CANADIAN PHYSIQUE ALLIANCE JAN/FEB 2020 ISSUE | Page 54

PAGE 49
Unbeknownst to me, I
had a genetic
predisposition as my
grandfathers had aortic
wall and heart issues
themselves. Combine
that with the sport of
bodybuilding and
unfortunately this is
what can happen.
I always took a very health conscious approach
to the sport however this was something that
snuck up on me, no warning signs at all. In fact,
for personal reasons, I actually asked my
surgeons if I had brought this on myself by
doing what I had with the sport (anabolic
usage, getting as strong and large as I was for
my frame, etc.) and to my surprise the answer
came back to my genetic predisposition and
that if I got hit hard enough in hockey, years
prior, the same could have resulted. With I am
not completely ignorant to the fact we take
risks in this sport and it was probably a
contributing factor coupled with all the
above.It’s a miracle I am here today sharing this
story with you. When the event took place, I
went approximately 20 minutes without
oxygen before paramedics arrived and
intubated my on the gym floor. They had to hit
me with an external defibrillator 4 times before
the paddles got my heart beating again. My
loved ones were taken into a room and told
that there was a 90% chance I would not come
out of my coma and of the 10% chance I did, I
would be severely brain damaged.
NEWS
GEARS
Over the ensuing 10 weeks, roughly, I would be
confined to a hospital bed. I would go from 250
lbs. down to 196 lbs. Squatting more than
double my body weight on a bar, to not being
able to do a body weight squat without holding
onto a railing with my legs shaking. You want
to know the worst part of it all despite the
physical limitations above? Being told I couldn’t
do what I had come to love so much. Being told
my dreams of becoming an IFBB Pro were no
more, and worst of all -being told that I would
not be able to push myself in the gym. The real
reason I had fallen in love with bodybuilding. I
wouldn’t have it.Nobody was going to tell me it
can’t be done.  Nobody was going to tell me
how I would live my life moving forward. I was
already being told I was a miracle and that I
somehow, someway fought my way back to life
when the odds were stacked against me. Who’s
to say I couldn’t prove to them and myself that
I can, and I will…again. Now I am not talking
about competing.  I was able to accept the fact
that with my new limitations, what it requires
to be at the top level of the sport, I couldn’t do.
However, the training. the nutrition, that I
would do, and not a single person would tell
me otherwise.All in all, I believe it comes down
to mentality. Things are going to take place,
challenges are going to arise. You can approach
them either as a victim, or you can approach
them as a victor. A victim sees a challenge as
“something that has happened TO them”, a
victor – they see this same situation as “these
things didn’t happen to me, they just
happened” and they find solutions to rise
above any imposed limitations. I made the
conscious decision that this could be a positive
experience if I treated it as so.So, when
someone asks me how I remained so positive in
such an extreme situation, my answer…I gave
myself no choice. I was not going to be a victim
and let my situation define me. Fact of the
matter is, if I had to go through the experience
again to get to where I am today, I would.