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“I thought that a lot of the symptoms that I was dealing with were just time under pressure. My joints hurt, so I just thought, ‘Injuries.’ I was dealing with neuropathy and thought it was just because my neck is banged up. Then once I found out that it was a thing that I could fight, it took a huge amount of pressure off my shoulders. I thought, ‘Okay, now what do I do? How do I beat this opponent?’”
Through some trial and error, Miller found the perfect strategy to beat likely the most challenging opponent yet: a chronic illness that manifests as an inflammatory autoimmune disease with unpredictable symptoms, to be controlled only by, you guessed it, a consistent lifestyle.
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“Health comes from consistency,” Miller said, adding that his already-established workout regimen made it easy to follow a consistent lifestyle, but his diet alongside the small team of coaches and training partners that knew him so well were the real game-changers.
“Not everybody’s gonna have a good day on sparring day, and as the athlete, it’s really difficult to say, ‘Well, I feel slow today. I feel sluggish today. I had a s*** night’s sleep,’ and say, ‘No, I’m not getting six hard rounds. Today, I think I can only do four.’ So, having a group that isn’t all driven by ego who can say ‘Jim’s having a s*** day, let’s take it easy,’ is a big thing.”
Although living with a chronic illness, let alone competing with one, is difficult enough, Miller still finds joy in his daily grind, now more than six years after his diagnosis.