I was perusing a local paper, the Philadelphia Inquirer, this morning and saw an obituary that caught my eye, mainly because I saw that the deceased's age was 31. The picture showed a smiling young man. To give full credit where its due, this beautiful piece was written by Inquirer staff writer Marie McCullough.
The young man's name was Josh Winheld. This amazing young man was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at the age of four. This horrifying disease destroys all muscle tissue, even those that control the heart and breathing. Now, just facing up to this disease with unflinching courage would have been remarkable in itself. but Mr. Winheld far exceeded that.
It is not my intent to merely re-phrase the obit, anyone can read that for themselves in the Philadelphia Inquirer South Jeresy section. I would like to just touch on a couple of the more amazing points.
His parents determined after the diagnosis that their son would have as normal a life as possible. Through numerous operations, living in a wheelchair and eventually requiring a ventilator, this incredible young man went down to Phillies' spring training, watched games at Wrigley Field, attended his prom, and even blogged about coping with his condition. The blog is called "Winheld's World: My life with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy." According to Ms. McCullough, the blog is conspicuously devoid of self-pity or even complaints.
He spoke every year before medical students at the University of Penn, to help doctors 'get it.' He even wrote a book, an autobiography, entitled "Worth The Ride," published by Little Treasure Books, using a special hands-free computer that he controlled with head movements, and donated the proceeds to a non profit organization which is focused on funding research.
When I see that a man can acheive so much in so short a time, despite severe handicaps, I realize that true courage and determination overcome any and all roadblocks. Although I am optomistic and perseverent by nature, I know there are times that I allow obstacles, real or imagined, to impede my progress, both personally and professionally. In our industry, we all are often guilty of blaming the economy or market conditions as reasons our results are not where they should be. Then I read about a person like Mr. Winheld, and realize that obstacles are merely excuses to explain lack of production, which should not be tolerated or accepted. This man's true heroism, courage and deeds in the face of a debilitating disease are a testament to all we may aspire to as human beings, as producers, as parents, as friends. This man truly left the world a better place than it was when he came in.
I will apologize to the Inquirer and Ms. McCullough for any inadvertant infringement I may have committed here, and extend my deepest sympathies and humble congratulations to his family. After that, I will go to Mr. Winheld's blog, so that he can help ME 'get it'.
This week, I will take a trip to a local book store and pick up a half-dozen or so copies of his autobiography to give as Christmas gifts.
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