Sunday, August 12, 2012

August 12, 2012 The Olympic Spirit

 
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.