We have written a lot about survivors and role models. Living with a variety of health ailments. Not just cancer. Today, we look at Justin Fields – Role Model.
Epileptic NFL Quarterback Justin Fields – A Role Model
Justin Fields was an outstanding, award-winning quarterback at Ohio State University. And he was recently selected 11th in the NFL 2021 draft. As a result, he will play for the Chicago Bears.
Yet, for us, these impressive athletic achievements are not what make Fields a role model. Rather, we marvel about his ability to play a high-level contact sport, despite his epilepsy.
According to Joey Kaufman, in an article appearing in USA Today:
After the NFL draft, former Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields made public that he was first diagnosed with epilepsy, a neurological disorder that can cause seizures, in the ninth grade, but that it has not limited his career. “It has had zero effect on football.”.
Fields pointed out he has not missed a game or practice since treating the medical condition and follows a strict medicine schedule to remain healthy. “I mean, it’s pretty simple for me to manage it. I just have to take three to four pills a night, every night. It’s nothing crazy. It’s a thing that’s been there for the past seven or eight years, so I’m used to it, and I’m just going to continue to deal with it and continue to play the game that I love.”
Fields said his diagnosis first came after he suffered a seizure while at his high school in Kennesaw, Georgia. “It was crazy,” Fields said, “because I just woke up in an ambulance.”
This photo shows Fields at the Bears’ training camp.
Photo Source: https://bearswire.usatoday.com/