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What do you do if you want to run in a marathon, but haven’t ever taken one single step because of a debilitating physical handicap? What do you do if you want to send a message to the world, but can’t even muster control of your own voice? The answer is “nothing.”
That is, unless you have Dick Hoyt as your father.
In 1962, Dick and Judy Hoyt were blessed with the birth of their son Rick. Unfortunately, Rick was deprived of oxygen during Judy’s prolonged labor, and was later diagnosed as a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. Doctors told the Hoyts Rick would never walk. Never speak. Never live a normal life. The experts advised the heartbroken parents to institutionalize their child because of his severe limitations. But these parents couldn’t bring themselves to do that.
Instead, Dick and Judy kept their baby, altered their lives, made some sacrifices, and began diligently working with Rick on the simplest of tasks. They gained incredible hope when they noticed that the baby boy would often track them with his eyes as they moved throughout the rooms of their home.
Now they had something to work with!
Eventually, Rick learned the alphabet. His parents even taught him some of our most basic words. After time, Rick mastered enough skills that his parents sought a way for him to communicate with others. So in 1972, using $5,000 and a group of talented engineers from Tufts University, an interactive computer was built for Rick that allowed him “type” on a screen by highlighting letters one-at-a-time with a cursor and selecting them by tapping his head against a special button on his wheelchair.
Finally, at the age of 13, Rick was admitted into public school. But his life’s most defining moment would come two years later, when he asked his father if he could participate in a 5-mile run to benefit a lacrosse player who had been paralyzed in an accident.
How could a quadriplegic even dream of performing such a feat? Simple. That particular quadriplegic knew he had a very particular father.
Though Dick was hardly a long distance runner, the Lt. Col. in the Air National Guard agreed to push Rick in his wheelchair and they completed the full 5 miles, finishing second-to-last. That night, Rick told his father, “Dad, when I’m running, it feels like I’m not handicapped.”
Just checking: does anybody still have dry eyes?
Little did either of them know that the 5-mile run would be their first of more than a thousand races completed, including marathons, triathlons, and even Ironman competitions. Additionally, in 1992, Rick rolled across the entire United States – all 3,735 miles of it – with his father right behind him…pushing all the way.
In every race they’ve run together, Rick can be seen perched atop a special seat fixed to Dick’s bike. He might also be seen strapped into an inflatable boat that Dick harnesses himself into as he cuts through the water. But his usual place is in his wheelchair – right arm extended due to his handicap – with his father behind him, pushing. Step by painful step, and mile by excruciating mile, Dick presses on, ensuring that his son finishes the race laid out for him in life.
Rick knows he has a very special father. Dick Hoyt is the quintessential picture of a loving dad who’s willing to do whatever it takes to give his son a better life. Together, they’ve pounded the pavement and pounded their message of “Yes You Can!” into the lives of others who simply want to accomplish something great with their lives.
What a dad!
Click here for the online report.
Topics Illustrated Include:
Competition
Endurance
Father
Goal
Handicap
Kids
Race (racing)
Sacrificial
(Resource cataloged by David R Smith)
