I want to start off by thanking you guys for everything you have done. I am so thankful that I found this podcast and it has inspired me to never give up and keep persevering to reach my goals. My story starts off in the summer before my sophomore year. I was 15 at the time and was in the middle of football practice and camps, I had just made varsity and was trying to prove that I was good enough for the starting spot. A few weeks before 2 a days hit and the real fun was going to begin, I encountered something that would change my life. We had just got done doing some conditioning in the gym and were about to head outside to run through some plays, and found myself unable to catch my breath, and my heart felt like it was going to beat out of chest. I thought it would go away so I started to unlock my locker to get my pads on, but found that I couldn’t stay focused enough to put the combo in the lock. I quickly began to feel light headed and felt like I was going to pass out. That’s when one of my teammates called my coach over and he took my heart rate to see what was going on. We had about a 30 minute break between conditioning and what we were going to do next and my heart rate was still over 100 beats per minute, which is far above normal. That’s when I went to the hospital to see what was wrong with me. After running some tests and doing some blood work, the doctor told me that I had a birth defect in my heart that was causing it to beat too fast at times, and that is what caused me to almost pass out. They told me that I would have to have surgery to correct it, and that I would to be awake for the whole thing. That was the most intense pain I have ever felt in my life, even though I was sedated, I could feel them burning the tissue away in my heart that was causing the problem. But that was only the beginning of the journey, as after the surgery it took me a few days to stand up strait and walk. All I wanted was to be able to make it back in time for 2 a days and be with my team again, which the doctors told me I would be back in time for. When the time came for 2 a days I felt ready, but I still had pretty good bruising stretching from my groins to just above my knees on the inside of my legs from the entry points of the surgery, and it still hurt to walk and run. I remember going through practices wanting to give up and just wait for everything to fully heal, but I didn’t want to let my coaches or my team down. I think the thing that helped me get through it the most, besides the support from my team, was each day that went by, I could see the bruising getting smaller, I could see my body healing itself and I knew that all the pain would be gone soon. I kept pushing myself and eventually made it through 2 a days and knew that if I could make it through that, I could make it through the rest of the season. It was still a rough season and every now and again I would still have same pain, but none of it compared to what I went through in 2 a days. Now, 6 years later, I still remind myself of this, that no matter how hard things get, no matter how bad it hurts, if you just keep pushing and keep persevering, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. I know I’ve rambled on for probably too long, but after listening to you guys share your stories, I felt compelled to share mine with you guys. What you guys do is incredible and I’m glad you guys do what you do. Thank you, and God bless you guys!