Inspirational thoughts on how Theodore Roosevelt benefited from his challenging childhood battling asthma #1
…Theodore ‘s reply was “I will make my body Papa.”
THEODORE ROOSEVELT
On July 1, 1889, the thick-mustached, barrel-chested Colonel Roosevelt sat on his horse, high atop San Juan Hill, Cuba. The five-foot-eight bespectacled cavalry officer was wearing a poncho, smiling from ear to ear, and waving his hat in the air. Moments before he and his regiment had finished, “moving forward with difficulty, as though they were wading waist high through water, moving slowly, carefully, with strenuous effort.” Together they had just defeated the Spanish forces holding the hill.
Roosevelt was forty years old and in peak physical health. Few who had known him as a boy could have imagined how strong and robust he would become. He had struggled constantly with asthma from birth and many times had come near death. What’s surprising is not his courage and stamina leading his troops up the difficult terrain of San Juan Hill, but the fact he was there at all. How did the small, frail boy, whose family affectionately called “Teedie,” become a strong, powerful, physically fit man who led the Rough Riders up San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War?
IDENTIFY A DIFFICULTY
Theodore Roosevelt was plagued with childhood asthma. In the late 1800s, the causes of asthma were unknown, and every episode put the young boy’s life in jeopardy. Despite being born to warm and loving parents of considerable wealth, who did everything they could to help their son, Theodore’s health was at constant risk. Effective treatments were simply unavailable. Time after time, seemingly without warning, an onset of asthma would overwhelm Theodore, leaving him bedridden for weeks on end.
Early in his life, asthma had impeded the development of his chest and lungs. By the time he was twelve, even though Theodore had begun to grow taller, his chest remained small and confining. This, in turn, restricted the growth of his young lungs, which were already inhibited by the chronic asthma attacks. Throughout his childhood, Theodore was often unable to leave his bed. The attacks were so persistent that he wasn’t able to go ten consecutive days without being stricken by one of the episodes. If Theodore was going to thrive, or even survive, he would have to develop physically and overcome asthma.
IMAGINE A SOLUTION
Theodore’s father, known to his family as “Great Heart” was a vigorous athletic outdoorsman who was disappointed that his son was not able to regularly participate in athletics and outdoor activities. Theodore’s father may have feared that the asthma would overwhelm his son and cut his life short. One day when Theodore was twelve, his father told him, “Theodore, you have the mind but you have not the body, and without the help of the body, the mind cannot go as far as it should. I am giving you the tools, but it is up to you to make your body.”
Theodore replied, “I will make my body!”
The promise to make your body at age twelve might seem ridiculous to some modern readers, but Theodore grew up under unique circumstances with supportive parents that encouraged him and provided resources. Even though he was unable to participate in the normal athletic active lifestyle of a young boy, he was not idle. As he lay in bed or restricted in his home, Theodore had become a voracious reader and consumed stories about individuals triumphing over adversity. He was armed for the battle with his body.
