Lessons from my dad

Dear Friend,

Our newsletters are personal and intimate, reflecting the company culture and the essence of who we are. This one will go one step deeper and is a story I’ve had drafted for some time, but have been hesitant to share because of how it hits even as I write this. That said, the lesson is too great to NOT share with everyone.

My father, Kenji Hasegawa, passed away on October 28, 2022.

What began with right shoulder pain in a 77 year old avid golfer turned out to be metastatic lung cancer spread to his brain, spine, and liver. He passed away 4 months after diagnosis.

He lived a great life and was instrumental in making me the man I am today. He taught me many things, but the most impactful lesson was during his last few months of life.

Resilience:

What I learned from my dad was the importance of resilience and how this like many things in life is trained and developed. He came to America at the age of 16 and built a wonderful life with hard work and determination. He was diligent in his fitness in his 20-30s, but balancing work and raising young kids derailed his fitness regimen in his 40s.

Over the years I noticed it was difficult to motivate him to get back to exercise. He would complain to me about his aches and pains with golf. I would push strength training, but this never took hold.

The years that followed were a pleasant life of fun, travel, and comfort. The cost was a gradual decline in mental resilience to do the hard work.

Cancer Clinical Course:

In the two weeks following his cancer diagnosis, he had debilitating upper back pain from the metastatic lesions in his spine. The pain was so severe he could barely get out of the chair, let alone walk. Luckily, chemo and radiation treatments quickly shrunk the tumors and essentially eliminated his pain.

Weak mind + Weak body:

The doctors and all the family tried our best to motivate him to walk around. The strengthening of the legs and pumping the blood were critical to exercise his lungs and prevent further complications. The challenge was the atrophy in his legs from just a couple weeks of being bedridden.

In the end, the required effort was a hard ask and he continued to decondition. The lack of movement caused fluid to build up in his lungs, eventually leading to an overwhelming pneumonia hospital admission. He was able to muster resilience in his remaining hours, determined to get home, where he passed away peacefully with his extended family beside him.

Life Lesson:

What I took from his story was that it wasn’t cancer or deconditioning of the body that killed him, rather deconditioning of the mind. After years away from doing the hard work, my dad was asked to perform beyond his limits and sadly this battle was lost years ago.

Cancer afflicts young and old individuals and becomes more likely the older we get. What state of mind and body are we going to be in should we get hit?

Next time we will talk about my mother Linda, an inspiration in her resilience and adaptability.

At BodyTimeMD, we focus on doing the work to maintain peak performance physically, mentally, and emotionally. Hope this provides some insight, let’s talk if you are interested in finding out more about your body.

 This newsletter is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute giving medical advice or endorsing any treatment. The use or application of the content herein forms no doctor-patient relationship. The information in this newsletter should not substitute for professional medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Thanks,

Mike