One sultry afternoon in September, Terry Bradshaw was hanging around the horse-training facility on his ranch in Thackerville, Oklahoma, reflecting on turning 70 a few days earlier. “The ride I’ve been on has been an absolute joy,” says Bradshaw. “The good and the bad, all of it.”
这位匹兹堡钢人队的传奇四分卫和获奖电视名人有很多优点。他还在自己的résumé网站上记录了自己在电影中的亮相，甚至还有一些西部乡村音乐的记录。但也有逆境，从布拉德肖刚加入钢人队时听到的嘘声，到他与抑郁症的公开斗争。
An Unexpected Opponent
布拉德肖自2013年被诊断出患有类风湿关节炎(RA)以来又遇到了另一个敌人。
“It was like, ‘What do youmean,rheumatoid arthritis?’” he recalls asking his doctors, his voice and energy rising in a way that fans ofFox NFL SundayandThursday Night Footballwould recognize. “They had to bring me up to speed on what it is. And I’ve got to tell you, I wasn’t real happy knowing I had rheumatoid arthritis and the fact that I could hurt so bad.”
That’s saying something, considering that the burly Bradshaw spent 14 seasons in the NFL getting battered by even bigger opponents. Yet he’s facing RA with the same grit and determination that led him to success on the gridiron. And, despite coping withpainful symptoms, he maintains the buoyant outlook that makes him appealing in front of the camera. “I don’t let rheumatoid arthritis dictate my life,” says Bradshaw, who partnered recently with the American College of Rheumatology to encourage people with rheumatic disease to live well and beproactive in their care.
Scoring Victories
Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Bradshaw was a star quarterback in high school and became one of the top college quarterbacks in the country at Louisiana Tech University. As the first player selected in the 1970 NFL draft, Bradshaw was expected to improve the Steelers’ fortunes. He struggled during his first few seasons, and the team continued losing. Once he refined his passing touch, though, he went on to become one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. He led the Steelers to four Super Bowl victories, was named most valuable player in 1978 and earned a place in the NFL’s Hall of Fame.
Bradshaw retired from the NFL in 1983. He has appeared in TV shows and films, includingHooper,The Cannonball Run,Failure to LaunchandFather Figures. To football fans, though, he is the animated analyst onFox NFL Sunday, the pre-game show he has co-hosted since 1994, where his plain-spoken and often hilarious commentary has helped him win three Emmy awards.
Although he never had knee injuries while playing, Bradshaw developed pain in both knees that made even walking a challenge. Tests revealed he had RA.
Winning with RA
After three years, Bradshaw and his doctor founddisease-modifying drugsthat keep his symptoms mostly in check.
“Am I 100 percent pain free? No, but I’m about 95 percent,” he says. His RA affects him most in the hips, hands and fingers. (Thanks to joint-replacement surgery in 2016, his right knee is pain-free.) Fatigue is sometimes a problem, too. He credits his wife, Tammy, with helping him stay on track with his drug regimen.
Being on the go is one key to keeping his RA symptoms at bay. “You have to be active,” says Bradshaw, fresh from a fast-paced, 90-minuteweight-liftingsession with a trainer. He and Tammy walk for aerobic exercise, and he enjoys fishing. Bradshaw says hisdepression, which often occurs with RA, is under control, too. “I live my life,” he says. “I do everything I want to do.”
这包括工作，即使这意味着在足球赛季的大部分时间里都不在家。“I still love what I’m doing,” he says. “I don’t get tired of it. I don’t get tired of traveling – heck, you get almost seven months off. Plenty of time to rekindle the old energy.”
Author: TIMOTHY GOWER
Related Resources:
- Unstoppable: Charcandrick West’s Story
- Rheumatoid Arthritis Self-Care
- Eat Right for Your Type of Arthritis
- Become a LiveYes! Member