‘What you have, does not define what you become,’ Noah Lyles has fought an uphill battle against diseases ever since he was a kid. Although he has six health conditions, he navigates life seamlessly, however, this was not always the case. As he kid, he struggled relentlessly with asthma and the severity of his suffering made it difficult for his mother Keisha Cane Bishop to break out another diagnosis to him.
Appearing on the Got it From My Momma Podcast, Keisha Caine Bishop spoke that the thought of him becoming an Olympic Champion barely crossed her mind, because she “Just wanted him to be the best Noah we could make him out to be.” Even if this came at the cost of concealing his diagnosis till the right moment. Keisha Cane recalls, “When he first got diagnosed with ADD and I, He didn;t even know it ’cause I didn’t tell him.”
It was only at an opportune moment later that Noah Lyles’ brother Josephus Lyles told him one day. “He was like dude, you have ADD.” At the time Noah was so innocent that he reaction was, “I have ADD, what is ADD?” And that is when Noah Lyles’ mother Keisha Cane Bishop stepped in with an explanation. She expounded that ADD was like this ‘superpower’ that he possessed as he was an out-of-the-box think, very creative person, and was usually pretty good with young kids.
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She then broke the important information bit saying, “But every superpower has a weakness.” So, for little Noah Lyles to comprehend, she said that his weakness is that it’ll be hard for him to sit still at times. Also traditional schooling could be a challenge as focusing when focusing on things gets tough. However, as a caring mother, she assured to provide him with all the tools and resources needed to manage his weakness.
What’s your reaction? Noah Lyles: From battling asthma and ADD to becoming an Olympic champion—talk about turning weaknesses into superpowers! Reactions
Well, Keisha Cane did everything possible for Noah Lyles to be the best version of himself. She recalled how his Asthma not only gave him a ‘barking cough’, but kept him up many nights. And whenever he struggled to sleep, in the middle of the night, she would hold him up so he could breathe. And that’s when she would promise him, “I know this is a very hard time right now, but your life is not gonna always be like this.”
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But beyond everything she could do for him, it was his relentless drive that has made him an Olympic Champion today. And well, Kiesha Caine agrees. When the podcast host asked her if his grit and determination to be an elite athlete was naturally ingrained in him, here’s what she answered.
Noah Lyles’ asthma battle-hardened him
Keisha Caine agrees that Noah Lyles was naturally wired as someone who was resolute in whatever he did. “It had to be there, ’cause you can’t really teach that, it’s like an X factor,” she justified that his determination was like an in-built power. However, she feels that his trait of perseverance may have come into being because of asthma.
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When he was a toddler, she would promise him that they will figure out a way to manage his respiratory condition. She remembers resorting to medical processes like getting an adenoidectomy, a tonsillectomy. But, despite going above and beyond, he still has asthma for its an irreversible condition. However, today, its better maintained and his immune system is way stronger than before.
But, the suffering seems to have worked on a deeper level in Noah Lyles’ life, per his mother. She opined, “I think him experiencing all of that adversity when he was young and coming out on the other side, he has learned that yeah, things may be hard sometimes but it’s just a season, its not gonna last.” Do you agree that asthma made Noah Lyles mentally resilient too? Share what you think below
Struggling With Asthma, Noah Lyles’ Mother Revealed She Kept Another Diagnosis From Him as a Kid: ‘I Didn’t Tell Him’
