One of the greatest boxers in history refused to let Parkinson's Disease
keep him from living his life. Even the "fastest woman in the world" couldn't
outrun this terrifying disease. These are athletes with rare medical conditions.
Lou Gehrig is one of those names most people know, even if they've never seen
a baseball game. He was one of the greatest players of his generation.
Gehrig was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939, and he holds the honor of being
the first player in Major League Baseball history to have his uniform number retired.
Gehrig played for the Yankees his whole career,
and his exploits were honored in the 1942 Gary Cooper film, "The Pride of the Yankees."
"Lou! Lou! Lou, Lou, Lou! Gehrig! Gehrig! Gehrig, Gehrig, Gehrig!"
Sadly, Gehrig never had a chance to see the movie, as he died in 1941. In 1939,
his performance on the field began to diminish due to an as-yet undiagnosed disease called
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS — and also Lou Gehrig's disease. ALS is rare,
as it afflicts 2 out of 100,000 people, or around 5,000 people in the United States every year.
Gehrig was forced to retire at the age of 36, just years before he died of ALS. After his retirement,
the Yankees honored him on July 4, 1939, by holding Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day.
He wasn't expected to speak that day, but he made his way to the microphone and said:
"For the past two weeks, you've been reading about a bad break. Today, I consider myself
the luckiest man on the face of the Earth."
Antwan Dixon was an aspiring football player in high school who dreamed of playing in college,
but things unfortunately took a turn during his sophomore year. Namely, non-vigorous activities
left him feeling fatigued. After he fainted while moving his mother's car from the driveway,
it was time to see a doctor. This is when Dixon learned he had a rare disease called
aplastic anemia. The condition disrupts the body's ability to create blood cells.
It caused fainting spells for Dixon due to his inability to spread oxygen throughout his body.
Aplastic anemia is incredibly rare, as it affects two out of every one million people.
What's more, it doesn't typically present in patients of Dixon's age group,
so the diagnosis itself was unusual. Regardless, Dixon had a rare disease that made it impossible
to continue playing football. At least, it certainly should have limited his ability to
follow his dream, but he didn't let it. With his family's help, he underwent treatment
consisting of a bone marrow transplant, and he made his way back to the gridiron.
Dixon received a scholarship to play for the Kent State Golden Flashes as a wide receiver.
He missed two seasons for treatment but was granted a sixth year of eligibility
so he could rejoin his team. According to Future of Personal Health, Dixon said:
"I've been able to spread my story around a lot of different places — especially
the people who are playing sports and have aplastic anemia or another rare disease."
Tim Howard began playing American soccer in 1997 for the North Jersey Imperials,
where he quickly distinguished himself. He continued playing for numerous teams,
including the U.S. Men's National Team, where he competed at the highest level.
According to Howard's book, "The Keeper: A Life Of Saving Goals And Achieving Them",
he was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder — or OCD — and Tourette syndrome,
which is also referred to as TS. Despite what you've seen in popular culture, both conditions
are rare, with TS afflicting 6 of 1,000 male children. OCD is found in around 1% of children,
and both conditions can disrupt learning and behavior. Tourette's syndrome is an
oft-misunderstood condition that manifests in various ways — not just blurting obscenities.
In many people, like Howard, it results in various vocal and motor tics, which can change over time.
While you might expect it to have negatively affected his life,
Howard's diagnosis helped reorient his education, and he continued playing sports. He credits his
condition with helping him tend goal, saying he has an enhanced perception. He writes in his book:
"I could see things somehow, things that other people didn't seem able to."
Howard has helped raise awareness through a lot of charitable work for TS
and is the embodiment of the concept that "TS is a Speed Bump, Not a Stop Sign."
Venus Williams is one of the most well-known tennis stars in the world,
and she has the stats to back that up. She had a 35-match winning streak, which is the longest
of the century, and she's made millions playing the game. Williams' impressive stats include six
Wimbledon wins and eight wins at the Australian, French, and U.S. Opens. She took home the gold
in three Summer Olympics and is regarded as one of the best players to hit the court.
In 2011, Williams had to pull out of the U.S.
Open following a diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome, saying:
"I enjoyed playing my first match here and wish I could continue,
but right now I am unable to. I am thankful I finally have a diagnosis
and am now focused on getting better and returning to the court soon."
According to the Mayo Clinic, Sjögren's syndrome is a rare autoimmune disorder that causes dry
eyes and a dry mouth. Those are the least concerning symptoms, with prolonged fatigue,
joint pain, damage to the nerves and numerous organs being some severe symptoms.
Williams began showing signs of Sjögren's syndrome in 2004. She told Prevention:
"No matter how hard I worked, I was exhausted,
short of breath, and never felt in shape. It was really frustrating."
Her condition forced her from the game that made her a star, but she managed to
return the following year to take home the gold at the 2012 London Summer Olympics.
To this day, she still works to overcome the challenges of living with this disease.
And like many of the other athletes in this list, she finds ways to make her struggle a
positive thing. One way in which she does this is by talking openly about it on her YouTube channel
and giving advice and inspiration to others who suffer from the same disease.
"So obviously, I hope you are well. If you are not well, I hope that you are able to deal with it
and be able to get the help that you need. I hope this will help."
Eric Berry's career on the gridiron had seen him voted to the Pro Bowl five times
since his career began in 2010 when he was the fifth pick in the first round
of the NFL Draft. He went on to play for the Kansas City Chiefs until 2018
before becoming a free agent. Halfway through his career, Berry was diagnosed
with Hodgkin's lymphoma — or HL — a type of cancer that affects the body's lymphatic
system. This makes it difficult for a person's natural immune system to fight off disease.
More than that, Hodgkin's lymphoma causes white blood cells called lymphocytes to grow
uncontrollably, resulting in growths and swollen lymph nodes throughout the body.
According to Rare Diseases, incidents of HL occur in 1 in 40,000 people. Fortunately,
people with HL often respond well to treatment, and it's considered one of
the so-called "curable cancers." Berry's cancer began in his chest. Sid Ganguly,
the director of the lymphoma and myeloma program at the University of Kansas Hospital, told The
Kansas City Star that if the cancer was localized there, "the likely outcome is excellent."
Berry was fortunate, and while he needed to take a break from playing football for treatment,
it went well. Berry returned to the Kansas City Chiefs only seven months
after receiving his diagnosis. In June of 2015, Berry learned that he was cancer-free.
Sanya Richards-Ross is one of the world's best track-and-field athletes,
having dominated the competition at four Olympic Games. She started running competitively in 2003
while running for the University of Texas. She took home the gold at the
2004 Athens Olympic Games the following year. Listing all of her accomplishments
would be somewhat overwhelming, so if you're not familiar with her career,
know that she's one of the best runners in the 4x400 meter relay to compete in the 21st century.
Sadly, Richards-Ross's career ended in 2016 following several injuries to
her calf muscles, right hamstring muscle, and toe.
"I thank God that I was able to come out here today, but when I tried to go for a gear my
hamstring just locked up on me so…I'm grateful, Lewis, for an amazing career."
Soon after retirement, she joined NBC's broadcast team as its track and field analyst.
Her new position saw her providing analysis and commentary for the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympic
Games. Earlier in her career, she was diagnosed with a rare condition called Behçet's disease,
which manifests with lesions and ulcers on the skin. Around one in 100,000 people are afflicted
with Behçet's disease, making it rare — though it's more common in less-developed countries.
Throughout most of her career, Richards-Ross had to wear compression clothing to mitigate
the pain caused by ulcers on her skin. She told The Guardian:
"I wear a lot of skin make-up to cover it. But it's a psychological distraction,
an hour before the race, to have to go and do all that work."
Fortunately, her efforts were successful,
and she was able to overcome her condition to become a world champion.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is known for many things: he's a basketball legend, he trained with Bruce Lee,
he's a best-selling author, and he even played a copilot in "Airplane!"
"Wait a minute. I know you! You're Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
You played basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers."
He's done much more over the years, but those are some of the most noteworthy of
his accomplishments. Of course, Abdul-Jabbar is best known for playing in the NBA from 1969 to
1989 — first for the Milwaukee Bucks and then the Los Angeles Lakers. After retiring, he
became a coach, a writer, and much more. In 2007, ESPN named him the greatest center of all time.
In 2009, Abdul-Jabbar announced that he was diagnosed with Philadelphia chromosome-positive
chronic myeloid leukemia — or CML — a form of cancer that causes an abnormality in the
chromosomes. CML is a relatively common form of leukemia. However, the diagnosis is relatively
rare, as it is found in 14.1 in 100,000 people every year. Abdul-Jabbar spoke up about his
diagnosis at a press conference because he believed he could help save lives. He said:
"It's incumbent on someone like me to talk about this."
Fortunately, treatment helped Abdul-Jabbar tremendously. In 2011, he announced on Twitter
that he was "100% cancer-free," further explaining in a subsequent tweet that his cancer was
"at an absolute minimum". Since overcoming CML, Abdul-Jabbar has remained active in numerous ways,
such as writing books, working on documentaries, and raising awareness for CML.
Chase Kalisz is an Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer who began his athletic career swimming
for the University of Georgia Bulldogs swimming and diving team. While in school, he managed to
become a three-time NCAA Champion as he honed his skills in preparation for his pro career.
Unlike most of the athletes mentioned in this video, Kalisz didn't receive
a diagnosis for a rare disease as an adult. He contracted Guillain-Barre
syndrome — or GBS — when he was eight, and it hit him hard. According to the Mayo Clinic,
GBS is a rare disorder that causes the body's immune system to attack the nerves. This often
presents as weakness in the extremities, but it can spread to whole-body paralysis.
It occurs in 1-2 people per 100,000 each year, though the cause is unknown.
When Kalisz first showed signs, it was after running a 5K. The following morning,
he was unable to move and had to crawl downstairs to get help
from his parents. He received treatment, which required a medically-induced coma,
and he was on a ventilator for eight months for rehabilitation while still a child.
Swimming was the first physical activity he could do coming out of treatment, and he took to
it naturally. He overcame GBS and worked hard to become a world champion who continues to compete.
Wilma Rudolph may not be a name many people know these days. Still, her accomplishments
in the 1950s and '60s made her an international icon. Rudolph was aptly dubbed the "fastest woman
in the world," which made sense given her three gold medals won at the 1960 Summer Olympic Games.
That achievement made her the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single
Olympics Games, and she was celebrated for her accomplishments. To many, she was a role model,
as she elevated the achievements and visibility of Black women in America.
These days, Polio is thankfully rare in nations where vaccination programs have wiped it out,
but that didn't happen until the late-1980s.
People still contracted Polio in the United States throughout most of the 20th century,
and Rudolph was one such person. She contracted infantile paralysis at the age of five and
was told she would never walk again. While she recovered from the virus, it left her left leg
and foot significantly weakened, requiring a leg brace to help balance her strength on both sides.
Amazingly, Rudolph went from contracting a potentially debilitating disease that
initially paralyzed her to becoming a world champion runner. She had to
re-learn how to walk without a leg brace long before she set her sights on running,
and midway through school, she'd proven herself to be a natural athlete. A few years later,
Muhammad Ali is easily one of the world's most recognized athletes, and even if you never saw
him fight, there's a good chance you know who he is. After all, he was The Greatest,
and he was a remarkable athlete. He went on to fight in several historic matches, including his
bouts dubbed the "Fight of the Century," "Thrilla in Manila," and "The Rumble in the Jungle".
"Ali, obviously, David, yelling across the way at Foreman, trying to psych him and taunt him."
Ali was truly one of the greats, and he fought for most of his life. He started learning the
sport at 12, won Olympic gold at 18, became the world's heavyweight champion at 22,
and didn't retire until 1981, when he was 39. At the time, he was possibly feeling the effects of
Parkinson's Syndrome, which he was diagnosed with in 1984. Some doctors claimed his fights
contributed to the condition, but those claims have been refuted in recent years.
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