In life things can be so unpredictable. Things can fall into your lap. Things that can happen can make you take another fork in the road. You can be on top of the world and then you can be free falling down the side of a mountain the next day. What kind of person are you when your whole world is turned upside down? Some fight to live another day. Some fall in an instant. While some make it a mission to turn the tables and get back to the top of the mountain. When it is all said and done, it shows you what kind of person and what kind of strength you really have. It is not the kind of strength working out in the gym can do for you. It is what your mindset is all about. Like an old saying, if you set your mind to something you can accomplish whatever you want to. I thank Marty McFly in Back to the Future is where I remember those words. However many others have dawned on those words in my lifetime and yours.

Former NFL quarterback Jim Kelly has been diagnosed with cancer for the third time after his playing days. In 2013, doctors gave him only a 10 percent chance however he was able to beat it. However cancer might be one of the meanest things in our life time. It came back one year later and it was one of the nastiest defenses Kelly would ever face. However Jim Kelly prevailed. He was living cancer free after that until recently, 2018. For the third time he has to battle something that has killed many people. It seems like everyone knows somebody from their own family or has a friend that the big C has taken. Somebody you have loved all of a sudden done. Jim Kelly will be fighting oral cancer. Oral cancer hits in the head or neck. Malignancies can form on the lips or the tongue. It could form in back of the mouth, throat, tonsils. Plus tissue around the jaw area. Some signs to watch out for that one might have oral cancer is trouble chewing and swallowing. Speaking difficulties and earaches. If a numbness occurs.

Jim Kelly started his career in the USFL with the Houston Gamblers. He put up big numbers in that league until it folded with Donald Trump’s help.   Then he played for the Buffalo Bills for 11 seasons in the NFL. He was one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the game. He led the Bills to four AFC conference Championships. However he was tagged for four Superbowl losses. He did make it to NFL hall of Fame in Canton. Plus the Buffalo Bills have retired his number 12 jersey as well. Known for running the no huddle K-Gun offense in which he put up big time numbers in yards and touchdown passes.

On the grid iron Jim Kelly had a mind set and determination like only a small percentage of players have in the whole sport. The first Superbowl many said he should of won that one. If he did win that one maybe the next three after would have had different outcomes. He drove his team down field against the Giants in that first Superbowl appearance at the end of the game and gave his team a good chance to win that one. But Scott Norwood miss the kick. To lose a game like that and how they lost that game would of deflated most of the teams the following season. Jim Kelly came back the next year and the next year after that for a total of four times. This mindset and determination and some prayers helped him through those first two battles with cancer. The grit he shows, he’ll probably get through this next battle as well.

I have known a few people that had their own battles with cancer. Some fought it tooth and nails. I tell you the survivors and the non survivors have that mind set. Maybe you can say eye of tiger to survive. Some people would wither away. It’s something that fell in their laps that nobody wants. To be able to get through all the treatments. To muster up enough energy to try to get back to the things you normally do day to day. To keep fighting it when it has you down. The will to live takes over, the desire to hang on and be part of life takes them to another level. To hear people tell their stories. How they accepted a mission they did not want and slay the dragon to come on top is something out of this world.

At the end of the month Jim Kelly is due for his next chapter or he might think in his mind, next battle. In his own words, “I might have lost four Superbowls in a roll but I’ve kicked cancer’s butt twice.

Before his next battle he will still attend his next fishing trip. He will happily have a pole in one hand and a beer in the other. Jim Kelly will make sure he will stay positive around others. That is the rule in the Kelly family, no frown faces or negative words. Kelly, as all people, get their inspiration from somewhere. People who were inspired by him, he is inspired by their journey through these dark days.

For one thing Jim Kelly has surrounded himself with a great team like those Bills’ teams in the 1990’s. Jim Kelly’s huge family and friends along with former teammates. He has also got all his fans. Along with people that are in the same boat as him. With all the prayers even from Patriot and Dolphin fans it’s a very nice support system. Plus the medical staff that will kill the army of cancer cells trying to sack one of the gridiron greats. In the long run, Jim Kelly’s game plan will be about his wife and kids and with his own will he will strike another victory against the Big C. My  prayers are always with Jim Kelly. My favorite quarterback of all-time. Plus he’s a guy who is a star player but a regular Joe Six pack at the same time. Overall a great guy.