March 27, 2005

A Break In The Action

I thought it only made sense for me to update my blog even though I have not completed the entire “Diary of a First-Time Arthritis Advocate” yet. There is still much left to tell about the experience on Capital Hill.

As a break, I thought I’d jump back to more present day things.

Like many people around the country, I have been swept up in March Madness. This may seem strange to those of you who read my blog – why would a former ballet dancer now arthritis patient and writer be caught up in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament?

The WVU Mountaineers.

My father and mother are WVU grads and I start the MFA in Creative Writing there next year. I grew up watching WVU sports with my dad. We still get together on football Saturdays to watch the Mountaineers or tune in to ESPN when they’re on in other sports.

But for any of you watching this year’s tournament, the Mountaineers captured more than it’ alums and fans attention. This “bubble team” which was 8th over all in it’s conference, The Big East went all the way to the Elite Eight, and only went down in overtime to Louisville, coached by Rick Pitino, one of the legendary couches in the sport.

Bigger than this accomplishment is that they did this by winning games away from the home court, taking on 13 ranked teams and beating 8 of them. The experts picked them to lose every time, or at best nearly every time. If there was a memo that they were suppose to lose, the Mountaineers certainly didn’t get it.

They beat Wake Forrest in double overtime, a team that many experts thought should go to the Final Four. The ousted Texas Tech, coached by Bobby Knight. All experts expected them to lose these games – many predicted by blowout proportions. They played tough in the first round against Creighton, a team who has been to the tournament 6 times in the last 7 years.

Bigger than this is the fact that the Mountaineers accomplished this without any “stars” – no All Americans. No players that were nationally recognized. They did it by playing as a team. Every game a different player made the difference. Eight players were a threat to hit three-point shots. Team. A refreshing word in a world that seems to be diving headlong into “me first” type celebrity.

Each time they played, I watched. I found myself being amazed that they could beat teams stacked with talent, with larger, more athletic players and big time coaches.

The team’s coach, a man unrecognized until this point by the sports press, had coached at every level. At one point, he coached a small college team where he also drove the bus to away games.

Besides the fact that I’m attending the university next year, or that I grew up as a fan, I think this team represents some things that tie right into my feelings and thoughts as a rheumatoid arthritis patient.

1. Never give up. The team never gave up or gave in, no matter what talent they faced or what the experts said would happen. They practiced and worked and proved them wrong. I think as a person with a chronic disease, this is an important reminder that life only gives in to RA when I give up on my ability to live the life I want. Things are not easy. The challenges are always present. If I give in I will lose. But if I don’t, I will have victories. Tenacity is key.

2. Put together the right team. Coach Beilien of the Mountaineers said that in recruiting he’s looking for good kids first. If he has the right kids with the right attitudes and they buy into his system, they’ll be successful. I think the same is true for me with my RA. My team is my doctors and other health providers, family and friends. I think that we forget that as patients and as people we owe it to ourselves to find people who care about the outcome. I won’t work with a doctor who is so clinical that he or she doesn’t see me as a person, but only as a diagnosis or a patient. I look for support from people who understand my goal is to live a fulfilling and productive life despite the fact that I have RA, rather than perpetuating the victim mentality. It’s all about surrounding yourself with the right players and working as a team, in concert with one another.

3. Dig deep inside for strength. The Mountaineers had more than their fair share of nay-sayers. Networks probably wanted flashier, easier to hype teams. Analysts wanted matchups of the coaches they called “legends.” The players and coaches at WVU kept coming together as a team, but as their post game interviews also showed, they looked for strength within themselves. They believed. Having that belief in yourself is a powerful thing. It’s easy to be negative about the circumstances when your heading out on the court to play a bigger better team or if you’re battling your RA and trying to get out of bed and make breakfast. Sometimes you have to believe you can and will get better before you do. Mike Gansey, one of the players for WVU stated playing basketball for another college, whose program fell apart. He found a place at WVU, sat out a year because of NCAA rules. During the Mountaineers’ incredible run, he called it “a dream come true.” Like him, those of us with chronic disease have to first dare to dream. Then believe. You have to believe it when you can’t sleep because of the swelling and pain of your joints. But if you can’t imagine a better tomorrow, a better outcome, you will never get it.

Lately my RA has been acting up – my knee is swelling again and sometimes I need my cane to walk. But I’m not giving up or giving in – not after my bout of March Madness with the WVU Mountaineers.

Basketball isn’t saving the world, but in a way, it saved me. It helped me stave off depression from going backwards from my RA. It gave me something to look forward to and the players offered a great example of overcoming the odds. I just loved watching them.

If basketball and sports don’t get you excited, then find something else that will. Find that point of inspiration, apply it your world. You might be surprised how something wholly unrelated brings you the answers to questions you didn’t even know you were asking.

As for me, well, I can’t wait to see the Mountaineers play next season – in person.

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