Live Every Moment, Win Every Day
2/9/2018 10:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics, Features
By Senior Cailee Hills
When I arrived in Ann Arbor four years ago, I was a wide-eyed freshman with no idea what to expect. I was caught up worrying about who my roommate was going to be, which classes I would take and how nervous I was for my first practice as a Michigan Wolverine.
In the blink of an eye, all of that changed.
A week into my freshman year, I got a call from my family saying that my dad (Chip Hills) had been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. We were told he wouldn't make it to Thanksgiving. Within seconds, my world crashed down around me. No longer was I concerned with the day-to-day struggles of being a freshman in college. That concern was replaced with anger at the circumstance, devastation by the news and guilt for enjoying the joys of the first week of college. I felt completely lost.
That night, I received a phone call from my dad. I'll never forget sitting outside of my dorm room in the South Quad hallway, hearing him tell me he was going to fight this dreadful disease with every cell in his body. This man was just told he had little over a month to live and he showed no fear, no resentment and no acceptance of his prognosis. From that moment on, I had no doubt that he would beat cancer.
For 13 months, he beat cancer every moment. We went on a vacation to Hawaii, we got a new puppy, he skied down black diamond slopes, went to the Super Bowl (he left me at home for that one) and he was the one encouraging me every step of the way. Rather than staying at home through his chemo treatments, he traveled to every single meet my freshman year. No matter how horrible he felt, he was out in the arena supporting Team 39 at every stop on our journey.
From his perspective, Team 39 is what kept him going. He said that our fight and determination was what enabled him to continue to fight harder and stronger every day. What he didn't realize was that he was the one inspiring us. He showed us that every day was a gift and that even in the bleakest of outcomes, you can never, ever give up. No matter how horrible the day was or how overwhelmed you are, there are always three good things in each day to be thankful for. And every night, as a family, we would tell each other our three good things.
Some days it was easy to come up with them; others not so much. But almost every Saturday night after a meet, his three good things were: Michigan won, Michigan won and Michigan won. He proved to all of us that cancer cannot shatter hope, it cannot silence courage and it cannot quench the spirit.
It is through his strength that Flip for Chip was born. Flip for Chip is our daily reminder to live every moment, win every day and always "Keep Pounding." He was never prouder than when he was in the stands at Crisler, wearing his bibs and singing "The Victors." So with this I close with my three good things:
1. For Team Hills, the strongest support system any family could have.
2. For Team 39, Team 40, Team 41, and Team 42 for carrying on my dad's spirit in the most incredible way.
3. For Michigan, a place that has seen my highest highs and my lowest lows, but there is nowhere I would rather be than in Ann Arbor, wearing maize and blue as a Michigan Wolverine.
Never Give Up, Keep Pounding, Flip for Chip and Forever Go Blue.
Thank you,
Cailee Hills
