Fight of My Life: Part 1

          The year 2020 was rough on everyone. Personally I was dealing with a few losses that seemed insurmountable and admittedly I was fighting an internal battle that was amplified by isolation. I was staying afloat thru drinking water, working out and eating right. What would become team Elevate MMA was pulling together practices in any garage that would have us, using nomadic puzzle mats and hand pads to stay engaged. The sounds of ropes skipping on driveways and breathes lost in technique were anchors for hard work and focused dreams. We held strong to the belief that bodies in motion stay in motion and that kept us connected.

One night in early January 2021 my buddy Leroy was in town and reached out. He was working overseas and didn’t want to risk an injury while training, so naturally we met up for a beer instead. I began to air out some grievances, feeling stagnant working as the check in guy at a local indoor skydiving complex. I was grateful to have a job and enjoyed the time with my co-workers, particularly the tunnel Jiu Jitsu with a 10th Planet purple belt who moonlighted as a tunnel instructor, but I couldn’t shake the feelings of frustration and boredom.

        After letting me vent, Leroy mentioned that a project he had worked on in New York* was starting back up and that I should reach out to a buddy of his to see if they had a spot. I took out my phone, sent an email to Leroy’s contact, and we finished our beers with some good laughs and a few inappropriate stories.

The next morning on my way over to Brandon’s house for our weekly Grappler meeting the phone rang: 

“Hey man, you fit the bill for what we’re putting together. Can you get up here tomorrow?”

“Are you covering travel?” I asked the PJ** on the other end of the call.

“Yes,” he replied.

“Yes.”

Life comes at you fast.

*When Covid first shut down most major cities in 2020, the Governor of New York put into effect an Emergency Order allowing outside medical personnel to operate inside the state’s healthcare system. One hospital group, New York Presbyterian at the University of Columbia and Cornell, took this opportunity and ran with it, recruiting a contingent of former special operations medics and credentialing them to operate at the level of Registered Nurse to staff and operate a field hospital in the heart of New York City, assisting their overtaxed ICU’s.

This particular project included experienced nurses and field medics as well as prior-service, reserve and some active duty operators from various medical career fields that took leave to get to work. All were working as civilians and with no association to any branch of the military or department of the local, state or federal government. They were simply drawing on their tools and time to lend a hand.

**Pararescuemen (PJ’s) are U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command and Air Combat Command operators tasked with performing recovery and medical treatment in humanitarian and combat environment.