From dream to reality

 (I wasn't going to post this til after my 5K but I changed my mind)

This is likely the most emotional post I’ll  ever write. It’s sole purpose is inspiration.

Born at 1 lb. 14 oz. , three and a half months early the doctors didn’t give me much hope of living. I finally came home in an incubator at three months old to my young mother with the mission of helping me thrive. She was given the news that walking wasn’t something I was likely to do. At the time they gave her a diagnosis they thought she could handle but in later years I dug through my records and discovered it wasn’t at all what that told her, it was actually a very mild form of Cerebal Palsy .She did an amazing job with what she had available. 

Fast forward a handful of years and I found myself at the Shriner’s Hospital for Crippled Children in Springfield Mass. These people are truly angels!! And so began twelve years of braces (just like Forest Gump only mine were hard plastic), cast that ran from my hips to the balls of my feet, more braces with metal bars and even a wheelchair. For all intents and purposes my childhood was spent immobile. Sports were not an option; in fact walking took years to get right…yes, 12 yrs to learn how to walk like the rest of you. My childhood was spent longing to play sports just like other kids instead of sitting on the sidelines or spending hours in therapy.

By the time I hit Jr. high School I could walk but I was noticeably uncoordinated when it came to simple things like stairs and I was still banned from gym class. No matter how well I did, I was still labeled “handi-capped” to the world. So when I changed schools and towns for high school I decided to make a complete change. I was going to start school “normal”! I threw out my braces and never said one word to anyone about my inability…in my mind, it didn’t exist!  

For the first time I went to gym class! I was horrible at sports, I was horrible at everything but I gave it all I could. I had never played a single sport in my life and here I was fumbling through soccer, basketball, football and volleyball! My legs hurt, my knees throbbed and my lower back screamed daily but I was determined to be normal. No matter how hard it was I wanted to walk the halls like everyone else, I was going to erase my handi-capped label for good! It wasn’t until my senior year that my knees going numb to the point where I couldn’t stand led me to tell the truth to my gym teacher. He wasn’t sure what to say; after all he’d badgered me all this time about my poor gym performance. From that day on he stopped getting on my case and just smiled at me. 

So here I am at thirty years old and to look at me you’d never know I went through all this. I still have days when my knees go numb and I’ve been known to be less than graceful. I trip over my own feet some days, I’m still horrible at sports and I’ve even been known to fall over standing still..yes, that’s possible. The difference is that because of endless support and sheer determination I’ve gone from fighting to walk to training for a 5K with the goal of one day finishing the Boston Marathon. I run to honor the Shriner’s and their commitment to those just like me!!

So why did I tell you all this? Because I want you to remember that you truly can overcome anything that stands between you and your goal. You’re going to have to dig deep and the pain may even be unbearable some days but push further and don’t give up!