Thursday, October 8, 2009

Because I Can….

Some Tuesdays, Kerry and I are able to go out to breakfast together… its kind of our time together; even though we have to bring two of the kiddies along (we just usually hope and pray that the little one sleeps while we are at the restaurant). Anyways, this past Tuesday, on our way to having breakfast we saw a man running on the Suncoast Trail. As some of you runners know, whenever you are driving, you look out for other runners… it's almost as if we are bonded together, through our likeness for the sport. Anyways, this guy was an above knee amputee, and he was just cruising along running on the Suncoast Trail, and I pointed him out to my wife. So, a few minutes went by, and Kerry seemed lost in thought, and I said, "Hey is everything ok?" She says, "Yeah… I was just thinking about that guy… why is it that he has one leg, and feels the need to go out there and run, and I don't even do it, and I have two legs?" So, I said to her, "Because he can." You see, IMO, we take so many things for granted… and the thing we take for granted the most is our health. Maybe I feel so near and dear to this because of the profession that I am in… but I always find it amazing to hear numerous patients of mine, or even runners that have a common story, in that it took a health scare, whether it was a torn up knee, a heart ailment, a bad habit or set of habits, to get them to change their lifestyle. I am one of them as most of you know, and over the past week, I have seen a few stories of individuals that have transformed their lives to do incredible endurance feats after some life changing health event.

Ed Rousseau is a 70 year old man that just ran his 163rd marathon. Former alcoholic.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2009/10/04/kare.mn.man.run.163.marathon.kare?iref=videosearch

Or how about this guy?? Kyle Garlett, who is attempting to complete the Ford Ironman Championships in Kona, has battled cancer 4 times… is only 37 years old, and will line up for the race…. With someone else's heart… http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/13/heart.transplants.ironman/index.html?iref=newssearch

Don't take your health for granted… savor everything that you do. Enjoy every breath that you take…and do something with what God has blessed you with!!!