Sunday, August 20, 2006
Something Inspirational
Hey class. I know my previous posts have been lame and silly but this one I promise will be unlike them. I'm posting not because of the silly picture of me that alison put up. She got it from my friendster account profile, so I actually don't mind it.
I'm posting this becaue I felt like I have to really share this with all of you after someone remind me of it. I realise during this testing period in which the promotional exams draw near and project work needs to be urgently handed in, many of us feel thoroughly stressed and strained. Somehow, during this period also, things seem to be rough and difficult-hard to handle and tiring. We all feel like we can do with a break-I for one do. We feel scared, nervous, unprepared, worried and all the other words for stress, tiredness, worry and frustration that exists.
However, in this time, I would like to say that God looks down on us and we can look to Him for strength. For those of us who are not Christian, we can look to inspirational people to draw strength and inspiration. I have one perfect example- the Hoyt team. They are a stunning and exceedingly inspirational father and son duo whom take part in races together.
Rick was strangled by his own umblical cord at birth, which prevented oxygen from reaching his brain, suffocatin him. The doctors managed to untangle the cord to save his life, but the incident at birth left his brain permanently damaged and his body paralysed. He cannot talk and can only communicate with a specially equipped computer, tapping his head to answer questions posed to him. Yet, with this damage to his body, he has managed to achieve a degree even though it took him an agonisingly long period of time as he got tired easily as a result of no exercise to his body. In 1981 though, when Rick learnt of a charity event that would benefit a paralysed athlete, Rick disregarded his own paralysis and handicap. He asked his father whether they could participate in the event, which shocked Dick greatly, for he was no runner. However, because his son had specifically requested to participate in the event, he agreed to do so. That marked the beginning of hundreds of races for both father and son, for later on, after the race, Rick told his father that when he ran, he did not feel handicapped.
The pair are amazing inspirations to runners all over the world. Their personal best in only 35 minutes off the world record which is extremely remarkable because Dick runs pushing a wheelchair specifially made for Rick, They have also competed in the Ironman Triathlon before, a mixture of swimming, followed by bikind and which culminates in running, all the events of which are marathons-3.8 kilometres for the swim segment(I am truly shamed.), 180 kilometres for the biking segment and 42.2 kilometes for the running segment(once again, I am truly shamed). For the swim segment, Dick not only swims the full 3.8 kilometres but also drags an inflatable raft in which Rick lies throughout the segment. He then places Rick on the front of his bike before proceeding to cycle the full length and then running the 42.2 kilometres pushing his son.
They also qualified for the Boston marathon legally, via time placement. Dick ran a good time for his age and qualified, but his son was of a younger age and so did not meet the timings, which were much harder to achieve. However, in order that his son could qualify for the Boston marathon too, he trained hard and finally managed a time in which his son too qualified for the Boston, an extremely remarkable event.
Here is a short clip of the Hoyt team in action. Please watch it. it's worth every single second of the four minutes and fourteen second of time in which the clip runs its length.
I hope that we all learn something from this father and son duo. I believe that while indeed life can be hard on us, we like the father and son team, have each other to help us through it and to encourage us as Rick encourages Dick solely by his presence. I believe also that we can learn that others suffer much more than us and so we should be thankful for our situation and how fortunate we truly are.
Thanks for being great people and friends.
All the best in studying for the promotional exams!
posted by Lau Wen Loong at 10:24 PM
