In The Pipeline:

“I was feeling better,” Mike Fisher says, describing a bout last year with what seemed like a harsh flu. “Went to bed on Friday thinking I’d be back surfing the next day. But I woke up in the hospital, surrounded by my family, not knowing what had happened.”

What had happened was that Fisher suffered a seizure and was rushed to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian. Some of you may have followed his story in the last year. If not, he will explain.

“They found a golf-ball sized tumor here,” he says, pointing at the right top of his head. “These things get measured on a scale of one to four. Mine was a three, so my attitude was, ‘OK, at least it’s not a four. Now let’s beat this thing.’”

In a sense, that tells you all you need to know about this young man’s composure, strength and determination.

The late summer sun casts a golden glow around him as he sits on his porch near downtown, talking about surfing, friends and the cancer that invaded his life just over a year ago. If Central Casting wanted a kid who defined the look, feel and attitude of Surf City, it’s hard to imagine a better choice than Fisher. Cool, calm and philosophical, he shrugs off the crisis with a chuckle and a meditative stare off into the distance.

“For me, life is just about looking ahead, taking it one day at a time.”

Mike was operated on within days of the first seizure, just a little more than a year ago. He finished up his senior year at Huntington Beach High School and today, he surfs as much as he can. Though he is nursing a broken ankle bone, an accident that occurred while he was surfing, of course.

The Fisher family passed on intense chemotherapy, opting instead for an alternative medical process that’s not covered by insurance. They traveled to Texas to visit the Burzynski Clinic, which prescribed a program that involved taking an average of 43 pills a day for about a year. More than $15,000 in pills — and lots of money. Thankfully, the treatments seems to be working, and aside from a seizure that doctors feel was cause by some scar tissue, Fisher seems like he’s doing fantastic.

Another thing Fisher attributes to his feeling better, in addition to a close, loving family (his mom, dad and two brothers), is his buddy Ray Orlando.

“From day one, Ray has been there for me,” he said. “At the hospital, here at home. Something like this teaches you about people, about who your friends are, and this guy has been a class act. He’s been there for me this whole time and I know he always will be.”

Fisher’s mom, Nancy, a former dancer-actress who appeared in the original Broadway cast of “A Chorus Line”, has been very touched by the outpouring of support her son has received.

“People have been incredible,” she said quietly. “From a huge fundraiser at the high school to ongoing donations and help, it’s been an eye-opener. It’s so hard to watch your child go through this, but we’re close and strong, and our goal is to let the foundation we created for Mike help other people who are going through tough things like this.”

To learn more about what the family has done and to learn more about Fisher’s ongoing fight, you can check out www.caringbridge.org/visit/ mikeefisher or www.savemikeshead.org.As the cool of evening sets in, Fisher calls his dog inside off the porch and goes off to play a video game with his younger brother. He may look like just an ordinary 18-year-old Huntington Beach surfer dude, but he’s not — he’s special — he seems to have the sage wisdom of the ages at his fingertips. One can’t help but believe that his inner strength, this quiet yet powerful ocean of calm he so clearly possesses, will pull him through.

What a privilege to meet such a sparkling example of courage and character. Mike, you are exceptional.

I first heard about Fisher through Debbie Moussafir Vasilik, who runs the wonderful California Greetings store at 301 Main St. Her daughter had a class with Fisher. Since then, Moussafir Vasilik has generously held special sales to help raise money for Fisher’s treatments. A few months ago, I donated some copies of a book I wrote, “Roadside Baseball,” to sell and help generate more money. Well, Fisher’s an Angels fan, the playoffs are upon us, and so I contacted Tim Mead at the Angels’ offices. He kindly arranged for broadcaster and former Angel Rex Hudler to co-sign with me 30 more copies of “Roadside Baseball” that I’d like to donate on behalf of Fisher.

“It is my privilege to be able to assist such a worthy and important endeavor,” Hudler said. “I believe we all have a certain responsibility to contribute some of our time and resources to others, in order to make a difference. As the father of a son with Down’s Syndrome, there are certain groups of individuals or causes that capture the attention of my wife Jennifer and I. This is one of those and we are glad to help out.”

Thanks, Hud.

Starting next week, those 30 copies, numbered and limited to that set, will be on sale at California Greetings for $20 per copy. All proceeds will go to the Mike Fisher foundation, so big thanks to Debbie, Tim and Rex for helping coordinate this project.

CHRIS EPTING is the author of 14 books, including the new “Huntington Beach Then & Now.” You can write him at chris@chrisepting.com .