WEEKLY MOTIVATIONAL PIECE!

How ironic is it that in the last week in which so many wounded survivors from the Boston Marathon continued with their battle to recover, a well-known New England student-athlete would enter the same Massachusetts General Hospital on April 24th to give of himself?

This is a story about COMMITMENT! About Cameron Lyle, a 21-year-old college senior and member of the University of New Hampshire Track & Field team, who donated his bone marrow to save the life of another human being he did not know. The story actually first took roots three years ago when Lyle made a decision to register with the National Marrow Donor Program. They told him that his chance of being typed as a donor for someone who wasn't a family member was one in 5-million.

Fast forward to March, 2013. That same program now contacted Cameron Lyle to inform him that his marrow had been matched with a 28-year-old man who was suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia. They asked if he would donate his bone marrow immediately not knowing of his college nor athletic commitments?

What caught my attention was that not only did Lyle recommit to a decision he had made three years ago, but it was the sacrifice he would make that gave me a lump in my throat! To deliver upon his commitment, Lyle would have to totally walk away from track despite having two meets remaining on the team schedule and forgo the chance to close out his collegiate career and compete at the American East Conference Championships!

He courageously made the decision to aid humanity over college athletics despite what he had learned during his period of research and consultation on the bone marrow procedure – which calls for a patient to be anesthetized and a large needle inserted into a bone to draw out the marrow. He was also told by doctors that he might be too depleted to raise even a bowl above his head for weeks, much less throw the discus, the hammer or the shot put, following the procedure.

It was a decision he calls a “no brainer!” "When they first told me, I was like, 'OK, cool. I'm definitely going to do it,'" Lyle said. "After that I kind of went to tell my coach and then I realized slowly that my season was over. It's just a sport. Just because it's Division I college level doesn't make it any more important. Life is a lot more important than that, so it was a pretty easy decision."

“I did think about what I was giving up,” Lyle continued. “But this person had six months to live and I have the possibility to buy him a couple more years.”

"I am beyond words proud. He is my hero," said Cameron’s mother (Chris) of her son. "When your children inspire you to be better people, you know it's come full circle and he's inspired his mom to be a better circle."

Fellas, we all have the ability within us to move the needle in our communities. Whether it’s assisting a charitable cause, visiting children at a pediatric hospital to offer encouragement or helping provide a meal for those less fortunate, take time to be a difference maker! When you sign up to represent your team in the community – no matter how tired or busy you are and small or large the event may be, you, too, can bring the same joys to the human race that Cameron Lyle did!

My best always!

Jim Loria

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“Sooner or later, something seems to call us onto a particular path – this is what I must do, this is who I am” – stated by James Hillman, American psychologist

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“I can give you a six-word formula for success: ‘Think things through, then follow through’” – stated by Captain Edward V. Rickenbacker, an American fighter ace in World War I,  race car driver and pioneer in air transportation, particularly as the longtime head of Eastern Air Lines.

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“Four short words sum up what has lifted most successful individuals above the crowd: a little bit more. They did all that was expected of them and a little bit more” – stated by A. Lou Vickery, Author

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“The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you choose, what you think and what you do is who you become” – stated by A Unknown Author

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