Today’s a new day! My health journey has taken me down many winding roads. At times the road has been muddy and tough to travel. There have been many hazard signs to navigate. This journey has not been easy and continues to take me down roads I would not have chosen to travel. But this journey is really not about me. This is a journey God has placed me on. A journey I embrace daily, because of the lessons learned. The memories made. I did not choose this crazy beautiful journey, but I am excited to see where it takes me. I encourage you to embrace the journey God has you on. I hope to see you along the way. God Bless. ~OC
I Need Your Help
Good morning family and friends. I need a favor. Today is both National Chocolate Ice Cream Day and National Doughnut Day. Since I am no longer able to eat or drink, I need you to step up and enjoy the day for me. Who’s up for the challenge? Have a wonderful and blessed day. ~OC
Sports Fans Are Funny
If you know me, you know I love sports. I cannot remember a time that I did not love sports. I grew up playing and watching sports. I have my favorite teams and players. My favorite players and teams are my favorites, whether they win or lose. They are never too good or too bad for me to root for them. That’s why I find it funny, when some sports fans start hating on a player or team because they have become too good.
I remember when Michael Jordan first came into the NBA. Everyone loved him. He could do no wrong. Then the Chicago Bulls and Mr. Jordan became beyond great and a good majority of people hated them both. The only reason for the hate was because the Bulls and MJ kept winning championships.
The same thing happened with LeBron James. Of course there was that “Decision” deal and everyone hated LeBron. Let it go people. Here is a man who has given a large amount of money to help disadvantaged children in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Last year he started a school that is making a huge difference in the lives of many. Mr. James biggest mistake was becoming too good. Some fans will spend hours arguing who is greater, Jordan or LeBron? Who cares? Just enjoy LeBron while you can.
Now the in thing is to hate on the Golden State Warriors and Steph Curry. Why? Because they have gotten too good. Fans will say it’s because the Warriors are a “Super Team” and they don’t like Mr. Curry doing that shimmy dance after scoring a basket. Of course, those are the same people who dance and talk trash during a pickup game at the local gym. Let’s just enjoy watching the Warriors and Mr. Curry while the journey last.
As a sports fan, I enjoy watching greatness. I don’t care what team or player it is. I love watching athletes and teams achieve greatness. Of course, I would love for my favorite teams to win and achieve greatness. I am a fan after all. But I refuse to be that fan. The one who hates on another teams or player when they achieve greatness. I will root against them when they’re playing my teams, but I will not hate them.
So sports fans, keep rooting for your teams and favorite players. Feel free to boo the other team if you want. But instead of hating on a team or player because they have become too good, just enjoy the greatness while it last. Remember, one year your favorite team or player may achieve greatness. What will you do then? ~OC
Some of My Favorites
Some of my favorites:
Team:
Cincinnati Reds
Boston Celtics
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Florida Gators
Players:
Baseball: Johnny Bench
Basketball: Larry Bird
Football: Lee Roy Selmon & Derrick Brooks
Florida Gators: Al Horford, Danny Wuerffel & Tim Tebow
Coach: Tony Dungy
Movies:
Hoosiers
Selma
Brian’s Song (The Original)
12 Years a Slave
Woodlawn
Remember the Titans
Doc Hollywood
Facing the Giants
13th
America History
Any Jimmy Stewart Film
Music:
Kirk Franklin
U2
Michael Jackson
Prince
TobyMac
DC Talk
Bruce Springsteen
George Michael
Bee Gees
4Him
Queen
Elton John
Alisa Turner
Tasha Cobbs Leonard
Anthony Evans
Run-DMC
Lecrae
FC Worship
Lionel Richie
The Commodores
Stevie Wonder
Rod Stewart
Kenny Chesney
Truth
Michael English
Proverb
Kim Walker-Smith
Harry Connick Jr.
Michael Neale
Tenth Avenue North
Jeremy Camp
Journey
Earth, Wind & Fire
Hall & Oates
Def Leppard
Hillsong United
Jackson 5
Luther Vandross
Whitney Houston
Adele
Books:
Bible
America Story by Bob Dotson
The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs
Moment Make by Carlos Whittaker
Under Our Skin by Benjamin Watson
Just Mercy Bryan Stevenson
Unscripted by Ernie Johnson, Jr.
Living Out Loud by Craig Sager
I’ll Push You by Justin Skeesuck and Patrick Gray
Breaking Cover by Michele Rigby Assad
Love Does by Bob Goff
Crazy Love by Francis Chan
Radical by David Platt
Transformed by Remi Adeleke
Council of Dads by Bruce Feiler
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Drop the Stones by Carlos A. Rodríguez
Brave Surrender by Kim Walker-Smith
Comeback by Dave Dravecky
When You Can’t Comeback by Dave & Jan Dravecky
Quite Strength by Tony Dungy
Separate Peace by John Knowles
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Believe by Eric LeGrand
Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox
Always Looking Up by Michael J. Fox
God & Football by Chad Gibbs
The Pact:Three Young Men Make a Promise and Fulfill a Dream by Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, Rameck Hunt
Vulnerable by Raleigh Sadler
This Life I Live by Rory Feek
42 Faith by Ed Henry
The Slave Across the Street by Theresa Flores
Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes
Long Run by Matt Long
Forty Thousand To One by Ben Petrick
The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose
When The Game Was Ours by Jackie MacMullan
Catch You Later by Johnny Bench
Love Thy Rival by Chad Gibbs
This is just a short list of my favorites. I could go on for days. ~OC
Thriving with Chronic Illnesses
During my 17-year plus crazy beautiful health journey, I have learned many lessons. Here are just a few:
1). Embracing Relationships That Matter.
Want to find out who your true friends are? Let life throw you for a loop and you will quickly find out.
During this journey, many friends who I thought would stand with me walked away. I must admit that hurt. But, instead of dwelling on those friends that walked out, I decided to celebrate those that have stuck around through the best and worst of times. I am forever grateful for each and everyone of them.
2). Laugh And Then Laugh Some More.
My wife and I have learned the power of laughter during the darkest times. Our dark humor has helped us deal with some of the toughest moments in this crazy beautiful journey.
Even during the worst days, when my medical team has stated they have no idea what is going on with my body. Or when they wonder out loud, how are you still alive? We still laugh.
Sometimes it comes down to, if we don’t laugh about the situation we might go hide in a dark place. Who wants to deal with that scenario?
3). Be Your Own Advocate.
During the early days of my health journey, Laura and I depended on my medical team. Hey, their the experts. They know best. Wrong!
After some of my doctors refused to listen to us, Laura and I learned we needed to take charge of my healthcare. If not, some of our former doctors would have ended up killing me. That’s not a joke.
It is vital to stand up for yourself and take charge of your healthcare needs. If you are not able to do it yourself, please have a team of advocates around you. They could save your life.
Never be afraid to ask questions. Listen to your gut. Never be afraid to fire your medical team.
4). Keep Living Life.
Do not allow a bad diagnosis to keep you from living your life. I mean truly living life.
Stop putting things off until you get better. Guess what? You may never get better. So take that trip. Take that class you always wanted to. Call that friend who’s been on your mind.
Do not get so caught up in your health journey, that you forget to embrace the beautiful moments of life. The truth is, we only get one shot at life. Don’t waste a minute. ~OC
Truly Living
Remember the first cell phones? They were big. Real big! Remember when you waited until after 7pm to call your family and friends? Free minutes! Young folks don’t know the struggle. Oh the memories.
Cell phones have come a long way in 20+ years. They are definitely smaller. No more waiting until after 7 pm to make calls. Cell phones today are little computers. You do not even have to dial a number anymore. Just tell your phone who to call.
But in an age when our cell phones and other devices have given us almost everything within seconds to make our lives easier, have we slowly stopped living? Have you been to a restaurant, amusement park, church or family gathering lately and looked around the room? Just about everyone is on their phone. Checking emails and social media. I am guilty of it more than I care to admit. We are completely ignoring the people around us. Instead of engaging conversations, we have become obsessed with how many likes or comments our latest post received.
We have lost the art of a great conversation. Truly enjoying a beautiful moment with family and friends. We cannot put our phones down for a minute for fear of missing something important. We just have to know what our favorite celebrity had for lunch. Meanwhile, we are missing out on life. Real life. Not what we see on social media. We have lost the art of truly living.
Truly living is about spending time with loved ones. I mean actually looking them in the eye and having real conversations. Truly living is helping others. Truly living is watching a beautiful sunrise or sunset and not worrying about capturing the perfect picture, but instead embracing a beautiful moment. Truly living is visiting a friend dealing with the storms of life. Truly living is laughing with family and friends.
Please don’t get me wrong. I am not saying we need to toss our cell phones or laptops in the trash. Technology definitely has its place in our lives. But I am saying it’s okay to put your devices down sometimes and have a real conversation with the person sitting next to you. To truly live. ~OC
I Speak For Free
Since our book The Blessed Overcomer came out this past March, Laura and I have been fielding inquiries about speaking engagements. It has been exciting to share our story with an audience. I always love the interaction with a live audience.
Of course one of the first questions I get about speaking is how much do you charge? People are amazed when I tell them we do not charge for our speaking engagements. After they recover from the shock, I share that our story is really not our story. It belongs to God. Laura and I do not feel the need to charge at this time. If God tells us we need to charge for our speaking engagements at some point we will, but I do not ever see that happening. The only thing we will charge for is transportation and lodging if we have to travel. Oh and our book (I usually give away more than I sell).
So, if you or your organization is interested in hearing about our story of overcoming the storms of life, perseverance and embracing this crazy beautiful journey, feel free to contact me. Laura and I would be honored to share at your next event. ~OC
Challenges
Today’s a new day! Each day we face new challenges. How we choose to deal with those challenges makes all the difference in the world. ~OC
Beautiful Interruptions
I am often asked what are “Beautiful Interruptions”, that I encourage everyone to embrace? Beautiful Interruptions are about slowing down to see the needs of people around us. Beautiful Interruptions are about seeing a world that exists outside of our own little piece of the world. Beautiful Interruptions are about seeing a hurting world that needs a little extra love and encouragement. Beautiful Interruptions are about keeping things in perspective. I pray your day is filled with Beautiful Interruptions. ~OC
Questions for Todd
Today’s a new day! Here are some questions I get on a regular basis.
Does it bother me when people eat or drink in front of you?No. I enjoy hanging out with friends and meeting new ones.
Are you ever hungry or thirsty? No. I haven’t had an appetite or been thirsty in almost 4 years.
What happens when you try to eat and drink? I suffer a lot of pain, bloating, feeling full and nausea. That’s life with Gastroparesis.
What causes Gastroparesis? For me, it was caused by my Parkinson’s. There are many different reasons that cause gastroparesis.
Will you ever get your appetite and thirst back? Good question. No answer.
Are there any cures for the different health issues you’re dealing with? No, but there are medications and treatments. Unfortunately, a lot of the medications and treatments have not worked for me.
Do you think about dying? Nope! Too busy living out this crazy beautiful journey.
Have you tried natural medications? Yes. I have tried so many alternative/natural treatments. None of them worked for me. That doesn’t mean they might not work for someone else.
What sin do you have in your life that is causing your health issues? Yes, I have been asked this often. We all have sin in our lives. I serve a loving God. He is definitely not punishing me for any sin.
Have you ever lost your faith during your health journey? No. Have God and I had many conversations about my health journey? Yes. My faith has actually gotten stronger during this crazy/beautiful journey.
These are just a few questions I have been asked over the years. Never ever be afraid to ask me any question. I may not always have the answer, but we can still have a wonderful conversation. ~OC
The Blessed Overcomer 