Choosing To Win
By Darren A. Nichols
In Sept. 2014, I was in a downtown Detroit hospital room after a massive stroke when my mind finds peace in another odd and uncomfortable moment.
I was sitting at a local restaurant in Sept. 2008 my eyes were glued to a television like most of Detroit.
The venue was full and buzzing, but when now ex-mayor Kwame Kilpatrick began speaking you could hear a pin drop.
"Y'all done set me up for a comeback," Kilpatrick said in his now infamous resignation speech. I could hear his words ringing so clearly in my ears.
How strange to have those words from an embattled former mayor flood my memory as inspiration six years later as I entered this new journey.
It was the sentiment not the man it came from, a political leader now serving a federal prison sentence, that gave me strength for the battle I was facing.
The odds were not in my favor, yet overcoming them was never under consideration. My vow was for it not to be idle words, much like Kilpatrick.
Setting up for a comeback.
The journey began with my mindset. My attitude in approaching recovery dictated how well my body would respond.
The charge of this piece is to show how a stroke changed me, but the reality is it's been inside throughout my lifetime. I had nothing else to rely on.
I had used it before as an athlete, a coach and in my career as a journalist. I just needed to tap into it on unfamiliar ground in stroke recovery.
That's been my experience. Life is all about how you handle situations, how you deal with failure and adversity. And the resolve you have to overcome them.
Many say character is what happens when you're alone. There is no place lonelier than sitting in a hospital room without mobility on the right side of your body. There are no awards to be won, no glory to be sought.
The only reward is walking and getting my body healthy.
That's all that mattered when I was wheeled into rehab that first day. I was anxious, nervous but seriously ready to put in work.
I was taken to a nearby table when a man approaches me.
"Am I going to be able to continue doing my pushups?" I asked. "I do them daily and I don't want any atrophy in my arms."
I'm convinced Ali Zein thought I was crazy. Yet, it set a tone that I was willing to do everything it takes to be successful. It led to five hour physical and occupational therapy sessions when many only receive two hours per day.
When you're striving to get through a stroke, another key to success is discipline. There's no way I can work through hypertension without it.
Before my stroke, I lacked discipline with how I ate. I convinced myself that I needed the calories to justify my bad eating habits.
Burger King, McDonald's and Coney Island (which are like diners for folks on the East Coast) were rotated for lunch each day a week.
The weekends were just as bad, if not worse. Pizza or a burger with a few brews after bowling and more salty snacks at night. During the Lions season, it was the Sunday tailgate with more burgers, bratwursts, fries, fried fish, occasionally shrimp and steak.
I was slowly eating myself into the hospital. I just didn’t know it until it happened and I was clinging to life.
So I took control. Controlling my blood pressure requires the discipline to remove salt, alcohol, pork, fast food and soda pop and other forms of caffeine from my diet.
The journey has been long, hard and revealing.
As I sit here penning this piece, Mary J. Blige's "No More Drama" hit my Facebook timeline. But I stop in my tracks when I hear the lyrics under the Young and the Restless track.
"Only God knows where the story ends for me, but I know where the story begins. It's up to us to choose, whether we win or lose. And I choose to win."
Your comeback starts with your choice to win. Your success is dictated in not being consumed with how you're in a situation, but what kind of work it will take to get out of this setback.
Losers dwell on the past and mistakes they made. Winners take their mistakes, use them to enhance their situation, make adjustments and propel forward.
Your comeback is waiting.
The question is whether you're ready to seize the moment with your mind, body and soul.
Darren A. Nichols is recovering from a stroke he suffered in Sept. 2014. Previously, he was a award winning journalist at The Detroit News. In his more than 20 year career, Nichols has been a fixture in Detroit City Hall, covering numerous issues in the city that became the first major U.S. municipality to file for bankruptcy.
In Sept. 2014, I was in a downtown Detroit hospital room after a massive stroke when my mind finds peace in another odd and uncomfortable moment.
I was sitting at a local restaurant in Sept. 2008 my eyes were glued to a television like most of Detroit.
The venue was full and buzzing, but when now ex-mayor Kwame Kilpatrick began speaking you could hear a pin drop.
"Y'all done set me up for a comeback," Kilpatrick said in his now infamous resignation speech. I could hear his words ringing so clearly in my ears.
How strange to have those words from an embattled former mayor flood my memory as inspiration six years later as I entered this new journey.
It was the sentiment not the man it came from, a political leader now serving a federal prison sentence, that gave me strength for the battle I was facing.
The odds were not in my favor, yet overcoming them was never under consideration. My vow was for it not to be idle words, much like Kilpatrick.
Setting up for a comeback.
The journey began with my mindset. My attitude in approaching recovery dictated how well my body would respond.
The charge of this piece is to show how a stroke changed me, but the reality is it's been inside throughout my lifetime. I had nothing else to rely on.
I had used it before as an athlete, a coach and in my career as a journalist. I just needed to tap into it on unfamiliar ground in stroke recovery.
That's been my experience. Life is all about how you handle situations, how you deal with failure and adversity. And the resolve you have to overcome them.
Many say character is what happens when you're alone. There is no place lonelier than sitting in a hospital room without mobility on the right side of your body. There are no awards to be won, no glory to be sought.
The only reward is walking and getting my body healthy.
That's all that mattered when I was wheeled into rehab that first day. I was anxious, nervous but seriously ready to put in work.
I was taken to a nearby table when a man approaches me.
"Am I going to be able to continue doing my pushups?" I asked. "I do them daily and I don't want any atrophy in my arms."
I'm convinced Ali Zein thought I was crazy. Yet, it set a tone that I was willing to do everything it takes to be successful. It led to five hour physical and occupational therapy sessions when many only receive two hours per day.
When you're striving to get through a stroke, another key to success is discipline. There's no way I can work through hypertension without it.
Before my stroke, I lacked discipline with how I ate. I convinced myself that I needed the calories to justify my bad eating habits.
Burger King, McDonald's and Coney Island (which are like diners for folks on the East Coast) were rotated for lunch each day a week.
The weekends were just as bad, if not worse. Pizza or a burger with a few brews after bowling and more salty snacks at night. During the Lions season, it was the Sunday tailgate with more burgers, bratwursts, fries, fried fish, occasionally shrimp and steak.
I was slowly eating myself into the hospital. I just didn’t know it until it happened and I was clinging to life.
So I took control. Controlling my blood pressure requires the discipline to remove salt, alcohol, pork, fast food and soda pop and other forms of caffeine from my diet.
The journey has been long, hard and revealing.
As I sit here penning this piece, Mary J. Blige's "No More Drama" hit my Facebook timeline. But I stop in my tracks when I hear the lyrics under the Young and the Restless track."Only God knows where the story ends for me, but I know where the story begins. It's up to us to choose, whether we win or lose. And I choose to win."
Your comeback starts with your choice to win. Your success is dictated in not being consumed with how you're in a situation, but what kind of work it will take to get out of this setback.
Losers dwell on the past and mistakes they made. Winners take their mistakes, use them to enhance their situation, make adjustments and propel forward.
Your comeback is waiting.
The question is whether you're ready to seize the moment with your mind, body and soul.
Darren A. Nichols is recovering from a stroke he suffered in Sept. 2014. Previously, he was a award winning journalist at The Detroit News. In his more than 20 year career, Nichols has been a fixture in Detroit City Hall, covering numerous issues in the city that became the first major U.S. municipality to file for bankruptcy.
