Saturday, April 14, 2012

The Strongest Man I Know

Oscar and I have been blessed to have an amazing friend named Chris Davis. He has a wry sense of humor, the kindest heart you can imagine and bottomless depths of courage and strength.
When we first met Chris, he weighed 696 pounds. Despite this and the physical difficulties it caused he went to work every day (which is where Oscar met him).
Then various circumstances came together and Chris decided to change. First he looked into weight loss surgery. In order to qualify, he had to lose part of his weight. So he buckled down and did it. After the surgery he followed his prescribed diet and began to exercise. Then he moved to Atlanta and kept on going, walking further and further each week, losing down to 390 pounds.
 Then he did something that would have been unthinkable before he decided to change. He attended an event called a Spartan Race. He spoke to us afterward and I still get tears in my eyes remembering the awe, wonder and power he had in his voice when he described how the world changed from the top of one of the obstacles he climbed. I think not just his view of the world, but his fundamental view of himself changed. The photo above was taken during the Spartan Race. Click on it and take a good look at Chris' face. Have you ever seen such strength?
After finishing the course, one of the employees of the race gave Chris a ride back to his car, and learned a little about Chris' journey. The employee later asked if the head of Spartan Races could contact Chris.
Long story short, Chris has been offered an opportunity to enter into training for another Spartan Race in September. He had the courage to take it. With the help of  a dietitian and trainer provided by Spartan he has challenged himself to lose an additional 200 pounds. I know the dietitian and trainer will be an important part of this journey but Chris will provide the strength, something he has in great abundance.  If anyone can do this,  Chris can but I am already proud of him and that won't change no matter what. Beginning today, I am joining him on his journey, and focusing on losing 50 pounds by September.
Chris will be a featured blogger on the Spartan Races website during his challenge. You can read more about the first step in his journey HERE.
(photo from the Spartan Race website)


3 comments:

Don Meyer said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
LynnM said...

We all inspire each other! Some people don't like to admit they're inspirational, but we do, in different ways--we are ALL inspirational!

Good luck to Chris with his personal quest--he gives and receives inspiration!

AlisonH said...

Wow, what a picture! What an accomplishment! Go Chris! And go you, too, Diana.