Lee was invited to be a guest speaker at a symposium being held in North Carolina last Tuesday. In addition, Marcus Luttrell was also going to speak on Monday afternoon. Marcus is a retired Navy Seal and author of the best-selling book, “Lone Survivor.” Lee, Nick and I loved the book. Lee & Nick also learned a few insights about Marcus when Nick went skydiving with another retired Navy Seal, Nix White, on Easter morning, 2009. While waiting for the weather to cooperate, Nix took Nick & Lee to the Navy Seal facilities in San Diego where new recruits were soon to go through the infamous, “Hell Week.” Nick was allowed to climb through the obstacle course, tour the barracks, etc. Nick had a wonderful experience. I was invited to come with Lee and we were both very excited to hear Marcus speak.
You may remember the news reporting the death of famed Navy Seal sniper, Chris Kyle, who was murdered on February 2nd. Knowing Marcus and Chris were close friends, we did not expect Marcus to attend, as the public memorial and private funeral were to be held near the date of the symposium. However, he did, in fact, honor his commitment, and came to share his story.
It was spellbinding. I have included a YouTube link, Marcus Luttrell, that mirrors the speech he gave last week. I feel this is worth your time. What we witnessed last week versus the man in the YouTube link is that we clearly felt his vulnerability, it was palpable. He was speaking to us on a few hours of sleep over the past four days since his friend has died. His voice was rough, his pacing incessant, his message fragmented.
I felt there were many similarities between a cancer warrior and an American warrior. This isn’t about politics, nothing of the sort. It truly is about surviving. Here are some of my takeaways:
Marcus asked, “Who are your friends? A guy you hang out with and have a few beers? No, it is someone who has been with you in the toughest of times. They’ll give you a look that says they know that this is hard and they stay by your side to see you through.” Ask any soldier and any mom whose child has cancer, and they know exactly who their friends are.
Marcus said, “I have people that come up to me and say, ‘Oh, I could never go through what you did…’ or ‘I couldn’t…..’ and I want to smack those people. The moment you say ‘I can’t’, you are setting yourself up to fail. If you can’t, then get out of the way so someone else CAN.” I have also had parents come up to me saying they couldn’t do what I did if their own child had cancer. Obviously, they can. They don’t want to, but they can. I feel like Marcus sometimes – wanting to smack them and say, “Please don’t ever let your child hear your words.”
Marcus is always shocked to see people doing things to “just get by…” rather than doing something they are passionate about. He states, “Life is ridiculously short! Fill your life doing what you LOVE!” Nick embraced life with complete passion and what a wonder it was to witness.
Marcus shared the graphic details of his harrowing escape. He literally risked his life to protect our country, without any hesitation. I hope our youth listen to his story just to know exactly what our soldiers are experiencing and sacrificing so that we may have our freedom. Our soldiers aren’t enlisting because they are Democrats or Republicans, but because their Commander in Chief, whoever that may be at the time, has asked them to fight. I feel our children with cancer also face their fight with the same intensity and courage, going through a lifetime of “hell week” to find their freedom of a horrific disease.
Marcus said he was born with a “never quit” attitude. He wasn’t declaring to be better than everyone else, but he said, “I will die before I’ll ever give up. If you get knocked down, shake it off, get up and do it again with everything you have.” Every single child or young adult with cancer I have encountered does exactly that, time and time again; never, never, never giving up.
Navy Seal Nix White & Nick, Easter 2009, two days after his doctors confirmed relapse
