The 2012 Olympics have come to a close
and I already miss the excitement that they bring. There is nothing
like hearing the National Anthem played knowing that someone from the
United States has won another gold. Now that they are completed, we
Americans can go back to doing what we always do after the Olympics
and completely forget about all of the sports that we cheered on for
the last three weeks.
I have to admit that I am among the
worst when it comes to being a swimming, track and field and all the
rest of the sports snob. If it isn't in the Olympics, I/we just don't
care. However, if is the Olympics, people tune in and cheer like
crazy even if the action is taped delayed. I even got to the point
where I would not check out espn.com during the day so I wouldn't
know what had happened. I stayed away from cnn.com like it was the
plague. Who cares if the world is coming to an end? Just don't tell
me who won the 4X400 relay.
I even have to admit that I have become
a closet fan of one of the most maligned sports that is part of the
Olympics. I know that this will be an affront to my manhood, by I
have to admit that I have become a fan of rhythmic gymnastics. Yes,
the sport where the cute little girl twirls the ribbon while standing
on one foot. In the past, I have questioned why this is considered an
Olympic sport while baseball is not.
Then I made the mistake of tuning in to
the competition because there was nothing else on. It wasn't even on
NBC, it was one of the myriad of networks they used to show the 5,535
hours of coverage. I initially started paying attention because the
participant was just flat out beautiful. Then I started to notice
what she was doing with the ball, hoop, clubs or ribbon.
I couldn't make up my mind if it was
truly gymnastics or dance or a combination of the two, but it was
amazing as to what these women were able to do and still look
beautiful doing it. Their ability to manipulate the apparatuses, as
they are called, while gliding across the mat was far more than just
twirling a ribbon as I had always thought. Now don't get me wrong,
I'm not going to give up my love for the often blood thirsty sport of
football, but I know I will not ask if this sport belongs in the
Olympics again.
The one thing that I really miss from
my early years of watching the Olympics is that of a hated rival. If
there was one positive that the cold war brought to those of us in
the United States was someone to root against. There was nothing
better that beating the Russians. They were good in the sports that
we were good in. Unlike the Chinese who gave us a run for the gold
and total medal title this year, we would go head to head with them.
The Chinese win in sports like
badminton, table tennis and fencing, the Russians would go toe to toe
with us in track and field, swimming and basketball. It's always
great to be number one, but it's better when there is someone that
isn't good enough to beat you that you really don't like.
There was one competitor that did not
wear the red, white and blue that I could not help but root for,
however. He didn't win any medals, in fact, he didn't even come
close, but his story is one of the most inspirational in these
Olympics. If you don't know the story of Oscar Pistorius, it is one
that you should.
Pistorius is a short distance runner
for the country of South Africa. Until just a short time ago, he
didn't know if he would even be allowed to participate. You see,
Oscar has no feet. He was born with a congenital absence of the
fibula in both legs. At eleven months of age, both legs were
amputated below the knee.
As a young man, he participated in
numerous sports but a serious knee injury while playing rugby changed
his life forever. While rehabilitating, he was introduced to running
and took to it immediately. Utilizing a carbon fiber prosthetic, he
was able to dominate other athletes in the Paralympics and soon
turned his desires to compete against able-bodied athletes.
He was finally able to compete
internationally in 2007 and despite not faring that well, he set as
his goal the 2008 Beijing Olympics. But before he could even attempt
to qualify, he was ruled ineligible after he was tested at the
Cologne Sports University. Their findings stated that the prosthetic
allowed him to use up to 25% less energy than a able bodied athlete.
Pistorius fought the findings and
eventually was ruled eligible. It wasn't until July 4th
of this year that he was able to fulfill his dreams when he was named
to the South African Olympic team and was given the opportunity to
run in London. He did well enough in the 400 preliminaries to make
the semi-finals but finished seventh and did not advance. He then
ran in the finals of the 4X400 relay as South Africa finished eighth
in the field of nine.
The courage that this man has shown his
entire life is a lesson from which we can all learn. Until the
Olympics, I knew of him, but not about him. Now that I do, I can
celebrate along with him and what he has been able to accomplish in a
life that was meant to be special.
In my own little Olympics against
cancer, I seem to be doing rather well. The results continue to be
outstanding even as I have reduced the dosage to just receiving
treatment every other week. I have been experiencing some abdominal
issues the few months but I seem to be seeing some improvement there,
too. Within a half hour of eating I would begin to feel pain in my
abdomen that would last the rest of the day. It was unlike anything
that I had experienced before and medication didn't seem to help.
After speaking with all of my doctors
it was suggested that I have an abdominal ultrasound. That showed
nothing so after two months I was no closer to an answer than I was
the day after it started. Although the doctors did not seem to
agree, I just felt it had something to do with my chemo. Because it
has been so successful, I had no intention of changing, but doing
this for the rest of my life just wasn't going to happen. Two weeks
ago I met with a Gastrointestinal specialist at the Mayo and talked
to him about potential causes. He suggested that I have a colonoscopy
which will take place tomorrow morning.
In the mean time, I have had the nurses
give me my bi-weekly shot in my arm instead of the stomach. In
addition, I asked the doctor for a probiotic to try. Between these
two changes, things have been getting better and I can eat a meal
without wishing that I hadn't. I do have to say that losing weight is
a lot easier when your stomach hurts. You just have to look at the
positives in life.
