When Doctors Told Me Not to Run
“Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.”― Michael Jordan Even though it was two years ago, I still have tears in my eyes when I think about that 5 km run on a chilly May day in Stockholm. *** The story began many years ago in my mother country, Russia, when my doctor cautioned me to not run or partake in any physical training. For an active kid like me it was quite harsh to accept. Even my parents, for my own good, took away my bike and roller blades! I remember that day clearly, so clear that I still see that bright white medical coat with the name badge reading ”Surgeon Ivanov.” “You will never run”, – I heard again and again. At the age of eleven, I developed a strange disease called phlebeurysm on my right leg. It looked so awful that I wouldn’t wear shorts or skirts for the following nine years, and I constantly wore bandages on my one leg to reduce pain. At age …
