I Wish I Never Gave Up

Over recovery week, I spent some time at the Veteran’s Hospital in Boston. I would like to say it is always a humbling experience, but sometimes I let other emotions cloud what an incredible experience it is to get to go to a Veteran’s Hospital.

I promise there is a purpose I am sharing this with you, but I will get to that later…

As I am sure you can imagine, when I walk into a Veteran’s Hospital I am the youngest patient in there, usually by at least 20 years. I get all kinds of weird looks and most people (doctors and patients) ask me if I am there because my husband or dad served. My answer is always a smile and lifting up my sleeves to show off the ink that I try and keep covered while coaching.

This past week while I was there, I sat on a bench outside of the hospital waiting for the Veteran’s Hotel to open across the street. While I was soaking in the last moments of summer, I was approached by an older veteran. He sat by me and said, “Semper fi!” (Note: Semper fi is a Latin term meaning “always faithful”. It is the Marine Corps motto and it is a term Marines use when they see other Marines).

Anyways, the veteran says “semper fi” and takes a seat. The next part of the conversation went something like this:

Older veteran (reaches out to shake my hand): “Corporal Clark. Korean War 1951.”

Meagan (shakes hand): “Sergeant Sbat. Operation Enduring Freedom, Helmand Province, Afghanistan 2012.”

After introducing ourselves, we started talking about what our jobs entailed while we served. Then, we got into what I do now (which, by the way, I refer to as a life changing coach) and talked about the surgery I was about to have and how it would affect my way of life over the next few months. A few minutes later, his ride pulled up so he lifted himself from the bench using his walker and said:

“You may not be able to tell, but I used to be strong as an ox. I wish I never gave up. I can’t even remember why I stopped, but it wasn’t worth it. I’ve lost my independence because I let myself get weak. Don’t ever give up, Marine. Semper Fi.”

Need I say more? Do yourself a favor and find your “why”! Maybe your why is that you don’t want to have to rely on your children, spouse, or friends to get you to where you need to go because you are too unhealthy and weak to get there yourself.  If you have a big enough why, you will find a how.

-Coach Meagan