Sick And I M Scared Thesis

I’m Sick and I’m Scared is written from an interview, perpetrated by Shelly Smith with Lyle Alzado. Alzado is a man who was born in Brooklyn, New York who later in life became a professional football player. He was defensive end for the Denver Broncos, the Cleveland Browns, and the Los Angeles Raiders. Alzado had been fighting a huge battle of addiction to steroids for a very long time. The struggles and pressures that he felt, contributed to his addiction. Alzado began consuming steroids in 1969 and continued taking them, even after his retirement from the NFL. He states in his interview, “Everyone knows me as a tough, tough guy. I’ve never been afraid of anything. Not any human, not anything” (Alzado, 1991). He played high school football at Cedahurst, New York. During high school he had never heard of anybody using steroids. It wasn’t until college that he realized that even with his vast accomplishments thus far, that it still wasn’t enough to make it to the level of play that he aspired to get to. This time was when he was starting to feel the pressures of being the best male in

After being taken to the hospital yet again, it was determined that he was having brain seizures every 20 minutes. This landed him a bed in the ICU for 2 weeks. Alzado states “I don’t remember it at all” (Alzado, 1991). There are many things that Alzado regrets. Alzado also points out that “This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, to admit that I’ve done something wrong” (Alzado, 1991). It is apparent that this was a hard situation to go through. Alzado was just trying to live up to the standard that he felt had been placed on him. In an effort to do this, he completely tore down his body. While it is not concluded that the cancer came from the steroid or hormone usage, Alzado can’t help but believe that it played a factor on his health and the state of his