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August 2 , 1999 Imagine being 24 and being told your body is riddled with cancer, with 15 tumors the size of golf balls and marbles in your lungs, brain, abdomen, and a testicle. You endure two surgeries, three months of chemotherapy, and a slow recovery back to strength. And then, three years later, you win the Tour de France in record time.
It’s a victory of attitude, determination, hope, and pure grit. Armstrong could easily have been beaten by his grossly demoralizing circumstances. Any of us may have virtually given up in the same situation. After 18 months off his bicycle, Armstrong returned to the sport only last year. He said he saw the rigorous effort to make it into the event as his second chance in life. He’d competed in the tour four times before he was diagnosed with cancer, but only finished once, in 1995, when he placed 36th. In all those previous races, Armstrong said he never believed he could win. He was competing simply because his team was in the race. But after all he had been through with cancer, Armstrong said he had changed. He had a new joie de vivre, and a quiet confidence that he could overcome and achieve things he had never realized. This time he came in seven minutes ahead of his closest competitor. So often patients give us this very sort of inspiration. They endure so much, yet in their struggles we get a glimpse of the preciousness of human life and of the enormous inner strength that we, too, could harness. The fact is, for Armstrong, the marathon of hospitals, surgeries, treatment, and recovery that he underwent made even the 2,288-mile Tour de France seem like a mere jaunt. The thousands cheering Armstrong to victory in Paris weren’t just excited about the great sport of cycling. They were celebrating what we, as caregivers, often see: the triumph of the human spirit against all odds. Not all our patients win the race against disease, of course, and many of the stories we witness every day are far from inspiring. But on those days when life looks especially tough—or when our work looks most daunting—we should try to remember Armstrong and what can indeed be overcome. Barbara
Bronson Gray, MN, RN |
When
Texan Lance Armstrong won cycling’s greatest race July 26, it was
an incredible victory for patients and healthcare providers who fight
daily against the ravages and challenges of disease.