Carrying the Torch

click for more photos

The Olympic Flame, brought by air from Greece, traveled 13,500 miles through 46 U.S. states on its way to commencing the Salt Lake Games. Over 11,500 torchbearers and countless others participated, making this Torch Relay the largest in the history of the Olympic Games.

In Olympia, Washington, one of the torchbearers was Larry Bennett, 39, who has VHL. Ten years ago a number of doctors were removing whole kidneys. Larry lost the last of his own kidney power in 1993, his second nephrectomy. After a difficult year on dialysis, he received his new kidney from his brother Darl. "Dialysis was life-preserving," his wife Debbie says, "but the quality of life was one of mere survival — the transplant literally gave us our family back. Larry is doing great now. We don’t take a single day of healthy living for granted."

In her nomination letter, Debbie wrote, "He is an inspiration to many because of the numerous trials he has been through. He has had each kidney removed due to cancer, had a kidney transplant and 2 brain surgeries in the 18 years of our marriage. This would devastate many, but he truly looks at these as part of life — bumps in the road to deal with and move on. He truly is an inspiration."

When he ran near an elementary school, a group of first graders wanted to touch the torch. They asked Larry why he got to carry the torch. "Instead of giving them a long talk on genetics, I just told them with the help of my family I survived being very sick."

We cannot control everything that happens to us in life — accidents, layoffs, and health issues — we can only control how we react to these events and how we deal with them. We celebrate the Olympics by honoring each person with VHL for the way they manage their own "marathons" with this chronic illness.