A Race that Can Kill.
The word ‘marathon’ comes from the story of a Greek warrior who ran home from the battlefield, over 26 miles, to bring the message of victory. After delivering the victorious news, so the story goes, he collapsed and died on the spot.

So I guess the race itself can kill.

We didn’t really know or understand that we were entering into our very own personal marathon. The difference was that we were looking for ‘victory,’ not singing its praises.

The days leading up to our appointment at the Boise Neuro Clinic, passed in a blur of both excitement and anticipation. It was good to be moving forward, to be hopeful that life would become normal once again and all would, or at least could, be well again.

Having never faced anything as forbiddingly unknown as we now faced, I think Renée and I had kind of an optimistic faith in modern medicine to cure anything that came our way. Doctors and other medical experts were up there on the pedestal of ‘All- knowing and all powerful,’ and there was nothing they couldn’t cure.

We Began our ‘Ultimate’ Commitment.

The legendary football coach Vince Lombardi, once said, “…fatigue makes cowards of us all.”

Why did he say that?

I suspect he was looking for a greater commitment from his players. He wanted them to work hard in the weight room and improve their conditioning, far from the adoring crowds. He got it.

If you are committed you will make better choices. And those choices will augment your commitment. We all have a free will. Our will is something we all struggle to control. Sometimes we do the very things we shouldn’t. We have that second piece of pie. We skip our exercise. We drive too fast. And the list goes on. To make an ‘ultimate commitment’ as a caregiver, is very hard. We hesitate because we know it involves… work! And with the kind of deep commitment needed, there is no going back.

Seriously, there is nothing wishy-washy about that kind of commitment.

An ‘Ultimate Commitment’ Will Make the Difference.

You must choose to commit yourself to the afflicted person, whether it be your spouse, your friend or in our case our baby girl. You are committing to never leave them or forsake them. To never give up on them… ever. Body, mind and soul… committed.

We Were Very Naive.

At the time as we prepared to visit the neurologist, we were only beginning to understand the kind of commitment we would be making to Jessica. We were surprised and naive. We had of course immediately called our friend Charlotte. “Would she be willing to accompany us, to help interpret the findings we were sure to discover?” She quickly agreed to go with us to see the neurologist.

Later we would be very thankful we had asked her to go.

Next Week: “Electroencephalogram”

I will continue to share the answers to the question “What happened to Jessica?” every Monday in the weeks ahead. When I have received sufficient feedback and questions, I will add a Thursday episode, as needed, to this blog, focused on answering your questions and comments.

Thanks for your interest.

Jim, Renee & Jessica