Louisiana Tech's head strength and conditioning coach Kurt Hester was recently diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a neurological disorder that is characterized by the paralysis of the facial nerve, and a rash affecting the ears or mouth, according to WEbMD.
That kind of serious diagnosis would keep a lot of people down, but Kurt Hester isn't like most people. After being re-diagnosed by a neurologist back on March 7th, he was already looking for a cure of sorts, and seemed to have found one in the form of jerks, snatches, "Zercher squats", and deadlifts.
Then during spring ball, Hester decided to suit up and go through practice with the running backs. What started as something fun, turned into quite the inspiration for the entire Louisiana Tech program, including the players to the coaching staff.
Luckily, they documented it all with the camera crew, along with a few players and coaches weighing in on what it meant to see Hester in pads as he went through his own personal battle.
The video opens up with the hashtag "#EmbraceTheSuck". which is a saying I've heard a fair amount as a player in my college days, and I've also coached with guys that have used it, but Hester has embraced it and taken it to a whole new level. Looking at what he's been through from the outside, and what he means to the players and staff down in Ruston, it's great to see that he has not only found a way to cope with it, but that he's also serving as an inspiration to everyone around him.