Good morning!
As you may have read a few weeks ago, I have had the goal to apply for the CNN Fit Nation Triathlon Team. Well, I finally did it!
Here is a link to my video: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-889198
And here is a copy of my final essay:
Luck of the Irish
“Hello!” Dr. Gupta and the rest of the Fit Nation team. My name is Douglas Mogle and I am thirty-two years old. As a fourth grade teacher and high school soccer coach, I spend my days trying my best to inspire, educate, and lead my students in a safe (physically and emotionally) and fun learning environment. I emphasize to them that they need to “work really, really, hard” in order to reach success and excellence, and to pay attention to the details - because “details matter.” (My students are tired of that phrase!)
Ironically, I have not been adhering to my own advice, which is why I’m speaking to you today.
Thirteen months ago, I went into Sudden Cardiac Arrest at the Notre Dame/Southern Cal football game. Little did I know that on that brisk October day, my life would change forever.
My discomfort throughout the day was so bad that I asked my parents to leave campus and drive home before the game even started. As we walked back to the tailgate, I collapsed face first into the sidewalk. God’s providence was in my favor that day as He placed a pediatrician only a few feet from my fall. She and my dad quickly began CPR as an AED (and another doctor) arrived on the scene. I was quickly transported to the local trauma hospital and put into therapeutic hypothermia. In all, I was down for fifty-two minutes and shocked a total of nine times en route to the hospital. After being airlifted to Northwestern in Chicago two days later, I spent two weeks in the cardiac ICU. If only I knew that those days in intensive care would prove to be much easier (for me at least) than the days and months ahead.
The way this has changed my life has been different than you might think. I’ve spent the last three-hundred eighty some odd days reading books (and not following their advice), attending Cardiac Rehab (and not following their instructions), yo-yo dieting (with several different diets), barely working out (a failed gym membership), having an ICD installed above my heart (after having another episode in April of 2012), and living with an imbalance in my life that I’ve been unable to fix by myself. I WANT and I NEED to find that balance again. I’ve ignored my reality and the consequences are far too great for me to continue down this path of least resistance.
Recently, I had the great pleasure to travel back to Notre Dame, one year later, and meet the people who saved my life. The experience of meeting the EMTs and pediatrician who saved my life has further fueled my resolve to make a positive change in my life, and the lives around me, and CNN Fit Nation is the perfect vehicle to help reach those goals.
Truth be told, I am not asking for your sympathy. The event last October is just no longer an excuse. I NEED, I WANT, and I CRAVE positive change in my life. CNN Fit Nation and the Triathlon in Malibu are EXACTLY what I need to continue down the road of reaching my goals - big and small. I know that I survived for several reasons that day, and I honestly believe that becoming a part of this team is one of them.
My goals are to:
Reduce my daily medication from nine prescriptions to three.
Reach my goal weight of 170 pounds.
Become a public speaker to promote the awareness of Sudden Cardiac Arrest and Heart Disease.
Finish the 2013 Nautica Malibu Triathlon.
I would be HONORED.
I would be EXCITED.
I would be HUMBLED, to be a part of the “Six Pack,” the “Lucky Seven,” or maybe this year the “Elite Eight!”
Mahola nui loa,
Douglas W. Mogle (Go Irish!)
Atlanta, Georgia
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