Musings

Oh man…

If you want to see what courage and tenacity is about, watch this movie.

When I showed this to the Head Coach tonight, I had to leave the room. Even though I had seen this a couple of times already over on Chris’ site, I knew I was going to have another severe “allergy” attack if I watched it again. 

Rest assured, Team Hoyt will be included in the first batch of Multisport Profiles I will be introducing this fall.

Watching this brought back a bittersweet memory.

I worked for a local United Way in the early 90s and we had asked our member agencies to give us some names and stories of people that had been helped by our donors. We wanted to show the community how investing in United Way was making a difference in people’s lives.

One of our stories we used was of a single mom and her daughter who was afflicted with cerebal palsy…like Rick Hoyt. We had a great photo taken of the two (which I wish I still had!) and that was that. I was saddened to learn that the life expectancy of this little nine-year-old was that she wouldn’t make it much past 12.

Fast forward a year. I had just seen a special on a national news show and had learned something about CP that floored me. At the time I met the mother and daughter, I had wrongly assumed that someone with CP was both mentally and physically handicapped. I was shocked to discover that people with CP have an intellect that is in working order yet their ability to communicate with the outside world is severely hampered.

I thought about that little girl and a whole new understanding of her condition dawned upon me. She was trapped in a body whose wiring was crossed.

Within a week, I was at the specialized daycare center (supported by your United Way dollars, thank you very much) where the little girl stayed while her mom worked to put food on the table. With a fair amount of trepidation, I asked one of the social workers if the girl was still there.

“Oh yes!” she said. “And she’s doing quite well.”

Whew!

I was taken outside of her classroom and was able to look in from one of the big picture windows. The teachers were just getting the kids to calm down and get ready for their afternoon nap. Across the darkened room, the glow from the cartoons on the television lit up the faces of the kids.

On the far side was the girl. She was strapped in her monstrous wheelchair and it looked like she was having a hard time holding her head up. As soon as she’d raise her head, her chin would just flop back down on her chest.

“Awwww…geez,” I thought to myself. “The poor kid can’t even hold her head up to watch cartoons.”

I started to get a hint of one of those allergy attacks (real men don’t cry, mind you). I told the social worker about the television show I had just seen that explained CP to me and how big of an idiot I felt like not knowing that when I worked with the girl and her mother a year ago. I then mentioned something about the girl’s inability to hold her head steady.

“Oh no,” said the social worker. “She can hold her head up fine. She recognizes you.”

“What?” I asked increduously.

“Yes. She recognizes you and is saying hello.”

Shit.

I about lost it right there.

I share this snippet of Team Hoyt and my little tale for one reason: Let us all be thankful that we rose from our beds this morning with the full use of our arms and legs. Let us appreciate this precious gift and be mindful of just how fortunate we are to

breath…

sweat…

live freely…

and to train our bodies and minds to their fullest.

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