Mindset

The past month living in Maryland has been some of the busiest/stressful days of my life mostly due to weather conditions, buying a new house and not selling current house, a growing chiropractic practice, coaching the most wonderful athletes I know, three active daughters, a wife who pushes the limits of success which has led to more travels recently, building a kids triathlon team and trying to train for endurance sports at a high level.  Some days I will be honest that I wish I could just hit the pause button, take a deep breath and live a simple life. These thoughts are always followed by the truth, which is I thrive on being busy and really wouldn't know what to do with myself without a daily, monthly, yearly and multi-year plan of attack. This has been my mindset for most of my life...the drive to attack things both increase your exposure to the world but also great reminder of how great life can be. I could easily just give in and let the stress overwhelm me but I choose not to as I have been blessed with the opportunity to leave my lasting impression on this world.

I want to share a story of inspiration, motivation, unfortunate events, success, never giving up, thinking life isn't fair, family always comes first, life is short so live in the moment, why not quit but most importantly a MINDSET of believing this isn't the end.

A few years ago a really good friend of ours, sister was dying of liver failure. She had been on multiple medications and thought that life was going to be a life of pills. As time progressed she had worsened to the point of being placed on the liver transplant list. The day came and the new liver was successfully transplanted with dreams of life going back to normal and world travels. Well a year went by with minor details until some blood work came back abnormal. After further investigation it was determined that the the new liver was transplanted with small cell carcinoma which was missed when the new liver was biopsied. At this point, I could tell you that after going through what she had already been through and to now hear the word you have cancer I probably would have crawled into that corner and stayed. She however with true amazing character accepted the new challenge and asked the doctors what the next step was. Now instead of the occasional check-up she was going for regular chemotherapy as not only had the liver had cancer but it had spread to other spots in her body. All this time family and friends shed tears of sadness but also tears of what potentially could come out of her weakened state. Not Leigh Ann!!! She told the world she was to strong for this and that this would not be the end for her. As time went on the chemo was successful in treating the cancer and within 8 months she was in remission. Once again the fighter had won the fight and was moving on to the next round of her life. I wish I could say this was the end of my story but the story continues. Within a short period of time spots returned on her new liver and the doctors at this point stated a transplant was not available and without more chemo this could be the new road. So once again more chemo was given until the beginning of this year when doctors gave her the blessing of she had been placed back on the transplant list. After 2 trips to the hospital with a liver ready she left with the liver going to someone who needed it more. All of us around her thought how unfair this was and the physical and emotional exhaustion she had to be going through must be taking its toll. Not Leigh Ann...she responds her coined motto- Think Happy Shit (THS)....she was grateful that someone was going to live a better life now and how happy she was for them. Well this past week she got the third call and this time the relativity of how incredible life can be came to fruition. Leigh Ann was blessed with a new clean liver and I can say as of writing this that she has once again been smiling non-stop.

Her MINDSET through this time was one of life is an amazing gift. We can choose to live a life of why me, why me or we can stand up in the face of difficult times and let them know how strong you are. She could have been weak minded after anyone of what seemed like a life just isn't fair but instead she got stronger and stronger and I know it has motivated me 100% to live my life more in the moment and accept everything that comes in touch with me as something that will make me stronger.  She always reminds people around her to THS and to live live HAPPY!  She challenges everyone to face anything with a Thumbs up mentality!

The following is one of the first pictures of her coming out of surgery. This picture is a perfect example of how positive she is...

During Leigh Ann's journey I believe one reason her MINDSET was so strong was from the power and support of her incredible sister Heather. I consider Heather one of the Oergel's very close friends and what I have seen in Heather over the years is how strong and supportive individual she is. She will never put herself first but will always take time out of her life to support her family and friends close to her. She has worked with my wife for years and I believe one of the reasons she has been so successful professionally is that she reaches a personal connection with individuals much deeper than anyone I have come across in my life. She has been a great supporter of my children and I am very grateful for her because of that. I know Heather's MINDSET through all of Leigh Ann's journey was: "I will be there for her 24/7 for her and give her the foundation needed in case she has moments of weakness". Keep up the good work Heather as this world is a much better place with you in it.  THS

So tomorrow when you wake up and you encounter events that may push you to the breaking point I want you to know that you have the power to challenge the stress and come out a better person. Start building a MINDSET of success and you are in charge of your future.

Make It Count and THS!!!!