Life is Precious!

I read a story that made me think of what we have and a lot of times take for granted. Life is so precious but somehow we neglect to take care of ourselves the way we should. This story is about an athlete who was in the best shape of his life that nothing could get in his way. Nothing fazed him, he could do anything and at 34 years old he was at the top of his game.

What happened next was something that he wouldn’t have thought could happen to him. He was in the best shape of his life, so he thought. Cancer…It’s a four letter word. This guy was in top condition to run a 100-mile race. How could this terrible disease catch him off guard?

The cancer was a rare, aggressive type of squamous-cell carcinoma. It strikes swift and even if you’re in the best of shape it strikes hard.

As a true and dedicated athlete, he refused to let this get him down. Can you imagine throwing a party to mark the beginning of two painful months of radiation therapy? The therapy left him unable to eat, talk or even crawl but he still had the strength to throw a party.

The radiation treatment had some damaging and painful effect to his taste buds and salivary glands. Water tasted terrible and vanilla had a foul smell due to the treatment. His throat shriveled to a size smaller than a straw, and his constant dry mouth made it difficult for him to speak.

Now think of how he felt when he see’s people running and he could barely get out of bed. How would you feel if this happened to you? Now do you think that anger got the best of him? He got angry but he turned that negative energy into positive energy and changed his attitude to give him the strength that he needed. Positive energy is always healthier. Well it worked for him.

Now that he’s cancer-free he’s back on the trails in full force. His goals are to complete every event he’s ever done and do it faster than he did before cancer struck. He has set a new personal record in every event except for one and that he’s going to break this month.

He still has pain every once in a while and he now needs to prepare differently for every race being cautious of sun exposure. He’s not bitter in the least, accepts what has happened to him and is glad to have his life back to what he considers normal.

He is now working with several organizations to help others who are fighting similar battles. His advice for them is simple: “Whatever the challenge, just don’t give up.”

I guess why I found this article to be of interest, my wife had a bout with breast cancer. She’s a survivor, and I thank the man above for that. I have seen a big change in her and how she enjoys life even more now than ever before. We’re at a point in our lives’ where our kids are no longer kids. Their young adults and now we have time to travel and spend more time with each other. Don’t take things for granted…Life is too short.