Meet Chad Shaw – Part 2…
June 3rd, 2014 is a date I’ll NEVER forget…
It was a Tuesday. I dropped to the floor in the most excruciating pain I’ve ever felt in my life. Minutes later, an ambulance rushed me to the hospital. And… shortly after I arrived, I went into emergency surgery for ‘Intestinal Torsion’ (or a twisted intestinal tract).
During the surgery, the surgeon removed sections of both my large and small intestines, along with my cecum and appendix. I also lost a great deal of blood. Consequently, I received several blood transfusions. The level of discomfort I felt following surgery was extraordinary, lasting for months after. It was a daily, almost constant reminder of the agony I had experienced.
For example, the abdominal pain from the site of the 8-inch incision—straight through to my core into my lower back—was nothing less than pure torture! There was no amount of medication that could take this pain away. The stomach sickness was comparable to severe stomach flu, only it didn’t last 24 hours. It went on for days on end. In fact, I didn’t begin to feel even slightly better for nearly 3 months!
I also went weeks at a time without solid sleep because my horrendous stomach sickness forced me to remain in the bathroom all night. In short, my body was simply unable to absorb food. I became deathly sick anytime I tried to eat. After just 1 month, my full, muscular body had deteriorated down to 160 lbs! To make matters worse, even though I was down by over 20 pounds, my stomach was actually bloated and distended. My once shredded abdominal muscles were now long gone.
The Mental Challenge
Aside from feeling miserable physically, this was also incredibly tough for me from a psychological standpoint. You see, before all of this happened, I was at the top of my game. I was stronger and better conditioned than ever. Then, in the blink of an eye, this incident washed all my sacrifice and hard work away. It was almost as if I’d never trained a day in my life! Day after day, I noticed my body fading away more and more. I desperately wanted to make it stop, but that prospect was all but impossible without being able to digest food, much less workout.
I have to admit there were times when I felt like giving up. Hey, I’m human too! BUT…That’s not me. Like so many times before, I knew I had to pick myself up and fight my way back again.
So what was my big inspiration for bouncing back? I don’t believe my purpose in this world is to be down and out. There were so many times that I WASN’T supposed to rise above and beyond certain health maladies. Yet, I was able to because I always knew deep down that I was destined for something more meaningful.
I personally don’t believe anyone is brought into this world exclusively to suffer. I believe those of us who endure suffering, do so because there is a meaningful purpose behind it. It’s usually something that doesn’t make sense while it’s happening. But, you realize why in retrospect. Most of all, I wanted to prove my doctors wrong… AGAIN!
Next time, I’ll share the details of how I fought my way back to good health and to the physique I’m known for. Plus, I’ll also include my (very humbling) Before and After photos. Stay tuned…
Until then, please keep your awesome questions coming!
Prove ‘Em Wrong,
Chad Shaw
Have A Question For Chad?
Just click the button below.
