9-25-17<\/p>\n
This weekend I had a conversation with Dr Bennet Omalu. He has been in the news lately and you will know his name as the doctor who identified, named, and fights the brain injury CTE. Or the man whose challenges are upsetting applecarts of the National Football League and network television because people have become acutely aware of the virtual certainty of long-term, debilitating effects of concussions. Or that he wrote a bestselling book, the basis of a popular motion picture, Concussion<\/em>, where he was portrayed by Will Smith.<\/p>\n You might not know, but would not be surprised, that Bennet Omalu has received tremendous, vicious, and unrelenting pushback, even persecution, because of the discoveries he has made. Specifically, because his discoveries have rung true\u2026 and because he has been an effective advocate. Not just Big Money but favorite pastimes are jeopardized.<\/p>\n Anyone can have an opinion, but if they keep it to themselves, they will be of no consequence in life. You can spot a fire, but if you do not raise an alarm or help extinguish it, you are complicit when a structure burns down. If you have faith, but hide it under a bushel, as Jesus painted the picture, you betray the gifts God has bestowed.<\/p>\n So, you might not know, but should not be surprised, that Dr Bennet Omalu\u2019s latest battle (or a variation of continuing as Valiant-For-Truth) is a spiritual battle. It is the theme of his new book, Truth Doesn\u2019t Have a Side<\/em>.<\/p>\n This is not a departure for Bennet Omalu, because he has been a committed Christian all his life. The ultimate harmony of the Christian life was reinforced to me once again when I chose the lamp-under-a-bushel allusion. Jesus\u2019 parable is found in the Gospel account of another of history\u2019s great doctors, St Luke!<\/p>\n This current chapter of the amazing Dr Omalu\u2019s fascinating life is a logical extension of all that has gone before.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe I was led to diagnose CTE [Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, the neuro-degenerative brain disease most often caused by trauma] by my faith. When I examined Mike Webster [the Pittsburgh Steeler player whose last years exhibited bizarre behavior] I saw me<\/em> on that table.\u201d Dr Omalu was aware that we are all made in the image of God, and that he, given other circumstances and life choices, could have been a similar victim.<\/p>\n He was motivated to dig deeper into \u201csports injuries\u201d that were once the subject of jokes\u2026 but represent serious dangers. Football. Boxing. Rugby, Hockey. And lifelong conditions in the military and construction. Veterans and retired workers who were \u201cpunch drunk,\u201d had \u201cshell shock,\u201d \u201ctook one too many to the head.\u201d These phrases were not jokes to Dr Omalu: he saw serious problems, ruined lives, grieving families, and tragedy.<\/p>\n Possibly needless<\/em> tragedy, he began to think. Spurred, and sustained by, his faith, he knew that naming the brain-trauma condition and conducting further research might lead him to conclude that some sports simply are not safe\u2026 no matter how many rules on the field are tweaked. Some games are not safe\u2026 no matter how many bionic helmets and industrial shoulder pads are invented.<\/p>\n And that many parents, first unknowingly but now \u2013 given the publicity of Dr Omalu\u2019s discoveries \u2013 face hard choices\u2026 now aware that they commit virtual child abuse by allowing their children to participate in many contact sports.<\/p>\n We return again to Bennet Omalu\u2019s faith, because he had to proceed in faith; and his faith has gotten him and his family though the tsunami of organized opposition and the multi-billion-dollar defensive playbook of the sports industry and entertainment colossus. For a while, he virtually was a lone voice.<\/p>\n But truth does not depend on the opinion of those who receive it.<\/p>\n Dr Omalu\u2019s research, tenacity, and struggles in his profession, career path, and home life, were documented in Concussion<\/em>. But the story of his faith \u2013 tested, tried, and triumphant \u2013 is brilliantly shared in Truth Doesn\u2019t Have a Side<\/em>. \u201cMy spirit is like a boat on the sea,\u201d he says humbly, acknowledging that he trusts God and the Lord\u2019s guidance.<\/p>\n The maturity of his faith is illustrated in his favorite Psalm, 27, an inspiring combination of humility and boldness upon which a believer can draw. I asked about coping with the pressures arrayed against him these days: \u201cIt is not easier now, no. But I have the elixir of daily faith exercises. I pray every morning, certainly every day; I read the Bible daily; the Spirit leads me to two chapters or passages that always speak to me in a special way. I am more conscious than ever of the Blood of Jesus!\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Omalu does not speak in cliches. His message, like his whole story, is heartfelt, sincere, passionate. He chokes back tears when sharing letters he has received from people \u2013 often mothers \u2013 who have been touched by his message. And his conversation is frequently interrupted by unrestrained laughter that mirrors a joy only the believer can know.<\/p>\n I asked if he had an inkling, as a boy in Nigeria, that in some way or other he would grow up and change the world, even in a field he could not then know. I expected a rote answer about premonitions or ambition.<\/p>\n He laughed and said, \u201cNo! Not an inkling! I never imagined where I\u2019d be!\u201d<\/p>\n The world cannot imagine either where Dr Bennet Omalu might be in another 10 years. His intellectual and moral vision continuously surveys the horizons of life. \u201cBut \u2018not my will, but Thine\u2019 is how I have lived,\u201d he says. \u201cMy middle name, given back in Africa, means \u2018Life Is the Greatest Gift of All,\u2019 and the Spirit reminds me of that every moment.<\/p>\n \u201cI am not afraid to let people know I am a man of God. These days I speak to all sorts of groups \u2013 faith<\/em> itself is not a religion! And so I am led to share. We must do everything we can.\u201d<\/p>\n And everything<\/em> in Dr Bennet Omalu\u2019s case means in science, medicine, healthy life choices, and spirituality. For all of his crises and trials, and what the rest of us behold as a journey of boldness and bravery, he makes it all seem so logical:<\/p>\n \u201cI follow the example of Jesus, who reminded us that He came for the sick, not so much the healthy!\u201d<\/p>\n And he let loose another irrepressible laugh, this doctor who also ministers to the soul, the unlikely preacher who does not preach but who lives<\/em> his Christian message. Dr Omalu\u2019s new book can be found here:\u00a0<\/em> Truth Doesn\u2019t Have a Side<\/a><\/p>\n + + +<\/p>\n
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