{"id":77744,"date":"2024-02-22T23:12:29","date_gmt":"2024-02-22T23:12:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/22\/scott-hamilton-calls-his-life-miraculous-after-tragedies-setbacks\/"},"modified":"2024-02-22T23:12:29","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T23:12:29","slug":"scott-hamilton-calls-his-life-miraculous-after-tragedies-setbacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/22\/scott-hamilton-calls-his-life-miraculous-after-tragedies-setbacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Scott Hamilton Calls His Life ‘Miraculous’ After Tragedies, Setbacks"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>
TheNews2\/Cover Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Olympic figure skater Scott Hamilton<\/strong> is taking stock of his blessings after facing multiple tragedies and setbacks throughout his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was unwanted as a baby, and I got great parents. I got sick, and I found skating. I lost my mother, and I found my identity in her,\u201d Hamilton, 65, told People<\/em><\/a> in an interview published on Thursday, February 22. \u201cWhy would I ever look at these difficult times as anything other than strengthening times? I\u2019m blessed beyond my wildest imagination.\u201d<\/p>\n

The retired figure skater was adopted as a baby and stopped growing at the age of 4, needing a feeding tube as a child to ensure he was receiving enough nutrition. (Hamilton later learned that his undetected brain tumor may have been the reason why he didn\u2019t grow.)<\/p>\n

When a skating rink opened up near his home, Hamilton began taking classes, saying, \u201cIt was so exciting. All of a sudden I wasn\u2019t just this odd, sickly kid with the tube in my nose. Pretty soon I realized I could skate as well as the best athlete in my grade. It was the first taste of self-esteem I ever had. Soon I wanted to be on the ice all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n
\"Scott<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>Figure Skater Scott Hamilton\u2019s Family Guide: Meet His Wife and 4 Children<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\tDonna Ward\/Getty Images Scott Hamilton has been a gold medal-worthy dad since retiring from figure skating in 1984. Scott shares four children with his wife, Tracie Hamilton. After they got married in 2002, they welcomed sons Aidan and Maxx. Six years later, they adopted siblings Jean Paul and Evelyne from Haiti. \u201cWe fell in love [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

He began growing again but said he was \u201ca last-place guy.\u201d His mom, Dorothy Hamilton<\/strong>, would tell their neighbors her son was \u201cgoing to the Olympics someday\u201d<\/a> to which he would reply, \u201c\u2018Based on what? I\u2019m not that good!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Dorthoy was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1976, and she died the following year when Scott was a teenager. His career as a figure skater took off years later, winning the 1984 gold medal at the Olympic games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.<\/p>\n

He went on to launch the ice skating tour \u201cStars on Ice\u201d but was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1997. After undergoing surgery and treatment to shrink the tumor, he was in remission later that year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realized life was precious. And I wanted to be an activist,\u201d Hamilton, who launched the nonprofit Scott Hamilton CARES, said.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n
\"Figure<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>Figure Skater Scott Hamilton\u2019s Cancer Battle<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\tOlympic figure skater Scott Hamilton has been candid about his health battle since getting diagnosed with cancer for the first time in 1997. Years after his 1984 gold medal win at the Olympic games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, Hamilton revealed that he had been diagnosed with testicular cancer. Following surgery and treatment to shrink the tumor [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Along the way he married his wife, Tracie Robinson<\/strong>, in 2002, and the pair welcomed sons Aidan and Maxx in 2003 and 2008, respectively. They also adopted Jean Paul and Evelyne, bringing them home from Haiti in 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the most unlikely person on the planet to have experienced any of this,\u201d he told the outlet, adding, \u201cIt\u2019s all been kind of miraculous, really.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scott was diagnosed with brain cancer for the first time in 2004 and again in 2010. He shared in 2016 that he had a third brain tumor and candidly said earlier this month that he decided to forego treatment.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they gave me the diagnosis, they said, \u2018It\u2019s back,\u2019\u201d Scott told People<\/em> on Wednesday, February 21, recalling the moment from 2016. \u201cAnd so, they brought in this guy, a really young, talented surgeon, and he said, \u2018We could do the surgery again. It\u2019d be complicated, but we\u2019ve got really talented people here that we could bring in, and I know we could pull it off if that\u2019s an option for you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The tumor initially shrank following the diagnosis, but it began to grow again. He said the surgery became a less accessible option when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.<\/p>\n

\u201cCOVID hit and going into any kind of hospital situation was almost impossible,\u201d Scott said. \u201cSo, in my spirit, in my inner being, I realized, I\u2019m totally at peace with not even looking at it again unless I become symptomatic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n