Parental Love

[Sunshine]

Here's a beautiful story and video about parental love. It's not about TS/tics, but it will strike a chord with each of us. As parents we dedicate our lives to our children. This father exemplifies such dedication.

Read the story, and then watch the video.

 

 

 

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day. ######'s also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.

 

 

 

This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago,

> >>when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving

> >>him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs. ``He'll be a

> >>vegetable the rest of his life;'' ###### says doctors told him. But

> >>the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes

> >>followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to

> >>the engineering department at Tufts

>>>University and asked if there

> >>was anything to help the boy. Rigged up with a computer that

> >>allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the

> >>side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First

> >>words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was

> >>paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for

> >>him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want to do that.'' Yeah, right. How

> >>was ######, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran more than a

> >>mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried.

> >>``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' ###### says. ``I was sore for

> >>two weeks.''

> >>That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we

> >>were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!'' And that

> >>sentence changed ######'s life. He became obsessed with giving Rick

> >>that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly

> >>shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.

> >>``No way,'' ###### was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't

> >>quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair

> >>competitor. For a few years ###### and Rick just joined the massive

> >>field and ran anyway, then they found a way to get into the race

> >>officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the

> >>qualifying time for the first time.

> >>

> >> Then somebody said, ``Hey, ######, why not a triathlon?''

> >>How's a guy who never learned to

> swim and hadn't ridden a bike

> >>since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a

> >>triathlon? Still, ###### tried. Now they've done 212 triathlons,

> >>including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a

> >>buzz kill to be a 25-year-o! ld stud getting passed by an old guy

> >>towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think? Hey, ######, why not

> >>see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. ###### does it

> >>purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with a

> >>cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together. This year, at

> >>ages 65 and 43, ###### and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon,

> >>in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time?

> >>Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world

> >>record, which,

>in case you don't keep track of these things,

> >>happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a

> >>wheelchair at the time.

> >> ``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father

> >>of the Century.'' And ###### got something else out of all this too.

> >>Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors

> >>found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't

> >>been in such great shape,'' one doctor told him, ``you probably

> >>would've died 15 years ago.''

> >>So, in a way, ###### and Rick saved each other's life.

> >>Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and

> >>works in Boston, and ######, retired from the military and living in

> >>Holland, Mass.

> >>That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he

> >>really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy. ``The thing

> >>I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sit in the chair and

> >>I push him once.

 

 

''Here's the video....

 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryCTIigaloQ

[Irena]

THANK YOU!

 

It did strike a chord with me. I was crying wacthing the video. I am so often ashamed of myself for feeling so miserable and unhappy because of Staś's tics. Each time when I am starting feeling like this I make myself pray for two moms I know who have been struggling with severe cases of their kid's cancer for last three or four years and my friend, mother of eight, who's fighting cancer herself. Now I will pray for ###### and Rick Hoyt, too.

[Chemar]

Thank you Sunshine!

 

and Irena for your words of wisdom too.

 

Our children are a precious gift, and we so freqently waste our time in worrying about them instead of just enjoying them

 

Here is a quote from something written by a dear mom on BrainTalk, Lara, that really helped me when I was new to all this...........

 

People with TS tic. It's OK!

 

Sometimes some tics can be self-injurious or problematic, that cannot be denied. Some tics interfere with all manner of things, like reading, writing, walking, breathing, talking etc. etc. etc., (yes, I know) but the majority of the time they are JUST tics.

 

I don't even notice people's tics much anymore. I know this might sound most peculiar to some people, but I also find tics of people I know very well, quite endearing.

 

People tic when they are relaxed. People tic when they are stressed. People tic when they're driving. People need to feel they can tic freely and not feel as if they're being watched, or being studied. It feels good to let it out. People tic 'cause they gotta tic!!!

 

My son sure has bothersome ones but they are only bothersome to ME when they are dangerous or are causing him grief for some reason or another. I think the most grief he faces is from people who don't seem to just see him as _him_ anymore. They see his constant ticcing and it's as if they negate the existance of his 'self'.

 

Every single day I am reminded how comfortable home is for my children. That's because school, for example, causes so much build up of unreleased energy. Kids and staff at school, despite education, still don't see past the tics. They don't see past how much my children have changed tic-wise since they were in Year 1. They don't look!!!

 

I'm not denying that tics can be of concern. I'm not denying that tics can be a right pain. I'm not denying that tics can really affect some people's quality of life. I'm not living in some unrealistic place where I deny the concerns and the pain these _can_ and do present. Believe me, please, I know. However, I think we need to understand in our own minds, that there are many more things that can cause more distress to a person than tics.

 

We need to start with ourselves. Start at the source. Change the way people view TS from here. I truly empathize with you all who are struggling with this in your young children. I have struggled, still do struggle, and will struggle in the future with some issues. I think the greatest thing we can all do though, is to look BEYOND the tics. Hey, maybe the rest of the world might get the same idea!

 

Your children's tics are just part of the tapestry of who they are and who they will become... just a tiny part.

[Ronnas]

WOW!!! On June 13th I set the goal for myself to run in a 10K marathon on Sept 23 (Saturday). I worked very hard all summer. Everydat I pushed the baby and my 5 year old daughter in a bike trailer and the boys rode their bikes while I ran. It was hard and every time one of the kids complained about "running" with mommy...I told them that when I set a goal I finish it, even if it is hard.

 

I am in pretty good shape now and an awesome benefit has been that the kids are also in great shape at the start of the school year...Kurt is doing awesome at cross country running!

 

Boy, oh boy if the dad in that video can do what he did...I can certainly suck it up this weekend and do 10K!

 

Thanks for the lift!

 

Ronna