Everyone Needs Inspiration in their Darkest Hours

Yesterday I wrote about the importance of embracing your fear when you are diagnosed with cancer so that you can move past the fear and bring out your inner fighting spirit.  While this is an important first step that can’t be missed, what really activates our fighting spirit is being inspired by others to fight. 

Most would think Lance Armstrong or another cancer survivor provided me with my inspiration to build up my fighting spirit, but it wasn't anyone suffering from cancer at all.  My inspiration came from a childhood friend and the battle they were fighting.  While I was in Trillium waiting to get transferred to Princess Margaret to begin my treatment, I heard a heart wrenching story of a childhood friend that provided overwhelmed me with strength. 

It is the story of my childhood friend, Kevin Mills.  For those that don't know, I have known Kevin since I was in grade 7 and made the transition to the Guelph Track Club.  He was older than I was, very successful, trained in the top group of the track club.  I looked up to him and aspired to one day train with him in his top group. 

As the years went by I moved up the ranks of the team and we finally became training partners.  He then transitioned from someone I looked up and aspired to train with, to a friend, training partner and big brother.  He still left me in awe with his ability to do 100 push-ups a day when I struggled with 20 :)  But when we trained we were relentless with each other.  We would beat the crap out of each other on the track. 

It was this training that fuelled my competitive spirit, our last set was always a full out race regardless of what the coaches said.  I would always piss him off because I could out kick him so I would sit on his shoulder and wait.  He always knew it was coming and he was much stronger, so he would try to punish me early on before the final 150m so I had no kick left.  Like I said we were relentless with each other.  I bring this up because when I got my leukemia society red bracelet (their version of the live strong bracelet) their word is Relentless.  I couldn't think of a more perfect word for me :) 

I tell you this story because the same time my life was changing, so was Kevin's.  There was one day when I was working through accepting the fears of my journey to come and trying to find my inner fighting spirit, when I heard Kevin's story. He was at his sister's wedding in Cuba playing in the waves when a wave hit him wrong and broke his neck and he suffered paralysis.  It made me so sad for him and his family and completely put into perspective my situation.  I found videos of him doing physiotherapy which are still the most inspiring thing I have ever seen. 

Seeing his strength and determination not only reminded me of why I was always in awe of him during our training days but it awoke all the strength and competitive willpower I had in my running days.  Suddenly my cancer was something I would compete with and win against. To learn more about Kevin's story check out this page; Kevin Mills.

I hear from many people that my journey has inspired them and provided perspective to their lives.  Kevin is who inspired me and provided me with the perspective I needed.  Please keep Kevin in all your prayers, they have been so helpful for me and he has been so important to providing me with the strength I needed during my darkest hours.

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