MARIN MORRISON: COURAGE DEFINED

I never knew Marin Morrison, but her father, Matt, saved my life. We were co-anchors at Fox Sports Net in Atlanta when I began choking on a large chunk of grapefruit. As panic gripped me and my face turned a deep shade of purple, Matt, without hesitation, calmly got up from his chair and gave me the Heimlich maneuver and out came the grapefruit. In three seconds, Matt showed the kind of person he was. Smart, selfless, and strong. He is the kind of person you want as your best friend, one you could trust and always count on, no matter what. Several years later after we had gone our separate ways in television, I learned about the type of person his daughter, Marin, was. I was flipping through Sports Illustrated when I saw a picture of Matt and Marin. I was riveted by the capsule beneath the headline: "As swimmer Marin Morrison and sailor Nice Scandone battled a deadly disease, they mustered all their strength and courage to fulfill a final dream: to compete in the Beijing Paralympics" The article detailed the trials and tribulations of Marin and the Morrison family on their way to competing in Beijing. Marin, a national record holder, had been battling brain cancer, which left her paralyzed on the right side of her body after doctors had damaged a nerve during a tricky and delicate operation. As wet as my eyes had become, I couldn't take them off this article. The world got a glimpse of what Matt and his family witnessed up close and personal. Marin Morrison was the definition of courage. She had gone from a swimmer with real dreams of making the Olympics to a teenage girl battling for her life. She stared down adversity and continued to do the thing she loved the most. It didn't matter that Marin had to swim without the use of the right side of her body or without the vision in her right eye. She fought on. I was truly inspired by the article about Marin and the courage she demonstrated. The media likes to heap praise on athletes for having the "courage" to go over the middle of a defense and make a tough catch. Give me a break. That's not courage, that's just doing what you get paid for to do. The media thought courage was Michael Jordan playing with the flu during the NBA Finals. What a joke. Marin Morrison's battle against brain cancer is the definition of courage. She knew the end was near as cancer attacked her brain and body, but she fought on and got in the pool in Beijing to compete in the Olympics. Now, THAT is courage. I have to admit that when I was reading the article, I thought there was going to be a storybook ending. Marin would've beaten cancer and gone on to compete in the real Olympics. Again, I was truly inspired. But the article ended with the sentence: "Marin Morrison died on January 2, 2009." She was just 18-years old. My heart went through the floor and the tears followed. I was devastated for Matt and his family. I hadn't even known. Matt never said anything. But that's the type of guy, Matt is. He did not ask for sympathy and didn't want others feeling sorry for Marin or his family. I know that Matt tried to do everything possible to save his daughter's life. He gave her the best care and best doctors, and most of all, the love and support Marin needed to face the unthinkable. Now, Matt is telling the inspirational story of Marin and wants the whole world to know about the person Marin was and the courage she demonstrated. He's written a book and made a documentary, but he needs support to help it come to fruition. I owe Matt a great deal, he saved my life. If I had the money, I'd foot the entire bill. Unfortunately, I don't. But you can help him achieve his goal. Follow this link to read about an amazing story. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/68829029/touch-the-marin-morrison-story Please take 10 minutes to read the story about Marin Morrison. It will change the way you think about adversity and the challenges in your life.