The other day, I was coming out of the grocery store and outside there was a man in a wheelchair selling pencils and American flags. He was pretty bad off; he was paralyzed and had to use a blow tube to control his chair, he only had one leg, his teeth were rotting and he had big thick glasses that were held together with some dirty white tape. Despite all this, he smiled. When I asked him how he was doing, he said, “I am blessed.”

This really got me thinking. If this guy lives his life and still sees himself as blessed with all of his problems and the tribulations that he faces day to day, then my life seems like a piece of cake. I really don't have it too bad, even though some days, I wonder what I am doing trying to climb Mt. Whitney. Some days, giving up seems easier than training so hard every day. But then, I just think about people I have met, like this man or the countless people I know that have been touched by cancer and it helps me push through. Knowing that other people are suffering is not what helps me get through the rough days. It is knowing that the work I am doing will contribute, in some small way, to cancer research so others, especially kids, won’t have to endure what I have.

If I can inspire one person—just one person, by the way I’ve turned my medical challenges into a positive force, then I, too, am blessed.