Prior to having cancer, I loved giving speeches. I even gave quite a few speeches after cancer. However, I take a chemotherapy pill on a daily basis and it has recently caused me some confusion. I recently received a call asking me to speak at a memorial tribute for Pat Roy. Pat was with the IHSAA for 27 years and was super instrumental in getting girls sports to be a part of the IHSAA. She was a true pioneer in advancing girls high school sports in the state of Indiana.
Thus, when I received the call I was more than happy to say, “Yes.” Then I started thinking… Have you lost your mind? Your memory is all over the place — how are you going to speak in front of a bunch of people? Of course that was my initial thought and then I was determined to make it work.
I truly think that playing sports was a tremendous help to both my sister and me in showing us how a team works and showing us how to deal with adversity. If we had not played sports, I am not sure that we would have enjoyed near the success in the business world. Sports showed us how to win, how to lose, and how to come back on a regular basis.
If we had not had sports, I am not sure that we would have been so brave to purchase a large dealership in January 2008 — right before the biggest recession of our lifetime. If we had not had sports, I am not sure we would have had the confidence to take on 200+ employees of which about 90% were men. If we had not had sports, I doubt we would have had the skills to take the Chevy store to the #1 volume store in Indiana.
Furthermore, sports gave me the bravery to fight this crazy disease that I fight on a daily basis. I will never know how I acquired Stage 4 Lung Cancer — especially since I never smoked a day in my life. I have to find a way to be brave and keep going and I think sports have helped me tremendously in this daily battle. Without a background in sports, I doubt that I could workout four times a week — which I currently do on a weekly basis. Without sports, I question whether I would have the optimism that I get on a daily basis to keep fighting this disease. Without sports, I doubt that my sister and I would have been able to negotiate the awesome deal to sell our store which allows her to be with her family and me to concentrate on staying healthy.
As you can probably tell, I was excited and a bit nervous to speak. It was only supposed to be a 3 minute speech and due to my memory issues, I practiced and practiced and practiced. I was not going to read this speech! I wanted to let people know how influential Pat Roy had been in my life. She probably had no idea that by allowing me to play basketball and golf at the IHSAA level, it gave me a tremendous amount of confidence to excel later in life.
Sports gave me a free education at Indiana University and it gave my sister and me countless years of experience that were pivotal in helping us build a very successful business. Furthermore, sports have given me the mindset to deal with a deadly disease on a regular basis.
I overcame any fear of chemo brain and gave that speech on the stage at North Central this past Sunday. It went just fine, and it gave me even more confidence as I continue to fight Stage 4 Lung Cancer. Thank you Pat Roy for fighting the fight that has helped so many women be able to participate in sports and to excel throughout many phases of life.