Mind over matter

Throughout history there have been some incredible stories of people not accepting the cards they were dealt and persevering through incredible adversity. Since I absolutely love sports, I'll focus on a few athletes in particular that just would not that no for an answer and continued to chase their dreams.

Before we move any further, I'd like to issue a trigger warning. This is going to get pretty graphic since it involves some pretty gruesome injuries, and that is an understatement to say the least.

Edge

Oh look, I'm brining up a professional wrestler. Shocker, trust me I don't know why I'm just going through a weird phase, but I mean come on. Edge's story is incredible and has to be mentioned since in the world of professional wrestling where injuries happen basically on a daily basis Edge's story is on an entirely different level. Edge suffered a broken neck that could have paralyzed him for life had he not treated the injury as soon as he did and even potentially killed him had he taken a hard enough bump in the ring before his surgery. He had a triple-fusion Of course this caused him to retire for 9 years in 2011. Shockingly; through sheer determination, will, and I guess just time. At the age of 46 he had a monstrous return to the world of professional wresting at the 2020 Royal Rumble. Now before I forget yes of course he went extensive testing by the medical staff before getting his green light to return to the ring. Once again, thank you Edge.

Enjoy some footage from Edge's 2020 Royal Rumble return, just listen to that pop. Also no I do not own the video, all rights belong to the WWE.

Vinny Paz

I've got two words for you; internal decapitation. Let me repeat that for you, the guy suffered an internal decapitation. Jeez that's absolutely horrifying. For those of you unfamiliar with Vinny Paz he was a boxer from 1983 to 2004. In 1991: THIRTEEN YEAR BEFORE HE RETIRED, he was in a sever car accident that caused an internal decapitation. His doctors warned him several times he may never be able to walk again and he would need to fuse his spine. But nope, Vinny decided he wasn't going to end his career due to a freak accident. He opted to wear a halo instead of undergoing surgery. A halo for those of you who are unfamiliar with that device, is a brace that holds your neck in place, by having screws drilled into your skull. How he was allowed to box again, is beyond me. And not only that, he was working out with the halo on despite his doctors orders. Only had the halo for all of 3 months, and went on to win a fight the following year in December of 1992.

Here is trailer for the 2016 movie abut Vinny's life, named "Bleed for this". Staring Miles Teller.

Seriously, once again this is sheer will, determination, hard-work, perseverance and possibly a bit of rage by Vinny to overcome this adversity and go on to finish his boxing career very successfully.

Shaun Livingston

Now onto basketball, single handedly one of the most disturbing injuries in NBA history. In 2007 after only 3 years in the league, Shaun suffered a freak knee injury that just destroyed every part of his knee. The injury was so bad there were talks to undergo imputation. Thankfully though, after nearly 2 years of physical training, rehab, and just patience he was able to play basketball again. For a while Livingstone was really an after thought and just a feel good story until he signed with the Golden State Warriors in 2014. He retired with the golden state warriors in 2019 with 3 rings and 15 years under his belt. And mind you he wasn't just riding the bench, Shawn played a very pivotal roll in Golden State as an experienced veteran presence and great locker room guy.

Honorable mentions

Daniel Bryan: Concussions that temporarily took him out of wrestling. However Daniel was able to come back.

Paul George: Gruesome broken tibia and fibula in 2014 while he was playing in Las Vegas. Shockingly only had to take a year off from basketball.

Before I wrap up, I did just want to mention a hockey player by the name of Rich Peverley. Due to a pre-existing heart condition, Rich one day collapsed on the bench and it took nearly 30 minutes to revive him. The guy literally died on the bench, and his first words when he regained consciousness was "how much time is left in first (first period that is)?". He wanted to finish the game and go back on the ice, hockey players are seriously just made different aren't they? This gets an honorable mention due to this being a pre-existing condition, so technically it doesn't qualify but it is still an amazing story.

So the reason I felt the need to share these stories to remind people that the human body and spirit is capable of some pretty amazing things so long as we put our minds to what we want to achieve/overcome. I feel like every now and again when we're in our darkest moments, it's refreshing to be reminded of what we're capable of. All of these men are a huge inspiration and they all deserve some love.

Thank you for your time, I hope you enjoyed what you have read today. I have plenty of different articles on many different topics. Feel free to give those other articles a read or two. Also if you'd be so kind, I'd greatly appreciate a heart and if you really feel so inclined tips are always appreciated but by no means required.