I'm fundraising for...
In 1983 a doctor said I'd struggle to be athletic. On 12 December, at 55, I'm attempting my first marathon: all 42.2 km of it.
I was 12, living in Atlanta, and a sports-mad kid who loved BMX, soccer and tennis. I was also getting pneumonia every couple of weeks.
When I was admitted to hospital for tests, my mom remembers that all I wanted to do was kick a ball down the hallway. Then a bronchoscopy found a tumour the size of a coin in my left lung. Surgeons removed it, along with two-thirds of the lung.
I spent the next two weeks in intensive care, with tubes in my side draining fluid into big glass bottles. I was given a plastic breathing trainer and told to lift the little balls inside it. I couldn't raise a single one. I still remember how frustrated I was.
The doctor said I'd always be behind other kids because of my lung capacity. My dad refused to accept that, and he never let me accept it either. He kept pushing me to train.
I've played sport all my life since, but never anything long enough to really test these lungs. This will be the first time, and I honestly don't know how it will go.
The race is the Kiawah Island Marathon in South Carolina, right next door to Seabrook Island, where my family has been going since 1978. My dad turns 90 next year, and he's travelling down from New York to be at the finish line.
I was one of the lucky ones: great surgeons and a dad who never stopped pushing me. Many people living with lung disease aren't as lucky. They're who I'm running for.
Donations on this page support Lung Foundation Australia, which funds research and support services for people living with lung disease and lung cancer.
Friends in the US: I have a matching page for the American Lung Association here:
https://poweredbylungs.funraise.org/fundraiser/scott-batterson
Thank you for your support.
