joe Amabile wasn’t sure he’d run marathons again — until a change of heart amid his brain surgery recovery.
“Having brain surgery is, kind of, out of your control and having a brain tumor is something that’s out of your control, so to give myself a goal that gave me control back just made me feel like it was important,” Amabile, 40, exclusively told Us on Tuesday, October 20, while promoting his partnership with Northwestern Mutual. “I just kept my mindset positive.”
Amabile underwent brain surgery in August, which successfully removed a blueberry-sized tumor in his left frontal lobe. As he recovered from the procedure, the former grocery store owner began training for the TCS New York City Marathon taking place on Sunday, November 1.
“I didn’t think I was retired from running marathons, but then I was like, ‘You know what? I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna do it again this year, three months after I had brain surgery,’” Amabile told Us. “The feeling I will get when I cross the finish line, I’m sure will be greater than both marathons, even though I’m gonna run it slower.”
As Amabile trains for the race, he’s been taking his ongoing recovery in stride.
“Recovery hasn’t been, as you would imagine, the easiest, but overall, I’m doing good,” he explained. “I mean, the beginning’s the toughest because you’re on a ton of pain meds and you’re in a lot of pain. For the first week and a half, when I would move and stuff, there would be a squishiness in my head, which would really freak me out. When I would sit down, too, if I sat down too aggressively, I would hear movement in my brain.”
Months out from the procedure, Amabile acknowledged another difficult part of recovery.
“I think now it’s tough because I feel at 100 percent at times, but I’m not,” he said. “I’m still in recovery, so I tend to be someone that overdoes things. Just giving myself grace, I think, is important.”
Through it all, Amabile’s wife, Serena Pitt, has tirelessly supported his recovery efforts.
“I couldn’t have got[ten] luckier with her. She truly is the best,” he gushed of Pitt, 28, whom he met on Bachelor in Paradise season 7. “She’s never been through this either, so it hasn’t been easy. The way she’s handled it has just been so impressive. I honestly forget how tough she can be and just mentally strong. … I just think how strong she’s been is just a testament to who she is as a person.”
Pitt undoubtedly will be cheering for Amabile as he chases his goals, from running the NYC Marathon or working with Northwestern Mutual on financial goals.
“It’s always important to have a goal and something to work towards,” he told Us of the partnership. “When I got my diagnosis, which kind of came out of nowhere, very unexpected, you know, things could be pretty bleak. It was important for my mindset to keep it positive and to have a goal that I could reach, same thing with Northwestern Mutual when it comes to finances. There may be setbacks, but your goal doesn’t have to change.”
