In February 1991, I was rushed to the hospital in Los Angeles to have my feet amputated. Three years earlier, I had broken the national 100 meters hurdles record while a student at UCLA and was a favourite for the event at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
While receiving radiation treatment for a thyroid illness, I had refused to take beta-blockers - a medication that would have eased its side effects - because they were deemed illegal by the sport's governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations.
I was diagnosed with Graves' disease, an illness of the thyroid gland. Instead of surgery, I was given radiation treatment.
I have a real passion for children. I always wanted to teach and only became an athlete because my parents told my brother Parenthesis and me that we should use any God-given talent we had.
I have a real passion for children. I always wanted to teach and only became an athlete because my parents told my brother Parenthesis (sic) and me that we should use any God-given talent we had.
I am very thankful that I have lived the life I have lived. I am thankful for my Graves' disease, and I tell people, if I had my whole life to live over, I would have it, because it has really made me into the person that I am.
It's a challenge between me and the hurdle, and the hurdle has always won.
In my race, there's 10 hurdles, but in life, there is always a hurdle. There is always something you gotta get over, and it's what you do, you know.
We go old-school during the summer, like swimming or setting up lemonade stands. I try to teach my kids to make their own fun.
I was blessed with a long career where I won gold medals for myself and my country. Nothing stands out as a disappointment.
I don't have a thyroid anymore. I had radioactive iodine treatment, which destroyed my thyroid. I take medication every day.
A lot of times when I ran, to be honest, I didn't know where I was in the race. So I always was looking up at the scoreboard to say, 'Just call my name to see where I am,' because I tried to have such tunnel vision not to distract myself.
I have to be cautious, have my thyroid levels checked, and as long as I do that, I'm fine.
