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‘Odds can be beaten’: Martial arts give cystic fibrosis patient hope

Click to play video: 'Edmonton man defies medical diagnosis by practising martial arts'
Edmonton man defies medical diagnosis by practising martial arts
WATCH ABOVE: An Edmonton man is sharing his ongoing battle with cystic fibrosis to inspire children to fight their disease. As Sarah Kraus explains, when he was first diagnosed with the disease, he decided to take up a hobby – Jan 4, 2017

David Roles is an avid martial artist but can only practice his hobby for about a minute before he has a hard time breathing, thanks to cystic fibrosis.

The Edmonton man was diagnosed with the disease – which causes a buildup of mucus in the lungs – when he was just 10 years old.

“It didn’t really get too bad until I was maybe about 16 – then it was just two weeks in the hospital, two weeks out. Two in, two out.”

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Roles estimates he spent two years of his childhood in hospitals, getting treatment for his disease.

One day, a nurse inadvertently changed his life.

“She brought in one of those TV trays with all the movies to pick. I just said, ‘I like Jackie Chan movies.’ I mean, who doesn’t when they’re a kid? And there was the Bruce Lee story.”

The movie inspired Roles. He was fascinated by everything Bruce Lee overcame in his short life. He started practicing Jeet Kune Do, Lee’s personalized form of martial arts.

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https://twitter.com/SarahNKraus/status/816513536360849408

At 19 years old, Roles lungs were failing, so he received a double-lung transplant.

“While I was on the waiting list for the transplant, I’d go up and down the stairs all day, just trying to be as fit as I could. I’d try to kick the trees in the terrarium in the U of A, holding my IV out of the way so I don’t rip it out.”

Roles didn’t let the transplant keep him down.

“I was just like, 80 pounds. I was so skinny. It was really hard to gain some weight. Any activity that makes you more hungry, that’s a good thing.”

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Roles is now 27 years old. Doctors told him his new lungs would buy him another 10 years – that means he only has two left. Roles plans on doing even better.

“Stats can be beaten. Odds can be beaten. You have to try. That’s the point, right?” he said. “I’m supposed to be sick and disabled. No one knows until I tell them, ever.”

He’s still in pain and needs to take a plethora of pills every day to stay alive but Jeet Kune Do gives him purpose.

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“When you’re sitting there and you wonder, ‘What am I going to get up for tomorrow? To take 50 pills? If I miss them, what’s going to happen?’ Or you could say, ‘Tomorrow I’m going to wake up and be able to touch my head on my knees or run around the block.'”

Roles hopes children with cystic fibrosis can benefit from his experience and try martial arts.

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