Tag Archives: Nonfiction

Foreword

I have had the pleasure of working with Dillon Caswell for several years. It is one of the many benefits that have come from having ALS. Yes, I have Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Lou Gerig’s Disease, my darkest childhood nightmare, and still, there are benefits. I call it not a disease but a condition. I don’t see it as a permanent state. Dillon has helped me—, as he will most certainly help you— realize that perspective is everything. As you will learn from the doctor who changed the protocol for spinal cord injuries in WWII veterans, being paralyzed is not the end of life, it’s the beginning of a new one. It’s something Dillon would say, and does say in this important book. 

I say important because seldom hasit is rare to hold such a comprehensive, on on-point, and powerful compilation of all that is positive, been writtenin my hands. I have to go back to The Power of Positive Thinking, written by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale in 1952, to find its equal. Dillon examines and explains every aspect of what it takes to be a modern- day champion. While there is plenty of “positive thinking” in chapters like “Building the Brian Brain” and “Pain Versus Performance,” this book is also grounded.  tThere are mathematical and scientific illuminations in chapters like “Bayesian Prediction Models” and “Movement is Medicine” that most athletes have not even considered, let alone contemplated. 

Maybe best of all is that this tapestry of self-help is woven together with insightful filaments of humor, history, and cutting -edge knowledge in the fields of sports medicine and psychology. Dillon takes you on a quest for the true father of “bass-ball,” a.k.a baseball, and it’s not Abner Doubleday. He recounts employs a little knownthe classic apocryphal argument between Albert Einstein and his university philosophy professor about the existence of God. And he shatters myths like the benefits of icing an injury and static stretching, which are nearly universal from youth sports all the way up to the professional ranks. 

I know first-hand that Dillon Caswell exudes positive energy in everything he says and does. He is living proof of the theories he espouses. This book, brilliantly written, is a must-read for any athlete of any gender, of any age, and parents, coaches, and health care workers as well. It will be your blueprint, your guide, and your inspiration.

Prologue

My initial mission as a healthcare provider was to end suffering. A bold mission that was, as one of my colleagues pointed out, pretty stupid. She politely challenged me that suffering is needed. Suffering is part of the human experience. Enduring that suffering is what creates growth and character. I reflected that night and to this day on that conversation. Why did I want to end suffering completely?

I was angry. I was angry with how my family, specifically one of the greatest women on Earth, my mom, was treated within the healthcare system. I was angry with how I was treated within the system. I was angry with how my patients and friends were treated within the system. I was angry that people were giving up activities they love because poor advice left them feeling fragile and broken. I was angry with the lies being sold and how the field became transactional versus transformational.

But prolonged anger does not solve; it leads to vengeance, and vengeance hurts in the long run. This book initially was my journal, my outlet, and my solution to let go of the resentment and reshape my perspective. In the process, probably to no surprise, my mission needed an update.

Mission 2.0: We all must suffer; however, we do not need to suffer for as long as we have been led to believe.

In the process of societal, technological, and financial progression, we have seemed to regress on the basic principle of truly caring for one another. Healthcare systems are pressured for productivity dictated by numbers, not outcomes. The Hippocratic oath states to do no harm. However, daily, I encountered patients who had been harmed. They were being stripped of the factor that creates the greatest healing: hope.

We all face a fork in the path at some point in our lives, where we can spend our time complaining, or we can try to be a solution. This is my attempt to be part of the solution. To be part of the solution, one must sacrifice. I promise this work will not be perfect, but I promise many sacrifices were made to put it together. Not just my sacrifices, but all the sacrifices each individual has made to endure suffering, open up, be vulnerable and courageous, and share their stories with me.

I am not sure the overall impact this work will have or who it will reach, but I trust that it will be delivered to the right hands. I trust that it will inspire a pathway to hope for those suffering. I trust that our combined suffering becomes fruitful if it positively impacts one other person. I’m hoping that person will be you.