SPEAKER: From the youngest age, I remember just looking at photos and books. And I knew every ship, every class by name, by number. I even took Russian in high school to make me a better serviceman, maybe get into Naval Intelligence one day. I had thoughts of various things to do in the Navy for at least 20 years. I wanted to be in the Navy. I wanted to serve in the Navy. And so that was my goal.

When I went to the recruiters, I was 17 years old. And just like all the other recruit candidates, we stood on a line. And there were a couple of doctors there. And I remember he leaned into it, he looked at it, and he called the other doctors over. And all three of them came over, the doctors in the white lab coats.

And I remember one of them pointed with his wooden pointer at this lesion, and he says, that's psoriasis. I'm like, what the heck is psoriasis, right? So they all nodded in agreement, they walked away. And first I thought, oh, no, it'll be OK. I'll still get into the Navy but we just have to do something. Yeah, no, that didn't happen.

The lesion that they pointed out did grow. And it grew almost exponentially. It started appearing more so on my face, down my arms. So as it spread, it became more and more difficult to do things physically and also emotionally, because now it will start to get visible to people on the outside. And I could tell I was being treated differently. The looks that you would get, watching somebody's eyes as they scan your face or they look at your arms.

Little things like that start to add up. You don't realize how much it's affecting you, how it's really steering your life to avoid social situations, to avoid people in general. I would probably watch TV mostly, stare at the television hours and hours a day.

So on a Friday afternoon, I'd come home. I'd take two steps into the house, turn on the television, and sit in front of the television until Monday morning. I mean, it was literally just all day long just watching the TV. I was turning to food as an escape. Not getting the sun, not getting sunlight, the stress of it all was definitely not being helpful. Gaining weight was also being detrimental to the effectivity of medicines. So yeah, it was not a good place to be.

I got tired of what I had become. I was feeling like I was useless. I didn't do anything. I did nothing for myself, I did nothing for anyone else. I barely volunteered for anything. I didn't participate in any kind of sports or social activities. I knew that I was on the wrong path and I knew that I needed to change. I knew I needed to do something. And that's when I got up out of the chair, I turned off the TV, and I set a goal to get healthier and lose weight.

Started off very small. I couldn't do much. And I knew that I was in bad shape. But I knew that I had a goal. But I'd never run in my life, let's see if I can, OK? I've lost some pounds. Let's see if I can do it. And just like everything in life, you get a little bit better and you challenge yourself, right? So for all of 2015 I did 5Ks almost every weekend, if not every other weekend.

So after I did these 5Ks, I decided to take it to a 10-miler, and then after that, a half marathon, and then a full marathon. It's absolutely amazing to accomplish a marathon, without a doubt. [LAUGHS] It's a hard thing to explain because you hate it and you love it.

It's not an easy thing. And the pleasure comes after the shower and you've passed out for a couple of hours, yeah. Yeah, then you go, huh, maybe I'll sign up for another one. So my goal now is to do 50 by 50 by 50, which is 50 half marathons in 50 states by the age of 50.

Getting in better shape definitely helped with the psoriasis. Medicines were far more effective. The stress level was improved. That always has a positive effect. And just the confidence of not worrying so much was a great impact socially. I didn't have to cower and hide anymore. The television has literally been off for over five years.

And so, as the confidence came back and as I started feeling better about myself, I did a lot more volunteering for the community. Eventually got into helping shelter animals. And then eventually, I started my own rescue.

Without goals and without hope, it's very tough. Those are the two things you need. And it could be a big goal, it could be a small goal, it doesn't matter. And if you can remember your goals and stay hopeful about them, you'll succeed and achieve those goals. And that's what you need to get over this. It's how you're going to get through it. It's how you're going to get through life. [MUSIC PLAYING]