A Moving Story of one Incredible Father

[98elite]

Thought I would share this with you all:

What will you do today?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwPOPDkKg4c

[_Ju_]

Thank you for sharing that. It was beautiful and elevating yet sad.... because so many of us have so much and waste even more.

[unicorn]

That was amazing to see, through his father he probably leads a fuller life than many of us who have the ability to do these things for ourselves.

[98elite]

Stories That Inspire

If you would prefer to listen to it click the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AcsQ-NUPJQ

otherwise have a read below:

Rick Hoyt was strangled by his umbilical cord during birth. The lack of oxygen during that struggle caused brain damage, leaving him with cerebral palsy. His parents were told to institutionalize him, that he would be a vegetable with little or no comprehension of the world around him.

But Dick, his father, said, "No, we're not going to do that. We're going to bring Rick home and bring him up like any other child."

Although they were told that "nothing" was going on in Rick's brain, when he was eleven they took him to Tufts University. They asked several engineers if there was any way they could help Rick communicate. The engineers were skeptical, but Dick urged them to "Tell him a joke." When they did, Rick laughed openly in his wheelchair. So the Tufts University engineers rigged up a computer-device where he could "point" to letters and peck them using a stick on the side of his head. Rick's first words, using the machine, were, "Go Bruins."

A short time after Rick was able to communicate this way, his school organized a charity run for a fellow classmate who had become paralyzed in an accident. "Dad, I want to do that," Rick said with his computer.

Dick wondered how he would help his son participate, since he called himself a "porker" who rarely got off the couch. But with the desire to fulfill his son's dreams, he entered the charity run, pushing Rick in his wheelchair the whole way. As they crossed the finish line, Dick said that Rick had "the biggest smile you've ever seen in your life."

Later, when it was over, Rick typed, "Dad, when we were running, it felt like I was not disabled anymore."

These words changed Dick's life. If running made his son feel like he wasn't disabled, he was determined to make running a part of their lives forever.

Since that first charity run, Dick has pushed his son in-get this-85 marathons, each one 26.2 miles. They have run in the Boston Marathon over 24 times, with Dick pushing his son the entire way.

"He's the one who has motivated me," said Dick about his son, "because if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be out there competing. What I'm doing is loaning Rick my arms and legs so he can be out there competing like everybody else."

Not only have Dick and son Rick, often called "Team Hoyt," entered marathons, but 212 triathlons, including eight where Dick not only ran, pushing Rick in his wheelchair, but also swam, pulling Rick 2.4 miles in a dinghy, and rode 112 miles in a bicycle with Rick sitting in a specialized seat attached to the bike.

With all this competing, Dick has certainly gotten himself into great physical condition. When he suffered a mild heart attack at age 63, his arteries were examined and his physician told him, "if you hadn't been in such great shape, you would have died fifteen years ago." So his devotion to his son has prolonged his life.

"My Dad is the father of the century," Rick types on his computer. "The thing I'd most like is that my Dad sit in the chair and I push him once."

[Piglet]

It makes you appreaciate what an easy life we have ;)

[BINDI 42]

What a lovely yet moving story ,having a handicapped son myself i could relate to this fathers love
Brought a tear to my eyes thank you 98elite for sharing

[Sporran]

That video was very moving - it brought tears to my eyes! :~( Thanks for posting the link to it, 98elite, and the equally moving story behind it.

[paris]

Have to say it made me shed a tear aswell. What a devoted father he is . jan x

[98elite]

so many of us have so much and waste even more.

Ju, this is so true

have read of this:

On what's important in life..

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the beer.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.

Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognise that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends, your favourite passions--things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. "The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else--the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical check-ups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another game. There will always be time to clean the house, and do that DIY. "Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers."

[_Ju_]

98, that is one of the great universal truths. May I add that sometimes we get the sand in our eyes and loose sight of everything else.....
;)

[flyfifer]

Anyone else love the song? See Mercy me video also on Youtube at the end of the lovely inspirational father video. x

[Smithy]

A moving story and a dedicated father.

[Billy Boy]

what a beautiful story, kind of makes you realise what you have and how much we take even the simplest of things for granted.:~(
We dont know how lucky we are

[98elite]

This inspirational story had me out on the road this morning for the 1st time in ages.