Real strength comes from inside

Resslin' Around, by Casey Ressler

When you talk about strength, many people think about big muscles and determination to lift heavy things. A weight lifter setting a new world record or a wrestler heaving his opponent out of the ring come to mind.

I think about different things. I think about people -- in this case, children -- who have showed strength beyond their years.

Brittney Kroon is a perfect example of strength. She was diagnosed with autoimmune liver disease about a year and a half ago. She was told she couldn't play basketball, one of her true loves, and she needed a liver transplant. It was about the only treatment option available.

Instead of getting down, Brittney got up. She was well enough to continue playing basketball.

With determination and desire to overcome her liver disease, she led her Wasilla basketball team to within two points of a state championship, and she was named to the first-team all-state team.

One week after the title game, she received a new liver, and she is recovering in Seattle.

Being a high school senior isn't an easy occupation these days. Asking a 17-year-old kid to get through another year of school, figure out their future and get a good start on their career is darn near impossible. Now ask a kid to do all of that, do it with a liver that is only functioning about 10 percent as normal, be one of the best basketball players in the state, and, oh yeah, be ready for that liver transplant in addition to your math midterm.

If that isn't strength, I don't know what is.

Another example of strength is 11-year-old Brianna Gregory.

She has cystic fibrosis, and while she is aware of her own mortality, she has mustered the strength to keep a good outlook.

She recently took a Wish Upon the North Star trip to Anchorage for three days of shopping and fun. She could have wished for just about anything, but her desire was to spend three days with two of her best friends, doing what 11-year-old girls do best -- having fun.

Some would ask how she could have fun in her situation? With hospital stays, leaving her buddies at Colony Middle School behind and fighting a deadly disease, how could she possibly enjoy her three days away?

Those people probably didn't see her hanging out the window of a limousine last week, sipping chilled Pepsi from champagne glasses, looking every bit like a rock star. She was smiling, laughing and joking. She was as strong as she has ever been.

Brittney Kroon and Brianna Gregory have been asked to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. And they're kids. Kids who should be playing around and having fun.

Nobody should have to go through what they have gone through, yet they both have remained positive and focused.

If a weight lifter hoists a large object over his head, we say they are strong and show the determination an athlete needs to succeed.

Using these terms to describe athletics and athletic accomplishments are common.

A player scores a "heroic" touchdown after having the "courage" to go over the middle and catch a pass. Another player has the strength to overcome a twisted ankle and scores the winning basket.

Using those types of words for something such as a game of football only trivializes the real meanings of those words, and those who embody those real qualities.

Look into the eyes of Brittney Kroon and Brianna Gregory, however, and you'll quickly find the true definition of strength and determination.

They should serve as inspirations to us all.

Casey Ressler (valleylife@frontiersman.com) is the Valley Life editor.