What would you give for what you love?

Yesterday I received my October edition of Runner's World magazine, which I feverishly fingered through to see what the highlights were going to be for this particular issue.  The first article that caught my eye was entitled "Life and Limb."  It chronicles the lengths Dr. Tom White went through to retain his ability to walk, run, hike, and simply live the life he wants.  Oh, did I mention that Tom had to have a portion of his left leg amputated to retain the life he desired?  

Tom was a national champion cross country runner in his collegiate years and had his senior season of cross country and track robbed from him by a drunk driver.  While riding home from work one summer evening, Tom was clipped by a drunk driver and had his left tibia and fibula severed to the point of near amputation.  He begged the attending physician to not cut off his leg, but save it so that he could continue to run.  After intense rehab and recovery Tom had made a full recovery and had become an ultramarathoner who was competing in races of 50+ miles.  However, Tom's leg could not last forever, and after 26 years of running on a "patched tire" he could barely walk without significant pain.  There was really only one option for Tom if he was to continue his active lifestyle, remove the malfunctioning portion of his leg.  So he did.  After months of contemplation and doctor appointments, it was finally time to remove a portion of Tom's left leg and foot.  This was hardly the end of the story.  Tom spent months in rehab trying to learn how to walk again with his new prosthetic leg and wondering if he really had made the right decision.  Although he was having to learn how to walk again, he was bound and determined to become a runner again.  Last year, on a trip to Europe, Tom did just that, became a runner again.

This story of grit and determination really made me wonder if I would ever a limb removed, in order to retain the ability to participate in an activity that I love.  Would you choose to have a limb amputated to continue participating in an activity that you love?  What do you love so much that you would give a major piece of your body for?  Is there anything you can't live without that would cause you to become an amputee?  Is this guy crazy?  Does Scripture not speak of gaining the whole world yet forfeiting your soul?  How does that Scripture inform your thinking about this story??  I have to say that I would make the same decision Tom made!