Set the record straight

In January of 2007, I went on a BMX trip as part of the 5050 BMX team. I was in the middle of making some major changes in my life and as always happens with change, there was quite a bit of learning for me, and also criticism from others. I was certainly to blame for a lot of the criticism (since I hadn't learned what I needed to learn yet). However, there was some criticism from some of my closest friends that I didn't feel was justified.
I was talking to my friend Tim Thompson about all of this while I was on this trip. In this conversation, he taught me one of the most valuable lessons I've ever learned. I explained how I felt about the criticism and judgement of some of my friends and his response was, "is it true? Their criticisms, are they based on truth?". I told him they weren't and explained why. Then he said "So if it isn't true, then why are you bothered by it?".
Maybe this wouldn't have affected other people like it did me, but for me, it BLEW my mind! It was so simple and so wise! I began practicing the habit of not being offended by false accusations. It took some time...and still sometimes I have to remind myself of this lesson because my natural inclination is to get defensive when I'm accused...regardless of truth.
Anyways, this morning I got some third hand information that there has been some criticism of my current situation... but it's being said behind my back. My first feeling was defensiveness, as is my natural inclination. Then I reminded myself of Tim's wise advice 8 years ago (I can't believe that was 8 years ago!).
So the criticism that I heard about this morning, is that I'm USING my wife's bad health as an excuse to get in shape and get on TV. As if I somehow planned my wifes genetic disorder...and then capitalized on the situation. It literally couldn't be further from the truth...in fact, it's the exact OPPOSITE of the truth, but that's beside the point. I'm going to explain the chain of events that led to me trying to get on American Ninja Warrior and if you're one of the people criticizing, I am asking you to set that aside for a moment, and assume I'm telling the truth so that you can try to understand what I'm saying. Here it goes:
March of 2013: Enedina started getting really dizzy and I couldn't go into the office as much because she didn't dare carry our newborn around and risk passing out with the baby in her arms
From there, symptoms progressed and more symptoms started revealing themselves.
August 2013: She gets diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. By this point, her joint pain was starting to get pretty bad.
December 2013: Things had progressed to the point that Enedina needed to be in a wheelchair to go anywhere outside of the house, and sometimes in the house.
March 2014: My list of responsibilities had grown as a result of Enedina being unable to do as much in addition to her having more needs. Because of this, I was still in a position to be the breadwinner, only now I had more parental responsibilities and the added stress of being a caregiver spouse.
By that point, I had MUCH more that needed to be done than I had the energy or strength to accomplish. I would be SO burnt out by about 5 or 6 pm that I felt like a slave without the strength to go on..every day. My body didn't have the physical strength to carry my wife around when necessary. My mind was being beaten up BECAUSE the physical side wasn't there so I felt like I wasn't "man enough" to do what needed to be done. Our marriage was weakening because the tension was building and I was in a position where I felt hopeless. I started doubting my ability to do anything successfully and I found myself in a state of depression that I had never experienced before. The world seemed like a very dark place with lots of misery and a lot less happiness than I had previously felt.
I thought about it for a long time and determined that taking my life back and getting some control began with my physical well-being. I figured, if I had more energy, I could be better in all other areas. There is only one healthy way to get more energy...getting in better physical condition.
The story about how I got in better shape is in a different blog post. If you want to read that, click here.
So I took that step. I got in better shape. Then I started to see exactly HOW MUCH of a difference that step made in my life! EVERYTHING improved! Every aspect of life felt better.
I had been sharing our story with people because I've always had a desire to help others and I thought that maybe our story could help someone in some way. After getting in shape, I started sharing it more because with all the positive changes that occurred, I felt like THAT could help others change their lives in a positive way too! The one story led DIRECTLY to the other. I can't explain one without the other. That would be like trying to describe where chickens come from without mentioning eggs. In that case, which came first? I'm not even going to try to figure that out for  you. lol.
Fast forward a few months, I'm watching TV with my wife and American Ninja Warrior comes on. I think to myself "that course would be SO fun!". Then a few days later, I see a video of a pro BMX rider attempting the course. I thought to myself, "If he can try it then why can't I?". My logic was that I was in the best shape of my life and I wanted to try it, so why not?
I did a google search and found that you have to send in a video and an application to the producers and then they call you if they want to have you on the show. It specifically said to share your story and WHY you want to be on American Ninja Warrior. Naturally, in the video, I shared my story...and that includes the majority of which was my "why" to get in shape in the first place. If it weren't for my wifes condition, I would have never gotten in shape. If I never got in shape, I would have never even considered american ninja warrior. How could I leave that out?
I'm not writing this because I'm offended by the chisme I heard. I simply want to clarify what happened and how it happened, and if what I've said DID sound like I was taking advantage of my wifes situation, I want to find out why and apologize for giving the wrong impression.
If at any time, you have thought that I was trying to capitalize on my wifes misfortune, I'd appreciate you telling me what I said or did so I can avoid doing that again in the future. Thank you for reading this long blog post!