Many of us have experienced the pride of hearing the words, "You are an Ironman!" And many of us have used our love of endurance events to perform some kind of public service or charitable fundraising. We all hope to act as role models for others.
A great many athletes set an even greater example as they accomplish the same events despite a variety of physical limitations. Some are bound to wheelchairs. Others are blind or deaf. Some suffer from long-term "inconveniences" while others suffer from shorter term death sentences. Still, they compete. And they succeed. Many become Ironmen themselves.
And in at least one case, one half of the team is unable to move under their own power.
But what if someone were unable to move, and unable to BE moved? What then? That was the condition in which Dianne Odell lived nearly her entire life. Afflicted by Polio at the age of three, Dianne was forced into an iron lung in order to survive. She lived in that iron lung for 58 years until her death, today.
Oddly, it wasn't the polio or any other health issue that ended Dianne's life. It was a power failure. After losing power at their house, a back-up generator failed, and caregivers were unable to keep her alive.
Despite being confined as she was, Dianne completed the requirements for her high school diploma, completed college courses and was awarded an honorary degree, and wrote a children's book. Her goal was to show young children that anything is possible, regardless of physical limitations.
There is much we can learn from her story. First, we must cherish our abilities and never take them for granted. Second, physical ailments can be either obstacles or roadblocks. It's up to us to decide. So long as we seek a way to get over, under, or around the condition, it is only an obstacle. Only by giving up do we allow it to be a roadblock.
Dianne proved that sometimes it doesn't take 140.6 miles to become an Ironman. In fact, in some cases, we can show ourselves made of Iron without moving an inch. It seems to me that Dianne didn't allow her iron lung to defeat her. She allowed it to define her. After nearly 60 years, she truly was an Iron Woman!
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