Motivational

Former dialysis patient and Paralympian: Bobby McMullen

Kidney disease and blindness has not stopped this extraordinary athlete from doing what he loves best: chasing life at full speed

It’s been said that there are two kinds of people in the world: those who see the glass half empty and those who see it half full. And then… there’s Bobby McMullen. “I am incredibly optimistic,” shares Bobby. “It’s not half empty or half full…it’s just full.”

Surprising words from a man who has faced diabetes, dialysis, two double transplants and blindness. But to anyone who knows Bobby, those words are not surprising at all. While most able-bodied people struggle to maintain a “half full” mentality, Bobby has been blessed with an amazingly sunny outlook, despite his adversities. “I’ve never had a depressed day in my life. I don’t understand depression,” he admits. “I just chase life every day. Always have, since I was a little kid, because my folks supported me and pushed me to do whatever put a smile on my face."

What puts a smile on Bobby’s face today is exactly the same thing that did when he was a boy–competitive sports. Back then it was football, baseball, and basketball. So it was only natural that sports dominated his thoughts when he was first diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 12. There was no fear or sadness, just disappointment about missing flag-football practice during his time in the hospital. “I was 12, so I was fascinated with the idea of injections and then the doctor told me I needed to exercise a lot. So my thought was ‘Oh, I have to play more?’ That idea was very inviting.”

Life after the diagnosis

From the time Bobby left the hospital after that initial diagnosis, he led a very healthy, compliant life. In fact, there were no real complications from the diabetes until age 29. Bobby had enjoyed clear vision all through college but suddenly began having trouble reading the board during his first year of law school. He assumed it was from all the required reading; however his ophthalmologist told him it was much more serious. “He diagnosed me with proliferative diabetic retinopathy and told me I would be totally blind in a month. And I was.”

While laser surgery was able to save some of his vision, the scarring left Bobby without any vision in his left eye and only 20/1200 best-corrected vision in his right eye.

Picking himself up

In true “Bobby McMullen” form, he regrouped, left law school and forged ahead with his winning attitude: “If you fall down seven times, get up eight.”

At that time, a friend asked Bobby to come skiing with the disabled ski team. Since he had been skiing all through college and had heard about guides for the blind, Bobby didn’t hesitate to say yes. “I crashed a lot but in a short amount of time I started learning how to follow the guide. He would wear bright colors so I followed his shape and he’d give me verbal commands.”

By 1994, Bobby had not only learned how to ski with a guide, he was good enough to make the U.S. disabled ski team. But just two years later, he started experiencing some of the symptoms of kidney failure: vomiting and fluid retention. Like many athletes with a high tolerance for pain, he ignored these symptoms until he became extremely sick at the World Championship Games in October 1996. This time his diagnosis was kidney failure and the treatment he needed was dialysis.

Dealing with dialysis

Unlike his previous setbacks, this diagnosis was an especially tough one to hear. “I realized it wasn’t like a broken leg where you set it and six weeks later, the cast comes off. There was a lot to learn.” Bobby recalls, “My parents and I became students of the diet, the importance of going to dialysis and what a life on dialysis entails. I learned very quickly that the most important thing is going to your treatment.”

And that’s exactly what he did; right after he put his name on the list for a kidney and pancreas transplant. Starting in October 1996, Bobby had his dialysis routine down: skiing in the morning and dialysis in the afternoon three days a week for three hours. “I skied and rode my bike, telling myself, ‘I need to stay in shape because the transplant’s going to happen. I’m going to get new organs and go back to the ski team and race.’”

The first transplant

That positive thinking paid off in January 1997 when a matching kidney and pancreas donor was found. Within just 30 days of his successful double transplant surgery, Bobby started seeing good lab results, so he returned to skiing and the kind of life he had enjoyed before he was a diabetic. “The idea that I had a new pancreas and would no longer be a diabetic was pretty amazing.”

Bobby gradually resumed skiing and training with the team full-time but then in November 2000, started experiencing symptoms of acute renal rejection. By February 2001, Bobby was back on dialysis.

This time around, Bobby’s dialysis taught him even more about compliance and beating kidney disease. “I worked very hard to be compliant–never missed a treatment. If I had a change in my labs, I worked with my dietitian. I learned how important it was to work with the whole health care team: the nurses, the social worker, the techs and the dietitian. They took great care of me.” He adds, “Working closely with them, using them as my support system was critical. I chose to be very proactive. Doctors know a lot, but you need to be your own best advocate.”

Finding love and winning the lottery twice

Dialysis also provided another surprising benefit for Bobby–it was where he met a very special DaVita nurse–a woman he would soon fall in love with. “I met Therese after I started dialysis and had lost about 40-45 pounds, so I was barely 150 pounds and I was pretty sick.” Bobby laughs, “I actually started puking on her after she gave me some medication. I guess that won her over.”

With a new love and new determination to regain his health, Bobby added his name to the list for a kidney/pancreas transplant and then shifted his focus to his dialysis diet and treatment. “If the dietitian told me my phosphorus was up, I wanted to know why. I was very proactive with my care. It’s a challenge but it’s essential to be compliant. I can’t say that enough. I never cut my treatments short, no matter what schedule I had. Minutes off your dialysis treatment are minutes off your life, that’s a fact.”

In March 2003, after two years of dialysis, Bobby got the news that he and Therese had been waiting for: he was about to receive his second double transplant. It was like the winning the lottery…twice.

It’s all about the bike

Following his successful double transplant surgery, Bobby decided to retire from skiing at age 40. But that didn’t mean he was slowing down, just merely changing sport. He competed in the Challenged Athletes Foundation Half Ironman event that consisted of a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike race and 13-mile run.

After realizing that the bike race was his favorite part of the competition, Bobby and Therese started mountain bike racing in 2004 and in typical “Bobby” fashion, moved full speed ahead. By the end of his first season, Bobby had completed 23 races, including two 12-hour races and nine cross-country races. “I crash a lot but I’m okay with that because every time I go out and race, I set a goal and compete against myself. If I give 115%, then whatever outcome I have, I’ve won the day.”

Being a role model

Chris Waddell has known Bobby since 1994 when they began skiing together on the U.S. Disabled Ski team. Over the years, Chris has been one of the many fans inspired by his good friend. “Bobby is such a great role model, not only for people with diabetes or kidney disease, but healthy people who may say, ‘Today I’m just going to stay on the couch.’ Bobby has every reason to say ‘no’ but he is living life to the absolutely fullest.”

It’s this message that Chris hopes to help spread. As Bobby’s manager, he is currently seeking a sponsor for Bobby’s “Race to Educate—Chasing Life Tour.”  It’s a 4-5 month tour where Bobby plans to ride and race across the country, raising awareness about a number of topics including: diabetes, transplantation, organ donation, even blindness.

“A sponsor would allow him to travel the country and connect to people, in schools, hospitals, business organizations to say, ‘Life is the best thing that we have going and you really do need to take advantage of it every day.’”

Life is good

“Since my transplant in 2003, my energy level has been amazing,” says Bobby. “And my labs are like they were when I was 12, prior to being a diabetic. I don’t want to throw the word ‘normal’ out there because the truth is, I will never be normal.”

At age 42, Bobby’s life has exceeded his expectations. “My life is incredibly surreal. It really is. It is the most amazing of lives.”

While Bobby’s unstoppable approach to life has clearly made him a winner, Bobby attributes his success and good health to that thing that makes him smile.  “Physical activity is the elixir of the gods. I just finished a 15-mile race and I can’t wait to go out and do it again.”