his amazing story about being in the NFL, going for Pre-Med, and being an actor/model.
DM) When do you hope to graduate medical school?
SB) Medical School is a long haul. I'm preparing to take the
MCAT (Medical College Aptitude Test.like the SAT, only for medical
school) next spring (April of 1999). My application process will
begin next summer, and after secondary applications and interviews
(which take almost a year), I will matriculate in the fall of
2000. Med school in the USA takes four years to complete, so
I would graduate in 2004.
DM) Did any of the medical horror stories you've seen ever
scare you?
SB) No, not at all. My experiences have only served to reinforce
the Zen-like tenet that suffering, pain, and eventual physical
death defines the human condition. When a person works in a hospital
and is constantly reminded of this, their perspective of life
is altered. Problems that could consume an individual's time
and emotional energy seem much more insignificant. Other moments
become more precious.
DM) When you become a doctor, will you feel a sense of loss
because you are no longer playing football?
SB) Wow, I have spent so much time thinking about the answer
to this question! There's no doubt that I will miss playing.
I have been putting the pads on every year since I was 8 years
old. Not only have I been able to play in the NFL, I have had
a unique perspective from the pedestal that our society creates
for professional athletes. I will miss the things that come with
playing, like having the ability to thrill a little boy or girl
just by shaking their hand.
However, becoming a physician has always been more important
to me than becoming a professional football player. I chose a
small, liberal arts college instead of a football powerhouse.
Occidental College is a school where student-athletes are truly
student-athletes. Though I was provided with an excellent education,
the odds of playing professionally out of such a small (Division
3) school are incredibly small. At the end of college, I was
already forced to answer your question. I asked myself, "How
much of my identity as a person is tied to football? If football
is removed from my life now, how much of 'me' is left?"
Many experiences have helped me answer these questions. As an
undergraduate I paid for college by working as a phlebotomist
(person who draws blood from patients and runs tests in the lab)
and emergency room EMT. I have been at the bedside of sick people.
I watched as some of them died, and I watched others heal and
walk out of the hospital doors to enjoy the rest of their lives.
Through all of these times I have known that I could spend the
rest of my life attempting to heal, or at least comfort, others.
I won't think of my "career change" as a loss. I will
think of football as a major influence in my life, and I will
view my NFL career as an incredible goal, which I was fortunate
to achieve. I will be focused on the future. I'll dream not of
crossing the goal line, but of waiting in line to receive my
medical school diploma.
DM) For which team did you most enjoy playing?
SB) That's a tough one. Playing for the Detroit Lions has
to be one of the best of my pro experiences. The team was not
playing well, and it was Wayne Fonts' last year as coach. What
made it so special is that I was born in Detroit, Michigan. All
of my relatives--aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents--live there.
I would go to work and come home to my grandma's dinners and
the love of family. I think those special people caused me to
focus less on the pressures of the game and more on the value
of the experiences that I was having.
DM) On the other side of the coin, does fame become a hindrance?
Patients asking for your help because of your fame and not your
skill.
SB) I've never experienced any negative aspects from my other
"careers" while working in the hospital. In general,
people are in the hospital because they have some serious illness.
Patients are usually immersed in some degree of pain and/or suffering,
and rightfully their attention is focused "inward."
I usually enjoyed anonymity in the hospital. Once a woman did
recognize me, however, and it was helpful. This woman wasn't
very old, and lived a very active life before her admission to
the hospital. She had a stroke, which caused the right side of
her body to be completely paralyzed. After this woman's medical
condition was stabilized she still had to face the challenges
presented by her paralysis, and she also had to redefine her
self-esteem. Her stroke not only affected her limbs, but also
the muscles of her face and head. This caused her face to "droop"
on one side, and affected her speech. She became extremely depressed
because she felt ugly when she looked in the mirror, and because
her slurred speech did not do justice to the words that were
in her head. She was completely open and honest about her lack
of desire to live under such circumstances.
After many visits to her room for blood tests, she asked me about
my football career. I learned that she was a rabid Buffalo Bills
fan, and that she spent entire weekends watching NFL games on
TV. She seemed quite amazed that someone from her favorite pastime
would be caring for her in a hospital. Her depression dissipated
as she energetically and excitedly ranted about the Bills and
their many missed opportunities in Super Bowls. Eventually, after
she left the hospital, one of her daughters wrote to tell me
that she was feeling better and yelling at the TV for her Bills
every week.
DM) Being a man with 3 careers right now, will you be willing
to drop the other 2 for medicine?
SB) Absolutely. I was prepared to enter medical school immediately
after college. I made the most of some opportunities in sports
and in Hollywood, and in the blink of an eye almost 5 years have
passed. Though sidetracked by acting and athletics, I spent many
of my off-seasons working in hospitals. I was constantly reminded
of my desire to pursue entrance to medical school.
The past four years still seem somewhat surreal. It would be
great to think of my acting/football playing and bask in sunlight
of, "I've worked my butt off in order to perform well, and
I try to be a good person, so I deserve this," but the truth
is that there are plenty of good, hard working, deserving people
who are still dreaming of the opportunities that I have received.
This thought humbles me, and at the same time motivates me to
continue with my education.
To make a short story long, I would love to continue to be "sidetracked"
by a successful athletic or acting career, but when the time
comes for me to make the most of another opportunity--that of
going to medical school--I trust that I will be ready to leave
those other things behind.
DM) What experience initially motivated you to start in medicine?
SB) I'm not exactly sure. Sciences such as physics, biology,
and psychology have always interested me. I was exposed to the
hospital environment from a young age. I used to visit my mother,
an Intensive Care Unit/ CCU nurse, at the hospital. As a little
boy, I wandered in to the units where she worked and stole glances
at patients who had returned from "open-heart" surgery.
The more I spent time in hospitals as an undergraduate, the more
I knew that the practice of medicine would be an important part
of my life.
DM) What piece of advice was the best you've heard from a
coach?
SB) I have played for a lot of great NFL coaches--Wayne Sevier,
George Siefert, Mike Shannahan, Jim Mora, Bobby April--just to
name a few, but the best advice was given to me by a pop-warner
coach when I was a young boy. He taught me something about the
importance of confidence.
He told a story of a death row prisoner who donated himself for
a psychological experiment. The prisoner was told that his wrists
were going to be cut so that scientists could determine how long
it would take a human to die from blood loss. The prisoner was
blindfolded and placed on a table. The scientists ran a razor
sharp piece of ice across his wrists (which simulated the feeling
of a blade, but did not cut him at all). Immediately an apparatus
was started which dropped viscous water on to his wrists in time
with his heartbeat. The prisoner could feel his blood leaving
his body with every pulse. Some period of time passed and this
perfectly healthy human being's heart stopped, and he died.
The coach related this supposed anecdote to the power of the
mind, and how limits are often self imposed. That story blew
me away. It really had an effect on my confidence. Though now
it is hardly believable, to this day there aren't many things
that I think of as "impossible."
DM) A friend once told me, "even non-athlete's need a
coach" every once in a while. Do you think that's true?
SB) Absolutely. Especially when considering broader examples
of a "coach." I'm talking about the coaches in life-
those that do more than teach. These "coaches" are
leaders- anyone who is visible, has some sort of influence, and
sets some kind of example. These people are also motivators,
and reinforcers of success. Everyone can benefit from having
this type of person in their life, especially young children.
For example, I am presently tutoring a 9-year-old boy (Though
it is not his real name, I will refer to him as "Sean").
Though Sean is repeating the third grade, his reading and math
skills are at the first grade level. He has been teased and harassed
constantly by his peers in school for "flunking."
We worked for over a month before school started this fall. His
math skills have improved greatly, and he has received a 20 out
of 20 on his first two spelling tests. After showing me the first
one he looked up at me and said, "I never got an A in anything
in my life!" Now, his attitude has totally changed. He expects
to get a good grade on his spelling tests. He zips through a
deck of math flash cards in 5 minutes (it used to take almost
an hour to get through this same deck), and is disappointed that
he did not do it faster!
Success snowballs into confidence for future successes. Psychologists
term this snowballing effect, "The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy."
It also works with negative attitudes. Sean could have continued
on a path of self-doubt and prevented himself from getting an
A through believing it impossible. Successful experiences have
a major effect on self-esteem and confidence, and I'm sure everyone
would agree that a person can never have enough of these. A "coach"
can make a big difference in this way.
