Charles Holbrook — Perspective
Charger Cross Country | Class of 2020 | Hillsdale, MI
The Charles Holbrook that came to Hillsdale his freshman year is much different than the Charles that will leave in seven months. Originally set on running long distance and studying finance, a couple of classes and a couple trips to the hospital changed his perspective.
"I came in wanting to do finance, but philosophy really kind of stuck out and I was like, 'I really love learning about the way people think,'" Charles said. "It really helps us look at other subjects as arts rather than the mechanical view."
He says his professors have been some of the most influential peole in his life. By his sophomore year, Charles jumped into the upper level philosophy classes in pursuit of the philosphy and religion major.
"It killed my GPA," he said. But he pressed on and found himself applying what he was learning in philosophy to business.
"Something that a lot of people don't know about business and philosophy is that analyzing business is a lot like research, and that's what philosophy is," Charles said. "I want to do something with business or financial analyst."
Upper level philosophy classes are challenging enough on their own, but Charles spent his sophomore year balancing that tough academic load and major health issues. During the summer before his sophomore year, he began experiencing unusual back pain after a long run that wouldn't go away.
"Three days went by something wasn't really right and on the fourth day I couldn't fully wake up. I can't even describe the feeling," Charles said. "I called my mom and said I needed to go to the hospital. Then she came up and we went to the doctor."
When they got to the hospital, Charles got immediately got an x-ray and was rushed to the emergency room. Without any anesthetics, doctors began operating. They had to cut a hole in his chest to fix his collapsed right lung. Air was going into his lung, which built up pressure in his chest. He described it as "having mini heart attacks, over and over again."
"It was just miserable. It was a long ambulance ride to Indianapolis. I was there for a couple days," he said. "Then I had surgery to cut off the bubbles and bad parts of my lung. Then they scarred the outside of my lung and the inside of my chest cavity so when it heals it won't fall down again."
So now the scar tissue between his chest cavity and lung is holding everything together. But that wasn't the end. After the fall semester of his sophomore year, the same thing happened to his left lung. This time, he knew what was happening, but when he went to the hospital, they sent him home. Knowing something still wasn't right, he went back to the hospital where he had a second surgery.
"I was there for five days, and I got to come home on Christmas eve," he said. Just because he came home, however, doesn't mean he's living pain-free. "It's constant pain. Our lungs naturally move around, but mine don't move anymore, so it causes muscle spasms in my back and chest. Plus the scar tissues and that area is super sensitive."
With distance running being so aerobic, one might wonder how he's still running, let alone competing at the college level. It's been a long process, but his strong mindset and positive attitude toward the sport keep him going.
"I've wanted to quit multiple times. I've been in the car to go tell Coach White I wanted to quit, but I just couldn't do it," Charles said. "I don't think it's because it's addictive. It's just that I decided to run here for four years, and I don't want to give that up just because something I can't control happened to me. And the coaches have just been so patient with me. Most other coaches would be like, 'Thanks for your help see ya later.'"
Charles is starting to reap the rewards of years of consistency and hard work, despite the pain. Since his sophomore year, he's competed in 14 track and cross country meets, become the GOAL Program Coordinator, and even gotten his realtor's license. He's saving his best year for last.
"This year is the first year I've been able to train without stopping. I'm starting to get good enough. I'm getting in shape again for the first time in three years."