This isn't a contest, you know...

One of the personal trainers at the gym had a pretty traumatic health scare that ended up taking his lower right leg. He has a strong personality and a lot of determination, which is probably why he is also an IFBB (International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness) champion. He'd been gone for a few months after the amputation and did return on occasion when he was feeling up to a workout and for me (and I'm sure quite a few others), it was a real sign of encouragement and determination. 

Not long after I'd seen him at the gym, one of the morning guys asked if I knew what was going on with our compatriot. I told him that I'd seen our friend recently and that he was looking fantastic despite his recent surgery. The conversation that followed went something like this:

Fellow gym-goer: "Wow, that has to be difficult--you know? Losing a limb and everything. I can't even imagine what I would be thinking."

Me: "Yeah, that's a pretty huge thing to go through--especially when your fitness and physicality have been such a big part of your adult life."

FGG: "I know! And it kinda makes what you went through seem not so bad!"

Me: "..."

Okay? Did he really just say that to me? I mean, either thing is pretty awful and it's not a contest, so I don't think there is a winner in this one. Incurable blood cancer vs lower leg amputation. Sounds pretty awful either way, though, if I were forced to choose, I might actually take the loss of a leg over a potentially shortened lifespan. But... that's just me. You might choose otherwise. Either way, it's still not a competition. 

Additionally, this is the same person who congratulated me when I told him that I was out of remission back in July. I had to explain to him that "out of remission" is a bad thing. This was probably most concerning to me because this person makes a living selling health insurance plans. Obviously, it's a product to be sold and he doesn't really know (or care?) much about the folks who are going to be using it. 

Finally, let me just add that no one should ever compare their ills to another person's. Our bars are all set to what we acknowledge as what we have personally experienced as "our worst" and that is our reality. When someone says to me, "oh, but what I'm going through is nothing compared to what you have to deal with", I just shake my head because I recognise that the thing they are going through is pretty awful based on what they have experienced in their own life up until this time. It's OK if we commiserate and it's perfectly acceptable to let me offer help or ask to carry the burden. I wouldn't offer if I didn't think I could. 

I'm still strong enough and I will let you know when I'm not.