Worst-Case Scenario?

I’d had nagging injuries before and always recovered. Why wasn’t I confident that I would get better this time?

- JULIE O'NEILL

I was out for a run one morning when I felt a twinge in my left heel. It was November 2021. A beautiful fall day.

I've been a runner most of my life. I'm used to occasional aches. I figured the heel pain would go away.

It got worse.

Two days later (I like to run every other day), I laced up my running shoes and headed outside. Please let that weird pain be gone, I prayed.

It came back, sharper. I forced myself to finish the run and did my best not to worry. I'm a world-class worrier and a worst-case thinker, a classic catastrophizer. I'm a six on the Enneagram personality scale, if you're familiar with the test. It means I'm loyal and energized by friendships and relationships, but I'm also prone to anxiety and projection.

When my teenage daughter, Bekah, struggled after a serious soccer injury, I feared she might never recover physically or emotionally. Her struggles were real. As always, I overreacted. With professional help and time to heal, Bekah got better.

Now I had a new worry atop my list: my left foot.

Some people might welcome an excuse to stop exercising. Not me. Running, hiking and being outside keep me grounded and connected to God. I joke that God speaks to me every other day the days I run.

My husband, Cory, son Cade and Bekah all feel the same. Cory and I are schoolteachers. Every summer, we load up the family van and take multiday backpacking trips in the Sierra Nevada, the Cascades and the Rocky Mountains.

We've taken the kids hiking with us since they were babies on our backs. We fuel up on the Lord's creation and bond as a family.

Cory and I are in our late forties. In recent years, Cory has struggled with hip pain. He needed ankle surgery. I've always admired his ability to stay positive despite it all.