22: War Veteran & Amputee Cancer Survivor to Javelin Athlete & Author // The Story of Brandi Benson

Background:

At the age of 24, Brandi Benson bravely served her country by enlisting as an active-duty soldier in the U.S. Army. She deployed to Iraq in 2008, but her military career was cut short due to her Ewing Sarcoma diagnosis. Brandi continues to lead a life of service and enjoys working with other veterans. She is also a semi-finalist for Ms. Veteran America 2020.

Brandi is also an accomplished author. Her debut memoir, The Enemy Inside Me: A Young Soldier’s Unexpected Battle With Cancer, tells the powerful story of her 2009 Ewing Sarcoma diagnosis during her deployment in Iraq and her ensuing mental and physical battle to triumph over cancer. Over the years, Brandi has also published numerous articles about wellness, cancer and business.

Brandi currently lives in South Florida with a Jack Russell/Yorkie named Maddie and enjoys speaking to audiences across the country.

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

5:06 In 2008, Brandi had just been deployed to Iraq and she immediately experienced a lot of wartime military action.
6:17 She remembers eating dinner and they got hit by a mortar and everything turned to chaos.
8:21 During one of her training and exercise routines, she noticed a lump in her leg. At first, she thought it wasn’t serious but her friend suggested she should go to the doctor.
12:29 At 24 years old, Brandi found out that she has a rare and aggressive type of cancer.
14:31 Finding something to blame, Brandi couldn’t truly understand why this is happening to her. Today, it all made sense to her.
16:49 Her mother quit everything to take care of her and stay with her in the hospital.
18:55 Eric and Brandi talk about the law of attraction and being thankful for even the simplest things around them.
23:10 In 2013, Brandi created her vision board. As the years go by, she started realizing that she had accomplished all the things she listed on that board.
26:23 The doctors told her that they would probably have to amputate her leg. She begged and pleaded to the doctor to save her leg. Waking up from her surgery, she didn’t know if she still has her leg.
34:00 Brandi is living her rockin’ it moment right now. Everything is coming together for her this year.
37:22 According to Brandi, you may not be able to control what is happening to you but you can control how you would react to it.
38:24 Brandi explains the meaning of the title of her book – The Enemy Inside Me.
42:22 As she was going through her treatment and staying in the hospital, she saw a Chrysler 300 on TV and she immediately decided that she wanted that car. She needed that car because she wanted something to look forward to every day.
44:40 Eric raises a question to everyone, including the listeners, regarding what is the best thing you could do today to help you get through whatever challenges or hardships you are experiencing.
52:56 The topic of discussion between Eric and Brandi shifts to racism and how to move beyond it.

This Episode Brought to You By:

32:12 The Man, the Myth, the Canadian Legend: Eric Gilbert-Williams. Eric put together this very podcast as a passion project to help you & others. If you’d be so kind to Subscribe & Leave a Written Review of the show, it’d really make our day! You can Subscribe & Rate our Podcast right here: From Rock Bottom to Rockin’ It..

Key Points from the Interview:

“How could cancer happen to me? I’ve played everything by the rules. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t do drugs, you know, I’m a happy person, I’m young, I’m healthy. I’m like, how did I miss this? How did this happen to me?”
“You can be a victim to the diagnosis. Sometimes we can’t do anything about having cancer, but you don’t have to be a victim to the prognosis. You don’t have to submit to what statistics say that’s gonna happen to you, and that’s what I did for myself. I don’t remember the moment in time was, but I told myself that I’m going to live, I’m not going to be a statistic, I’m not gonna die, and I’m gonna create a book and I’m gonna tell my story someday, and that’s exactly what happened.”

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