WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue Director of Diving Adam Soldati approached the 14th hole at Allen Ackerman Golf Course last Sunday.
He was competing in the Lafayette Men’s City Golf Championship less than a month after announcing his retirement from coaching after being diagnosed with ALS.
He let out a high-pitched grunt after his tee shot outdrove his playing partners Paul Sadler, Casey Bartley and Kevin Moore.
Soldati isn’t allowing ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, to dictate his lifestyle.
“I feel good,” Soldati said. “Professionally I feel very content at moving on and making a decision. Clearly I have full mobility. I just have some weakening and atrophy in my right hand and right arm. But still fully functional.”
Soldati opened up about his ALS diagnosis, how he’s dealt with doctors, changed his fitness routines, the roots of his upbeat attitude, how the sport of golf has allowed him to connect with his family and satisfy his drive to compete, and coming to terms with the life-threatening disease.
Soldati takes life into his own hands
Soldati was diagnosed with ALS and presented with “doomsday scenarios” when first meeting with doctors.
“At the beginning, it was thought that I wasn’t going to be fully functional a year from now and so I think I need to step away and capitalize that time with my family and my kids because you don’t know how fast this disease this disease can progress,” Soldati said. “But I think it’s switched.”
Faith and his Christian belief system allowed Soldati to maintain his upbeat perspective upon hearing his diagnosis.
“As God began to take me down his path exploring the Bible and his word, I’ve spent the last 20 years digging into that and it’s been a beautiful eye-opening understanding of the human existence,” Soldati said. “Where we come from, what we’re doing, what’s the point of our life and what’s the purpose of our life. There’s never been a moment of fear of death.”
Soldati shared how having ALS is teaching Blake, 18; Isaac, 16; Maiya, 14; Emi, 12; and twins Noah and Rylie, 10, to appreciate their lives and understand how fragile it can be.
And how his wife Kimiko, who he met in 1995 at Indiana, has continued to support him.
“It’s a great opportunity to teach our kids that we have to trust and believe in something greater than ourselves,” Soldati said. “Suffering is going to be a part of life. If we live long enough, we are going to suffer and lose a…
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