Ella

Last Saturday afternoon, I was able to spend just over three hours with a very special little girl and her family. The previous weekend we had met at the Providence Ronald McDonald House (PRMH) Holiday Open House. This house, is a nonprofit organization, which allows families with extremely ill children shelter and a place that is close to Hasbro Children’s Hospital.
At this event, I had the privilege of meeting, five-year-old Ella, her parents and her younger sister Sophie. After talking with them for a while I learned that Ella has Cerebral Palsy and is also hearing impaired. A short time ago, Ella had to have a serious operation and her family was fortunate enough to be able to stay at the PRMH, as they did when Ella was born prematurely weighing only one pound.
Growing up with a disability I have come to know that the disability does not only take a toll on the person who is disabled, but it also weighs on the parents heavily. Understanding this I invited Ella and her family to visit me at my house in West Warwick. After a few emails and phone calls we set up a time for a visit.
Ella and her family arrived at my house at 1:30. I greeted them at the door and invited them in. I knew her parents had a lot of questions for me and I was more than willing to try to answer them all. Ella looked at me and touched my arm and my chair. Her mother took out a scrap book and showed me a chronicle of pictures from when her daughter was born. I found it simply amazing a baby could survive after being born weighing only a pound. After we were through looking at pictures they began to open up and ask questions about my life, growing up, and the present. I knew they were looking for some similarity between my situation and their daughter’s. I tried to answer each of their questions honestly but as positively as possible.
Like myself as a young child, Ella has no way of communicating. They asked me how I communicated before I was able to speak. I explained to them I used my eyes to let others know what I needed. I told them I was very fortunate that I was able to somehow train another part of my brain to speak for me. After this I took them into my room to show them my keyboard and how I type. I also showed them some of my memorabilia from my racing and college careers. Although I could see they were inspired, I also think they were a little emotional so I quickly changed the mood asking them if we could take some pictures and if I could give the kids a ride on my chair. They agreed and we all had a great time.
At the end of the visit I gave each of the girls Christmas gifts. I had bought them two little pink T-shirts imprinted with “Team Pisano”. I knew they like them because they wanted to wear them right away. I also received a gift; the family presented me with a framed picture of Ella and Sophie, which now is proudly displayed in my kitchen.
As they drove away I found myself feeling good about the entire experience, not only did I meet a very nice family but I think I provided them with some hope. Maybe someday they will pass this message of hope to another family in need.
-Jason Pisano

To help Jason raise money in honor of Ella go to
http://www.firstgiving.com/jasonpisano3

Providence Ronald McDonald House

Competing in marathons can be a difficult way to pass your time but recently this task no longer seems quite so monumental. Last winter, my mother saw an advertisement in a local newspaper that was asking for runners and walkers to join the first ever Providence Ronald McDonald House (PRMH) Running Club. I wasn’t sure how I would fit in this group, but I attended the initial meeting and was hooked.
The PRMH Running Club is designed to get runners and walkers in the community to promote fitness while raising funds for this very worthy cause. The purpose of the PRMH is to serve as a home away from home for the families of children receiving treatment at local hospitals, such as Hasbro, Bradley and Women & Infants. The House provides a necessary shelter for families who have infants born prematurely, and pregnant women who must be hospitalized for an extended period of time.
During the last nine months, I have become very active in the Running Club and have ran two marathons and raised close to $3,000 for the house.
This past Sunday I attended the PRMH annual Holiday Opened House. I was very excited to participate in this event, I also was a little nervous. I knew that I would hear and see many emotional stories and being upset or nervous can make it more difficult for me to communicate with those around me. However I psyched myself up and went in there with a positive attitude.
For once in my life I was early. I arrived at the house just before 1 p.m. swallowed the lump in my throat and was warmly greeted by Mr. Michael Fantom. Mr. Fantom is the director of PRMH. He said he was glad to see me and he encouraged me to mingle and enjoy myself.
The house was full of children, their families, and volunteers. I was fortunate to find two special young girls and their families that I was able to spend some quality time with. The first girl I pulled up next to was Jodie. Jodie is 11-years-old and was born with Spina Bifida. Some time ago she had to have a major operation and her family was fortunate enough to be close by because of the generosity of the PRMH. This little girl was very friendly and talkative; we talked about everything from the time she spent in the hospital to her friends at school. I even got her to blush when I asked her if she had a boyfriend, she giggled yes.
As I moved into the next room I came upon another small girl in a wheelchair. I introduced myself to her parents and told them that I ran marathons for the house. These people were friendly and after a few minutes I felt I had known them for years. Their little girl is 5-years-old and her name is Ella. Ella has Cerebral Palsy and is hearing impaired. Ella’s parents quickly make it clear that she rarely shows affection towards others, but after talking with them for about 20 minutes she was touching my arm and once she even gave me a hug. This really surprised both of her parents; they started taking pictures and were almost in tears. Before they left we exchanged numbers and I told them I would dedicate my next marathon to Ella. This made them very happy.
As I left PRMH on Sunday I felt like a different person. Sometimes we get caught up in our own lives and worry about small things that seem important at the time, but are really inconsequential. In the past, I’d be upset for weeks if I didn’t set a personal best in a marathon. After Sunday I’ll no longer put my finishing times at the top of my priorities. Instead I think I’ll replace those goals and focus on trying to raise funds and the spirits of others rather than worrying about every minute that ticks by.
-Jason Pisano

Handout Pamplet for Conference

Click on the pamphlet and it should enlarge for easier reading.

If you would like Jason to come speak at a function or to a group please contact him at jprunr@aol.com

NYC Marathon 2007

This past Sunday I headed off to the Big Apple to compete in the 2007 ING New York City Marathon. Because I had just completed a marathon 15 days earlier I had no idea how my body was going to react to doing another 26.2 miles again so soon, but I went out there with a positive attitude and gave it my all.
Running marathons in New York and Boston are so different than running marathons in other places. Here in Rhode Island you are lucky if you see 100 spectators during the race, in New York I estimate that there must have been over 80,000 people lining the streets of the entire course. It is simply amazing to observe the support these fans give to all the athletes. People stay long after the elite athletes finish cheering on their friends or just the other people struggling to make it to the finish line.
After waking up at 3:30 on Sunday morning to board the bus at 5 a.m. I was feeling pretty good. Now waiting for the race to start was the only thing left to do. I found time to get a little more shut eye on the bus in the two hours I had before the race was to begin. At 7:15 we arrived on the Verazano Bridge and it was time to get into my racing chair and warm up.
It was a little chilly and very windy. I had run this marathon four times in the past, and I knew the weather could have been a lot worse so I was very happy. After a little warm up it was time to head up to the starting line. A few minutes later we took off on our way through the five boroughs of New York. This marathon has a very brutal start. A one mile up hill climb is upon you before you take your first step. Every time I do this marathon the first mile puts me behind my goal pace. I am a slow starter and a one mile uphill start is the last thing I need but I got through it and focused on the next 25.2 miles.
In this marathon the miles go by so fast and the spectators give you the extra boost of adrenaline you need to keep you going mile after mile. This race has people competing from all over the world. It also has the largest number of disabled people competing. At the New York Marathon they believe that everyone’s race is important and they keep the finish line opened until the last person crosses the finish line, even if it takes all day.
When you do a marathon you can tell if it’s going to be your day or if it’s going to be a struggle to finish. Sunday was my day, I felt strong and relaxed all day. Although I was a little off my goal pace I was moving well and my body felt as good as could be expected. The last six miles flew by. The fans are great. I heard many different languages cheering me to keep going, but everyone could be understood. I crossed the finish line in 8:26:09. I had hoped to finish in less than eight hours but I came up a little bit short. All in all I was very pleased with my performance and it was an experience I’ll never forget. People say that New Yorkers are rude and uncaring, those people never have visited the city on marathon Sunday.

-Jason Pisano

Breakers Marathon, Newport RI 2007

Last Saturday morning, I ventured out to Newport, to compete in the 2007 Amica Insurance Breakers Marathon. I felt well prepared for this 26.2 mile race and I was rearing to go. At the request of the race director I started the marathon two hours earlier than the others at 6 a.m.
Starting so early the roads were still slick with the soaking rains of the night before. This made the first few miles really slippery and took away from my time. The way I race is to kick off the ground and propel my racing chair backwards so I really need good traction to keep my pace going. When I get off to a slow start I know the rest of my day will be a battle against the clock and the course. Although I was off my goal pace it helped that the sights lining the course were simply breath taking. The view was spectacular however the lack of spectators took away from the excitement of the race. I am the type of athlete who craves the applause of the larger crowds found in Boston and New York. At this marathon I heard a few people cheering every couple of miles, but there were also long moments of complete silence. Putting this out of my mind I pushed on willing my body to make it up the next hill looming ahead of me.
I reached the half-way mark of the race (13.1-miles) in just under five hours. Disappointed but not beaten I continued on intent to pick up my pace. My goal going into this marathon had been to finish in less than eight hours. After the first hour and a half I knew this would not be accomplished on this day or this course, it seemed there was another hill one right after another throughout the course. I trained very hard for this day and it still took quite a toll on me.
I had reached the 20 mile mark in seven and one half hours. I knew now my goal was just to finish without getting injured. The last 6.2 miles felt as long as the previous 20. People often ask me if I ever think about quitting in the last few miles of a marathon, my answer is never. Of course my body is in tremendous pain and my mind is completely spent, but then I think about how much worse I would feel if I gave into that pain and called it a day. Many people can start a marathon but it takes a person with a strong mind and body to overcome all the obstacles you can encounter out on the marathon course.
I finished this marathon in 9:06:03, one hour, six minutes and three seconds longer than I had hoped to complete marathon number 39 in my career. Hopefully next Sunday when I line up on the Verrazano Bridge to compete in the 2007 INC New York City Marathon I will have a much better day as I am very familiar with the course and I will be hearing the thunderous applause I crave.

-Jason Pisano

Profile of a Guide

Students who work weekends hold a variety of jobs: running the cash register at a convenience store or the concession stand in a movie theater, stocking shelves in a department store or a supermarket, working in the kitchen in a fast food restaurant or the daycare at the local fitness club.


Nate Tompkins ’06 of Bristol, Rhode Island.
Champlain’s Nate Tompkins ’06 helps Jason Pisano train for wheelchair marathons.

“I’m the way he lives his life,” Tompkins says of 33-year-old Pisano, who lives in West Warwick, Rhode Island, and is confined to a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy. His work with Pisano isn’t all athletic. Tompkins takes Pisano to bars, clubs, movies and the beach, helping him to enjoy a busy, active life. “I get compensated, but it doesn’t matter,” he says. “I stay extra and do whatever needs to be done, otherwise he can’t live his life as fully.”

Tompkins has been racing with Pisano for three years. The two made contact initially when Tompkins answered an ad in a newspaper. “It seemed interesting, so I called him about it. I liked him from the start. I got a feeling that I would like running with him,” Tompkins says. The two have run in, among others, the CVS Downtown 5K in Providence, R.I., the Mystic Places Marathon in Niantic, Conn., and have trained together for the legendary Boston Marathon, in which Pisano has competed for 10 consecutive years. In 1975 the Boston event became the first major marathon to include a wheelchair division competition after Bob Hall completed the race in 2:58:00. It was Bob Hall who built Pisano’s race chair.

While most wheelchair marathoners use their arms to propel their chairs, Pisano uses his legs to push himself backward throughout the course. “It’s such a different manner of racing,” Tompkins says, that Pisano competes in a “mobility-impaired” division rather than a wheelchair division. His record is six and a half hours for a marathon. Pisano has raced in 30 marathons over the last 10 years. Tompkins says his marathon partner will retire after he has completed 50 marathons.

After the Boston Marathon, Tompkins’ coaching continues in track and field. Pisano competes in the Nationals in the 100, 200, 400 and 800, among other events. This year, however, Pisano will skip the Nationals to attend the Cerebral Palsy World Games in July as a member of the U.S. team, and Tompkins will be going with him, also as a member of the team. Pisano will compete in the 100 meter.

When the two race together, Tompkins jogs beside the front wheel, steering and braking with a rope that’s tied to the front of the chair. “He’s been racing for most of his life,” Tompkins says of his training partner. The pair race mostly in summertime and run marathons in the fall. “I go back weekends and work with him,” Tompkins explains. During the week, Pisano is a freelance journalist who writes human interest pieces for the weekly Coventry Courier in Rhode Island.

For the past two years, Tompkins also has worked with Pisano on a wheelchair soccer team based in Springfield, Mass. The season runs from August to January. Tompkins gets in a wheelchair and practices with the team. He applied that experience to help run a wheelchair soccer camp last summer for the benefit of young, disabled children.

“I can still have my life afterward,” he says, “but after I leave Jason can’t get out. It’s kind of unfair for me to do what I want when I want, so I help him out.”

A junior, Tompkins transferred to Champlain from the Community College of Rhode Island last fall
due to the strength of Champlain’s International Business program. He lives on campus in Pearl Hall.

—Warren Baker

The Early Years Continued

The Early Years

Click on the article and the size should be readable.

Friend

The word friend has many different definitions, but my definition of friend changed 14 years ago. It was 1993, and I was a sophomore at the University of Connecticut. I posted an add for personal care attendants at the beginning of the semester around campus. I received many responses and I had hired a handful of aides but one stood out from the rest; his name was Randy Spellman.
It was an early fall evening and Randy came over to my dorm to meet me and interview for the job. Randy was kind of under the weather with the flu but, he really wanted a job so he showed up anyway. After a half hour of excusing himself he told me was ill and would have to call me tomorrow. Naturally I just thought that this kid wasn’t interested in the job and was looking for an excuse to get out of my room without hurting my feelings. The next day, to my surprise, he called and we have been close friends ever since.
They say you’re lucky if you find one good friend in your life, well I have been really lucky. I have had some of the most loyal and understanding friends that anyone could ever ask for. But when I met Randy I never dreamed that another person who is not related to me would be so dedicated and giving.
At first when Randy began working for me he was just another aide, but after I invited him to come home with me for a week during winter break our relationship was lifted to an entirely new level. After that week we were no longer just employer and employee, but instead were now friends and our friendship has been growing ever since.
During our college years we went on several spring break adventures, trained to become marathoners, and basically became brothers. I chose Randy as my guide when I was selected as a community hero to carry the Olympic Torch in 1996. He even pushed my wheelchair up to the stage when I received my college diploma from the University of Connecticut in 1998. Three months later, I was honored to be his groomsman when he married his wife Jen. I have many close friends but Randy is a friend you can count on in both good times and bad. He always finds a way to include me in things that others would never give a thought to.
Now that we have gotten older our relationship has changed again but we are still as close as ever. Last year, Randy and Jen had their first baby and I was one of their first friends they called to come to the hospital.
Although Randy has more responsibility in his life he continues to make time for me. This fall when I compete in my 39th and 40th career marathons, Randy will be there every step of the way for both 26.2-mile races. This type of devotion is rare and should be recognized. So I’d like to thank Randy for assisting me in achieving my goals and helping me live life to the fullest. To me you are the best best friend in the world.
-Jason Pisano

Starting Strong

Over the past two weeks, I have competed in two of the best road races that Rhode Island has to offer, the St. Mary’s 5.5-Miler in Cranston and the Blessing of the Fleet 10 Mile Road Race in Narragansett. Both of these races are very well organized and draw quality athletes from New England and beyond.

On Saturday, July 21st, I competed in the St. Mary’ Race. This was the first road race I had entered in two months, although I have been training daily. In the weeks leading up to this race I found my self getting a little bit slower each day. I began to get frustrated. I knew I was in great shape and my legs felt fresh, but still my training times were awful. I knew I had to figure out what was wrong before these two races. Then it happened. One day after a long training run I took some time and looked at some old pictures of when I was at my fastest and I noticed I was sitting in my racing chair in a totally different position. The next day I made some adjustments in my positioning in the chair and the improvement in my speed was incredible. Now I couldn’t wait to race.

As I arrived at the starting line in Knightsville, I felt very confident. With temperatures in the low 80’s, I had a very good warm up and was ready to go. Usually it takes me a few miles to get going but not on this day. Right from the start I was in a rhythm. I reached the three-mile-mark in just over 46 minutes. This was a great time for me considering all the hills on the course. The next two miles flew by. I ended up finishing in my second best time ever on this course, 1:27:27.
Following St. Mary’s I had an excellent week of training. Last Friday evening, I competed in the 36th Annual Narragansett Lions Blessing of the Fleet 10-mile Road Race, held in Narragansett. This has become one of my favorite races to do each year. This 10-mile foot race is one of the oldest and most popular races in Rhode Island. People come from near and far to run this oceanfront course.

This was my 11th consecutive year competing in this race. Each year I like to use this race to mark the beginning of my marathon training, so my coach decided to design a program to build my strength and endurance slowly in the beginning of July. This was a great idea and really had me prepared for the Blessing. Along with some six and eight mile runs on the West Warwick High School grounds and West Warwick’s River Point Park, I felt prepared to turn in a good time at the Blessing. This race has a slightly hilly course and really lets me test my endurance each year.

It was very warm and humid on the day of the race and thunderstorms were forecast for later that day. This year I planned to go all out for as long as possible. As I was warming up I had a good feeling about how I was going to perform.
I rolled up to the starting line about 5 minutes before the gun sounded. We went off with the walkers so the first mile was kind of crowded but faster than usual. It took us a while to get some breathing room and pick up the pace. We passed the three-mile mark in just over 45 minutes. This was a great pace for me and I wanted to keep it going. Between the fifth and sixth-mile point I just tried to keep my rhythm going as it was a slight upgrade. I passed the 6-mile mark in just over an hour and 30 minutes, this was right where I hoped to be. I had wanted to finish this 10-mile race in less than 2 hour and 30 minutes. At this pace, I had a real shot at this time.

The next two-miles were on back roads and were mostly shaded by trees, so we had a little reprieve from the 90 degree heat. This helped me get a second wind. We passed the eight-mile marker in 2 hours and 2 minutes; we were still within two minutes of my goal pace. The final two miles of this 10-mile trek were my best and we crossed the finish line in 2 hours 34 minutes, and 42 seconds. This was my personal best time for this course and I was very happy.
These two races have put me in the perfect mind-frame to start my marathon training. If I can continue to train at this level I might just have one of the best competive years of my career.

Jason Pisano

Approaching Marathons #39 and 40

Being an athlete can be tough sometimes. Competing in marathons can be compared to being a boxer. In both of these sports one trains and alters their life for that one day in the spotlight, however you can never be prepared for what can happen on that particular day.
I have been taught this lesson many times the most recent being the 2007 Boston Marathon. This was my 38th career marathon and my 13th time in Boston. I trained very hard for this race, and probably was in the top shape of my life.. All this preparation went out the window when a freak nor’easter storm hit New England on the race day. Although I finished the race and raised money for a very worthy charity it was one of my worst times in years. Following this race I had to take time off to heal a couple of small injuries and get back to a positive state of mind. Having a bad marathon is kind of like losing a title fight. You are constantly asking yourself how you could have competed better or performed at a higher level, but sooner or later you have to shake it off and get back on track.
After Boston I have only competed in two small road races although I have been training daily, however at the beginning of this week I took my training to a whole new level. I have just begun preparing to compete in both the Breakers Marathon in Newport, R.I. on October 20th, and the New York Marathon on November 4th. I have been competing in marathons now for almost 14 years and each year it gets harder and harder to get into a regiment that will prepare me to go 26.2 miles. This year I think it will be easier than most years because I have a motivational factor to enter both of these races.
In the Breakers Marathon I’ll be running and raising money for the Ronald McDonald House. Running for a charity really makes you motivated to get out there and train and do your best on race day. When I compete in New York I have another reason to excel. I will once again be racing an athlete who competes the same way I do, going backwards using his legs. If there’s any better feeling than raising money for charity it is beating a long-time rival. On November 4th this is what I plan to do.
After competing in two local road races over the next couple of weeks I will return to training in my hometown of West Warwick and hopefully prepare my body to take whatever is thrown at me.
If everything goes like I plan, on November 5th when I wake up in New York City I will have completed 40 career marathons. This will leave me only ten shy of my goal of finishing 50 marathons, so if you see me training beep your horn and cheer me on. I appreciate all the encouragement I have gotten from the people of Rhode Island.

-Jason Pisano

2007 Boston Marathon video is up on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ5a0Hhtnhw

This is the link

Boston 2007

There are some things that we as human beings have no control over. Mother Nature taught me this lesson once again on Monday, April 16th. After four long months of training I felt well prepared to turn in one of my fastest times at the 111th running of the Boston Marathon, however this was not to be on this day.
This was my 13th consecutive Boston Marathon and my 38th career marathon and I felt better than ever. I started training back at the end of January and had endured that brutal cold spell that we had at the beginning of March. I worked out in all conditions; snow, ice, wind, rain, and a few days of heat. My coach and I decided to design my training schedule with more speed workouts to see if I could achieve a personal best in Boston. Training went very well. Most weeks I ran and lifted six times a week, so by the time April came I felt ready to roll. Everything really seemed to be coming together, my staffing problems were solved for the moment, for the first time in several marathons I felt healthy going into the race, and I had a strategy that seemed like it would work. Then it happened.
About a week before the marathon I began hearing the forecast for a nor-easter. Now I have raced in all kinds of weather, but running 26.2 miles in a tropical storm is another thing. What made it even worse was that I had joined the Providence Ronald McDonald House Running Club and collected donations from many sponsors. Not that I would have withdrawn anyway, but racing for this worthy cause just made me more determined to get out there and hit the road.
The race day came and sure enough the weather was not ideal to say the least. It was one of the coldest Boston Marathon’s in the last 50 years. However at 9 a.m., I approached the starting line with my two guides/friends, Randy and Q, and we were off. At the beginning of the race the weather seemed to let up a little and I was moving along at a really good pace. At the six-mile mark I was only behind my goal pace by less than a minute. Then it happened. The wind and the rain picked up and as if that wasn’t bad enough I hit a huge puddle that soaked my feet. After this it was all downhill.
The next three miles I think took me an hour and a half, which really discouraged me. The wet roads would not allow me to get any traction and I was kicking so hard that my bad hip started freezing up and the hamstring on my other leg started to cramp up. The next hour felt more like six hours and I was so cold I just wanted this day to be over. For the next 15 or 16 miles it was really a test of will.
The going was slow and sometimes frustrating but we kept at it despite the fact that there were no more water stations. Ten hours and 32 minutes after I started this 26-mile trek to the heart of Boston I crossed the finish line. I was tired, wet, cold and frustrated, however I’m glad I didn’t quit and I helped raise money for others in need.
Hopefully my next marathon in October the weather will be more cooperative and I can go after my personal best, but for now I’ll stick to running a few 5K’s and try to get over my battle with Mother Nature.
Thanks to all of you who donated to the Providence Ronald McDonald House. To date I was able to raise over $1,600.

-Jason Pisano

2007 Boston Marathon Pictures

Jason is Back

Mid January-date unknown. High up on the hill in West Warwick Jason Pisano and his worker sit huddled in his van. The temperature is 8F with a windchill of -15. "Why are you doing this?" asks Jason's worker. Jason answers, "Just put me on the track." His worker, whose JOB IT IS to stay with Jason and help him if he gets stuck or runs of the track, brings Jay out to the track and runs back to the van for shelter. For more than an hour Jason pushes himself around the track with unmatched fortitude, preparing himself (mentally and physically) to go the distance in Boston.

For the last 15 years peoole have been following my racing career and supporting me. On Apil 16th, 2007, I will be racing in my 13th Boston Marathon and my 38th career marathon. I have received so such support over the years from others that, now I have made a name for myself, I want to use my racing to help others.

I truly believe in the Providence Ronald McDonald House and the awesome things that they do for families of sick children. I'm honored to be running for this worthy cause and hope that all of you support me in my efforts on April 16th and sponsor me! I Assure you that your money will be put to good use!

The link to donate is.



http://www.firstgiving.com/jasonpisano

Thanks, Jason Pisano

Sometime We Take A Lot For Granted

Growing up with a severe physical disability was not easy by any means, but with the assistance of family, friends, and other supporters I have managed to learn how to compensate for my physical limitations and lead a very fulfilling life. People with physical disabilities who live in third world countries are not as fortunate. I learned this first hand this week when I was asked for my input about a 15 year-old who has severe Cerebral Palsy
A few weeks ago, my coach and good friend, Paul Tetreault, asked me if I would be willing to meet with a friend, of his Janice B. Hulme, Physical Therapist (PT). She is the Director of PT and a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Rhode Island.
Hulme recently had traveled with students from the PT department of URI to Guatemala to visit a clinic for people with disabilities. Among the many children and adults that the group observed was a young man who’s name is Oscar. This individual was confined to a bed and rarely able to transfer into his wheelchair. Oscar’s whole body convulsed on a regular basis through out the entire day, which had to take a toll on his body and mind. The staff from URI tried to come up with some techniques to relax the young man but their attempts were futile.
On Tuesday night, Hulme came to visit me at my home to see if I could come up with any ideas to make this young man’s life a little easier and happier. When she arrived at my house she gave me a brief overview of his condition and then showed me a video of her visit with him that took place this past December at his home in Guatemala. Although the video was only a little longer than half an hour it seemed like it was a lot longer as I watched helplessly as he flailed on his bed thousands of miles away.
When I was asked to help Hulme think of ways to improve his quality of life I was flattered but I knew it would be almost impossible for me to help someone so far away and who had no way to communicate his needs to me.
Doctors and therapists are wonderful but sometimes you need someone that has been in a similar situation to make a break through. After an hour or so of discussing Oscar with Hulme I gave her a few ideas that I hope will help him in the future. Although I was flattered to have been called upon to help, in the end I was left with a feeling of helplessness.
With all the obstacles that I have overcome in my life I often forget to take time to look at how far I have come and how much I have accomplished. I only can hope that Oscar can find a way to cope with his disabilities and allow people to see the person that he is inside.