Scott on left with snowboard, his friend Bryan on the right wearing skis
(Read the text below, or scroll down to watch the video...)
My name is Scott Buchanan. I’m 35 and I have Cystic Fibrosis. Its been over 11 years since my last hospitalization.
My approach to managing CF is pretty simple. Adherence to treatments, good nutrition, and as much physical exercise as I can find time for. These days that might mean yoga, that might mean interval training in the gym, when I’m lucky it means surfing, but my weekly routine is structured around training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
I started training jiu jitsu when I was about 27. Picked it up, put it down a couple times over the course of a few years. But then decided to really commit and have been training year-round for about four years. In 2016 the CF Lifestyle Foundation awarded me a recreation grant that covered costs for about 5 months out of the year. I’ve done a lot of intensely physical things in my life: played football in high school, hiked through the mountains for days on end, even run a marathon. But nothing I’ve experienced is as acutely exhausting as grappling with another human being.
This sport is very taxing on your cardiovascular system, and Ill be honest – there are some moments when I’m on the mats and I’m asking myself: what the heck are you doing out here trying to compete with some of these monsters? It’s a difficult sport for everyone and its only more difficult because I have CF. But that’s just it, that’s the key. Its pushing myself to the brink, way beyond my comfort zone, that allows me to derive the maximum health benefit from this sport. Anyone who trains jiu jitsu will tell you, as much of a grind as it can be, it comes with both physical and mental benefits. And there is no greater feeling than when you’re winning. These things are what keep us all coming back to train again.
CF is a serious condition. I suppose that I would have to concede that inevitably, the day will come when it prevents me from being able to compete at a meaningful level. And of course that thought enters my mind from time to time. But so far as I’m concerned, as long as I can walk through that door, tie on the belt, and get on the mats…that day is not today.
Scott Buchanan is 35 years old with CF and lives in Newport, Rhode Island with his wonderful girlfriend Sarah. He graduated in 2017 with a Ph.D. from the University of Rhode Island where he studied wildlife ecology and conservation. He hopes to have a long career contributing to efforts to conserve biodiversity and natural resources in an increasingly crowded world. He is a man with (perhaps too) many hobbies. In addition to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, he enjoys surfing, snowboarding, spearfishing, hot yoga, interval training, kayaking, hiking, and making beer at home. You can follow him on Instagram at: scotbuch7 or email him at scotbuch7@aol.com (yep, that's correct, aol).
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***Views expressed in the CFLF Blog are those of the bloggers themselves and not necessarily of the Cystic Fibrosis Lifestyle Foundation***
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