Cancer Survivor Defies Diagnosis in Iron Man Triathlon

Isabella de la Houssaye was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in 2018.

The disease took a big toll as she struggled to walk after chemo.

Nine months later, she completed the “world’s most difficult sporting event.”

Here are three takeaways for your performance in big scary moments.

Takeaway #1: Command willingness like a gorilla

Getting diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer is like wrestling with a gorilla.

You don’t quit when you’re tired.  You quit when the gorilla is tired.

That’s what 54 year old Isabella de la Houusaye did.

At her weakest, she got out of bed and walked with a cane.

“At that point, it was stage IV lung cancer.  I had a good size tumor, 7 centimeters, in my lungs.  My entire sacrum was cancer.  I had six tumors in my brain.  I had them in my sternum.  I had them in my pelvis.  It was a huge wake up call.”  Isabella de la Houusaye, PEOPLE

Wake up call?

How about hysteria?

Not Isabella.

She got stronger one step at a time.

“Every day I got stronger and stronger.  It continues to amaze me how the body responds to the load you put on it.”  Isabella de la Houssaye, PEOPLE

Not long after, she was running 26 miles a day.

“It will be a killer, and a chiller, and a thriller, when I get the gorilla in Manilla.”  Muhammed Ali

Since big moments burst our emotions, feelings can run over us or run with us.

Isabella de la Houssaye ran with the gorilla at the IRONMAN World Championship in Kailua Kona, Hawaii.

She . . .

• ran 26.22 miles
• swam 2.4 miles
• biked 112 miles

Even though she fell halfway through one of the toughest sporting feats, she finished ahead of 147 others.

Takeaway #2: See life as a privilege vs a problem

A psychiatrist friend of mine told me there are two classes of people.

• Those who approach life as a problem
• Those who approach life as a privilege

We agreed that the problem centered folks are like many golfers!

You can analyze your golf swing to the point you have paralyzed results!

Instead of a game for enjoyment, golf becomes a series of problems to be solved!

Don’t move your head!

• Keep left arm stiff!
• Pivot!
• Keep right arm close!
• Follow through!

And if you try to think all those things when you hit the golf ball, your arms fall off!

Just turn loose and hit the golf ball.

Takeaway #3: See each moment like a child

At 64, I’ve challenged myself to treat each day with childlike wonder.

To pause longer and take colors in.  Look at shapes and texture.

You’ll imprint beauty indelibly on your mind.

Suppose it’s the only time you’ll ever again see that face across the table.

You’ll perceive and not just look.  You’ll get into . . .

• People
• Emotions
• Sunsets
• Places
• Colors
• Music

Look upon the beauty of everything as if it’s the first time you’d ever seen it.

And it may be.

“We are to live like a child who sees everything for the first time.”  Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

I think that’s what Isabella de la Houssaye does.

How about you?  What are your favorite reminders to succeed in a crisis?