http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/31/sports/31widow.html?pagewanted=1&nl&emc=a27
This story really freaked me out today. It’s about a woman whose husband of four months died while running in the Olympic trials. It was another freak thing where his heart went into an arrhythmia while running and that was that. It’s very similar to Eric except that he survived the arrhythmia and died later of a brain bleed. I know this happens, but it still upsets me. The part that freaked me out however is that she is also a runner and is starting to run competitively again. I guess if running were my life and my love I would probably start doing it again too, but right now it scares the you know what out of me.
Some of Eric’s friends ran the Oklahoma City Marathon in his memory and while it was an amazing gesture it terrified me. I mean if this could happen to Eric it could happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. The odds are low, I know, but they are higher if you run and if it happens to you or your loved one it doesn’t matter what the odds are.
Most parents are afraid of their children playing contact sports like football. It’s not that I’m not afraid of that, I am, I’m just not as scared about that as I am about running. Probably because I don’t personally know anyone who has been affected by a devastating football accident. They happen, I know they do, but so far they haven’t happened to me.
Our lives are shaped by our experiences. As a physician it’s sometimes a struggle to act on evidence rather than anecdote. We all tend to react against our most recent or worst experiences. In my professional life I think I’m pretty good at going back to the evidence. In my personal life, I guess I’m not. I don’t think I could be as brave as the woman in the above article, but I credit her with getting her life back together and doing what she loves. I wish her the best. I just don’t want to hear about it.
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