‘My life was falling apart’: Former NBA mascot recalls nurse’s empathy after AS diagnosis
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AUSTIN, Texas — A former NBA mascot encouraged attendees of the 2023 Rheumatology Nurses Society annual conference to make the most of every moment they have with their patients, as their time and empathy can make all the difference.
“You don’t need a coyote suit and a basketball court to make somebody happy,” Rob Wicall, who previously played the role of The Coyote for the San Antonio Spurs from 2000 to 2016, told attendees. “We all have opportunities to make somebody happy every day.”
In addition to the physical demands of being a mascot, Wicall has previously worked as a professional water skier. He runs marathons and lives a highly active lifestyle, he said before recounting some of the many injuries and broken bones he incurred performing these activities.
However, this was all nearly cut short when Wicall was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis at 40 years of age.
“When you injure yourself, it is a sign of pride,” he said. “It is different when you are told you have a chronic disease that will never go away.”
Wicall recounted that the rheumatologist who made the diagnosis encouraged him to limit his activities, quit being a coyote and stop running marathons.
“My life was falling apart in that little room,” he said. “I was stunned, devastated and scared. The career that supports my family is over.”
However, what struck Wicall most was that the physician detailed his recommendations for reduced activity in a non-emotional, clinical way.
“For me it was all emotion,” he said. “Then the nurse came in, sat down and empathized with me. We talked. She let me walk out of that room with a semblance of a plan that I could move on with my life.”
The way Wicall described this interaction was that the nurse “made a moment” for him.
“What all of you do every day is make moments for patients,” he said.
This capacity to “make a moment” for another person is part of what Wicall calls his “furlosophy” of life, which originated from wearing fur for a living.
He encouraged attendees to look for opportunities to make patients happy every day.
“Seize the moment, maximize the impact,” Wicall said.
Another aspect of this philosophy can be attributed to San Antonio Spurs president and head coach Gregg Popovich, who has won five NBA titles in addition to an Olympic gold medal. According to Wicall, Popovich encourages everyone in the Spurs organization to adhere to a quote by journalist and social reformer Jacob Riis: “When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times, without a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred-and-first blow, it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that gone before.”
Wicall then recontextualized the “pound the rock” philosophy for the RNS audience: “You go in every day and you do your job and you do your best.”
The last of Wicall’s tenets he discussed pertained to visiting terminally ill children at a hospital in San Antonio. During a visit while he was in the Coyote costume, a small girl spoke for the first time in weeks, which left her family overjoyed and encouraged.
“Once you have the tools, the impact you can have can be more than you ever imagined,” he said. “You have it in you. The question is whether you are going to seize that opportunity to make a difference.”
If all else fails, Wicall encouraged RNS attendees to remind themselves of a philosophy that has motivated him in his life: “Life your life like a coyote.”
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Wicall R. KEYNOTE: Being Your Patient’s Biggest Fan: An NBA Mascot and Rheumatology Patient’s Perspective. Presented at: Rheumatology Nurses Society annual conference; August 2-5, 2023 (hybrid meeting).
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