May 11th, the day before Mother's Day, Team Ari ran the Mermaid Series Half Marathon. Our goal was to complete Half-Marathon #2 in our Celebrate 13 Challenge (13 halfs for Ari's 13th Birthday this year). But boy did we get so much more than just working towards our goal. We were joyously welcomed into the Mermaid Community! The Mermaids are a diverse group of female athletes sharing the fellowship of running. They are beginners, intermediates, Elite Runners, First timers, Young, Old, Middle-Aged, & Girls Just Wanna have fun runners!!!
At the startline, Music was playing, runners were chatting, and much to our surprise Ari's name was announced as being the youngest half-marathon participant for this race. The Announcer asked for Ari to identify herself in the crowd so that she could be acknowledged. Both Ari and I happily raised an arm up in the air so she could be seen in her chair. Immediately there was a loud roar of applause! We were truly taken aback to have such a warm and celebratory atmosphere. I could feel my eyes well up with tears of joy for Ari. I felt so grateful to be in the company of women who were embracing disability and inclusiveness. They had no idea how much it meant to me that Ari had this kind of heroes welcome!
So we started this footrace on such a high note. We were off and running and feeling more motivated than ever. Ari high-fived runner after runner. We were greeted each time by participants we passed or who passed us. Virtually everyone made a point of telling us how "inspired they were by seeing us run together". At Aid stations volunteers called out "Go Team Ari!", spectators waved and cheered as well. It felt like we had this immense fan club the entire distance on the course. Mile after mile we were greeted with Smiles. I knew I had a runners' high because it felt like I could have run forever. Time flew by despite being a very hot 80 plus degrees for most of the race
Thirteen miles down and as we approached the finish line we could see Michael with the camera. Ari waved and was picture ready for Dad! We could also see a large crowd of people gathering on both sides of the race chute. Then we heard the Announcer call out, "Team Ari is at the Finish Line!" More people gathered, and as we came through the chute the crowd chanted, "Team Ari, Team Ari!" This was surreal. We felt like Olympians. This was just a spectacular event with great organizers, staff, volunteers, & runners. But what touched us so much was the attitude of inclusiveness. Ari was an athlete, just like any other athlete on the course. We will always cherish this race and vow to run it again next year. So, it was official, we were part of the Mermaid Family Now and Forever Proud. Mermaids 'R' Us.
Wishing you Miles of Smiles ~ Team Ari
Showing posts with label mother/daughter athlete duo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mother/daughter athlete duo. Show all posts
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Monday, May 27, 2013
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me. Funny how lyrics to a song can come crashing through your brain at the moment you need to hear it the most. Just a little bit, Just a little bit! Sing it Aretha. Those lyrics carried my Legs, Heart, & Sole as we ran away from a crazy race director several weeks ago at a half-marathon. Faster, faster!
It all went down like this....Team Ari was getting ready at the start line for our second attempt at beginning our Celebrate 13 Half-Marathon schedule. Two weeks prior on what should have been a glorious race day at the Napa Valley Half, ended up being a disappointment as we were forced to withdraw due to Ari's injury and respiratory illness. So here we were in anxious anticipation of starting a great journey at another race when suddenly and unexpectedly, BAM, a rather angry gentleman approached Michael. "You are not going to race with THAT thing are you?" he said. Michael paused for a moment but I could over hear him politely explain that Ari was being pushed in her adaptive running chair. We were cleared with the Race Director prior to registering for this race. Angry man abruptly exclaimed he WAS the race director and his Co-Director did not clear it with him, therefore we should NOT be running this race. I realized that this could easily escalate so I reassured Angry man that Team Ari races often and we are very skilled at it. Angry man huffed and begrudgingly agreed the only way we could participate was to start at the back of the pack. I'll take it, I thought, even tho it is against my better judgement. We were being punished, just like other women, and other ethnicities before us had been punished. You can't sit at the front of the Bus, You are only allowed to sit in the back! But what Angry man didn't realize due to his ignorance is that I can clip a fast pace pushing Ari and adaptive chairs should be positioned in the middle to the front of the pack for safety.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity the race begins. Ari and I are making our way through the crowded pack, safely passing slower runners. We are talking, laughing, and excited like we always are when we begin to run. When suddenly out of the corner of my eye, I see Angry man running after us, waving his arms, and yelling. I slow my pace down for a moment just long enough to hear him rant, "You have to be at the back, you can't be here!!!!!" He is lunging forward with his hand outstretched as if he is going to physically knock me over. He is so close I can hear and feel his panting breath. I am terrrified now. Adrenaline is surging through my body. I am in flight mode. In a flash all I could imagine was that this is how Kathrine Switzer must have felt when she was chased down at the Boston Marathon. While attending college, Switzer entered and completed the race in 1967, five years before women were officially allowed to compete in it. She bravely fought off a Race Director who attempted to throw her off the course. She had several male friends who served as body guards and helped her fight off her attackers. Where is a Bodyguard when you need one?
Thats where Aretha came into play for me. I started hearing her lyrics in my head, R-E-S-P-E-C-T! And I told Ari hang on, we are running for our life away from this junkyard dog. Ari laughed and yelled faster Mom, faster. Just a little bit, just a little bit!!!! My Legs magically began to glide effortlessly like I was an olympic runner going for the Gold Medal. We kept going until I could no longer hear or see Angry man on our tail. I think we covered the next three miles on record pace. Thanks for the song and thanks for the respect Aretha.
Wishing you Miles of Smiles~Team Ari
It all went down like this....Team Ari was getting ready at the start line for our second attempt at beginning our Celebrate 13 Half-Marathon schedule. Two weeks prior on what should have been a glorious race day at the Napa Valley Half, ended up being a disappointment as we were forced to withdraw due to Ari's injury and respiratory illness. So here we were in anxious anticipation of starting a great journey at another race when suddenly and unexpectedly, BAM, a rather angry gentleman approached Michael. "You are not going to race with THAT thing are you?" he said. Michael paused for a moment but I could over hear him politely explain that Ari was being pushed in her adaptive running chair. We were cleared with the Race Director prior to registering for this race. Angry man abruptly exclaimed he WAS the race director and his Co-Director did not clear it with him, therefore we should NOT be running this race. I realized that this could easily escalate so I reassured Angry man that Team Ari races often and we are very skilled at it. Angry man huffed and begrudgingly agreed the only way we could participate was to start at the back of the pack. I'll take it, I thought, even tho it is against my better judgement. We were being punished, just like other women, and other ethnicities before us had been punished. You can't sit at the front of the Bus, You are only allowed to sit in the back! But what Angry man didn't realize due to his ignorance is that I can clip a fast pace pushing Ari and adaptive chairs should be positioned in the middle to the front of the pack for safety.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity the race begins. Ari and I are making our way through the crowded pack, safely passing slower runners. We are talking, laughing, and excited like we always are when we begin to run. When suddenly out of the corner of my eye, I see Angry man running after us, waving his arms, and yelling. I slow my pace down for a moment just long enough to hear him rant, "You have to be at the back, you can't be here!!!!!" He is lunging forward with his hand outstretched as if he is going to physically knock me over. He is so close I can hear and feel his panting breath. I am terrrified now. Adrenaline is surging through my body. I am in flight mode. In a flash all I could imagine was that this is how Kathrine Switzer must have felt when she was chased down at the Boston Marathon. While attending college, Switzer entered and completed the race in 1967, five years before women were officially allowed to compete in it. She bravely fought off a Race Director who attempted to throw her off the course. She had several male friends who served as body guards and helped her fight off her attackers. Where is a Bodyguard when you need one?
Thats where Aretha came into play for me. I started hearing her lyrics in my head, R-E-S-P-E-C-T! And I told Ari hang on, we are running for our life away from this junkyard dog. Ari laughed and yelled faster Mom, faster. Just a little bit, just a little bit!!!! My Legs magically began to glide effortlessly like I was an olympic runner going for the Gold Medal. We kept going until I could no longer hear or see Angry man on our tail. I think we covered the next three miles on record pace. Thanks for the song and thanks for the respect Aretha.
Wishing you Miles of Smiles~Team Ari
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Loss of innocence
Arianna was 6 months old when we got the "diagnosis".
C and P became the two letters of the alphabet that I was on a mission to study, research, understand, and get a grip on what it was really going to mean for our beautiful baby girl. Frankly I had no idea that those two little letters could make me feel like I was learning a foreign language. I spent hours online with a medical dictionary of terms that were often seriously scary and too frightening to understand. Every medical report, lab result, MRI, medication, procedure, was a new class lecture that I was forced to study.
In some respects I think intellectualizing the diagnosis was my way of trying to process my grief. In order for me to deal with the emotional pain I was experiencing I had to digest all the literature I could about Cerebral Palsy first. I needed to gain some sense of control because so much of our life was now out of control. We didn't have a say in all of this. We didn't choose this for Ari and it was not the life we thought she was going to have. No parent chooses CP. In retrospect it felt like one day we woke up and loss our innocence. Life could and did change in an instant, and we all felt incredibly vulnerable.
I still feel vulnerable at times. I worry about the world that Ari lives in and how it treats her. As special needs parents most of us have come to know with great familiarity the prejudices and discrimination that our disabled children are faced with. Our fears get reinforced when we have negative encounters with medical professionals, family, friends, strangers, school personnel, and the public. Unfortunately this happens all to often. We find ourselves standing up for our kids, protecting them, advocating that they have the same rights and opportunities that the non-disabled have. Then we have the difficult task of repeating this over and over again like a broken record. If I had a dollar for every time Michael or I have had to defend, assert, and protect Ari's legal rights as a disabled person I probably would be a rich woman.
I hope that our experiences will help other special needs families new to navigating the world of CP or any other disabilities. I didn't have a mentor to hold my hand and walk me through this process. I wish that I had had another special needs mother to speak with, to share with, to cry with, to laugh with, to calm my fears with. I had Michael though and together we walked through this journey and made it to the other side. Although we loss our innocence and sense of security we gained so much more. We gained resiliency!
Wishing you Miles of Smiles ~ Team Ari
C and P became the two letters of the alphabet that I was on a mission to study, research, understand, and get a grip on what it was really going to mean for our beautiful baby girl. Frankly I had no idea that those two little letters could make me feel like I was learning a foreign language. I spent hours online with a medical dictionary of terms that were often seriously scary and too frightening to understand. Every medical report, lab result, MRI, medication, procedure, was a new class lecture that I was forced to study.
In some respects I think intellectualizing the diagnosis was my way of trying to process my grief. In order for me to deal with the emotional pain I was experiencing I had to digest all the literature I could about Cerebral Palsy first. I needed to gain some sense of control because so much of our life was now out of control. We didn't have a say in all of this. We didn't choose this for Ari and it was not the life we thought she was going to have. No parent chooses CP. In retrospect it felt like one day we woke up and loss our innocence. Life could and did change in an instant, and we all felt incredibly vulnerable.
I still feel vulnerable at times. I worry about the world that Ari lives in and how it treats her. As special needs parents most of us have come to know with great familiarity the prejudices and discrimination that our disabled children are faced with. Our fears get reinforced when we have negative encounters with medical professionals, family, friends, strangers, school personnel, and the public. Unfortunately this happens all to often. We find ourselves standing up for our kids, protecting them, advocating that they have the same rights and opportunities that the non-disabled have. Then we have the difficult task of repeating this over and over again like a broken record. If I had a dollar for every time Michael or I have had to defend, assert, and protect Ari's legal rights as a disabled person I probably would be a rich woman.
I hope that our experiences will help other special needs families new to navigating the world of CP or any other disabilities. I didn't have a mentor to hold my hand and walk me through this process. I wish that I had had another special needs mother to speak with, to share with, to cry with, to laugh with, to calm my fears with. I had Michael though and together we walked through this journey and made it to the other side. Although we loss our innocence and sense of security we gained so much more. We gained resiliency!
Wishing you Miles of Smiles ~ Team Ari
Friday, May 17, 2013
Fridays Fabulous Women
This is a fantastic Friday as Team Ari made it into Friday's Fabulous Women, check out our link
http://on.fb.me/16oJzD5 at this great site by www.seven2success.com. Mirjam Stoffels highlights inspiring women all around the globe! So honored to be a part of this community of invincible women. Thank you Mirjam!
http://on.fb.me/16oJzD5 at this great site by www.seven2success.com. Mirjam Stoffels highlights inspiring women all around the globe! So honored to be a part of this community of invincible women. Thank you Mirjam!
Friday, May 10, 2013
Mothers and Miles
Its Mother's day weekend and we want to wish every mom across the globe a very special Mother's Day! We are extraordinarily grateful that we can celebrate this weekend by running our #2 half-marathon on our Celebrate 13 race schedule tomorrow morning at an all Women's Event. We are hoping to see many mothers, daughters, sisters, grandma's, aunts, cousins, and friends lace up their shoes and join together to honor "MOM".
To all of the Mother's with a special needs child, we salute you. You are the true wonder women of the world who overcome many challenges and obstacles for your child, you earn a medal each and every day for the marathon hours of caregiving you lovingly give to your children. Every mile we run tomorrow will be in your honor and your family's honor!
Wishing You Miles of Smiles ~Team Ari
Friday, May 3, 2013
What if???
April 12th, 2013 was supposed to be Ari's Friday Party. Our plans were to pick up Ari from school and watch the Yankees Game and barbeque some hot dogs to kick start our weekend. But it wasn't meant to be.
When we arrived at school, Ari was with her Aide and she was in tears. She had fallen on the locker room floor. It wasn't her fault. She had slipped on someone's soap, that was carelessly left there and a danger to any student whose foot might land there. We immediately knew something was terribly wrong despite the Aide's effort to mask it. Ari was voicing a great deal of pain about her left ankle and leg which is quite unusal considering the fact that she has little sensation on her left side.
So the medical journey began. We drove rather quickly over to our doctors office and then got sent for xrays. Two days later we were at an ortho's office getting a cast on Ari's left Ankle to immobilize it. Her ankle looked liked the size of a baseball. It was so swolen, purple, and bruised. She was back in her wheelchair for 3 weeks. Since then we have visited our pediatric ortho and physiatrist at Shriners for more xrays, an air cast, and orders for physical therapy 3 times/week for the next 3 months.
I think we are still in shock and trying to deal with the reality of Ari being in a wheelchair 24/7. The Doctors believe this will be a long rehab as her muscles and tendons attempt to heal. We are trying to be optimistic but it feels like we got the wind knocked out of our sails.. It has brought back all the memories of fighting with and for Ari to ambulate and it seems quite unfair that she has to suffer because of someone else's carelessness and neglect. We are angry that she has to start all over again with learning to walk, we are angry that she's lost some of her independence, we are angry that the adults we entrusted to be responsible while she was in their care at school failed her miserably, and we are angry that those adults don't even have a clue at the loss that we are all experiencing!!!
I think the uncertainty scares Michael & I both. The fear of not knowing when she will walk again. The "what if...?"
When we arrived at school, Ari was with her Aide and she was in tears. She had fallen on the locker room floor. It wasn't her fault. She had slipped on someone's soap, that was carelessly left there and a danger to any student whose foot might land there. We immediately knew something was terribly wrong despite the Aide's effort to mask it. Ari was voicing a great deal of pain about her left ankle and leg which is quite unusal considering the fact that she has little sensation on her left side.
So the medical journey began. We drove rather quickly over to our doctors office and then got sent for xrays. Two days later we were at an ortho's office getting a cast on Ari's left Ankle to immobilize it. Her ankle looked liked the size of a baseball. It was so swolen, purple, and bruised. She was back in her wheelchair for 3 weeks. Since then we have visited our pediatric ortho and physiatrist at Shriners for more xrays, an air cast, and orders for physical therapy 3 times/week for the next 3 months.
I think we are still in shock and trying to deal with the reality of Ari being in a wheelchair 24/7. The Doctors believe this will be a long rehab as her muscles and tendons attempt to heal. We are trying to be optimistic but it feels like we got the wind knocked out of our sails.. It has brought back all the memories of fighting with and for Ari to ambulate and it seems quite unfair that she has to suffer because of someone else's carelessness and neglect. We are angry that she has to start all over again with learning to walk, we are angry that she's lost some of her independence, we are angry that the adults we entrusted to be responsible while she was in their care at school failed her miserably, and we are angry that those adults don't even have a clue at the loss that we are all experiencing!!!
I think the uncertainty scares Michael & I both. The fear of not knowing when she will walk again. The "what if...?"
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Yes We Can Cross Any Finish Line!
It has been a very exciting month for us @ Team Ari. In March we ran our first marathon and decided we are not stopping! In honor of Ari becoming 13 in April we will begin our Celebrate13 Challenge which translates to running 13 half-marathon(13.1 miles) events in 2013. To kick start our journey we were recently honored in a story by Women You Should Know. Check us out in this article!
http://www.womenyoushouldknow.net/team-ari-yes-we-can-cross-any-finish-line/
~Wishing you Miles of Smiles, Team Ari
http://www.womenyoushouldknow.net/team-ari-yes-we-can-cross-any-finish-line/
~Wishing you Miles of Smiles, Team Ari
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Early Morning Wake Up Call
Its 5:01 in the morning and Michael and Ari are boarding a helicopter. The Helicopter pilot and flight nurses all try to be reassuring but I am definitely not feeling at ease. My eyes are swollen and puffy from crying. I'm cold, my hands are trembling, and I can feel my heart racing. I'm filled with fear and disbelief. Ari is being medi-flighted to a Pediatric ICU. She has been intubated and is on a ventillator. We spent the last several hours in our local ER. Our trusted pediatrician decided Ari needed to be transferred to a children's hospital. The diagnosis is pneumonia and her left lung is collapsed, she can't breathe on her own. Before they leave, Michael and I hold each other, I can feel his tears moisten my cheek. We are both silent and numb. She's just shy of turning Two years old. This can't be real. It has to be a bad nitemare. Ari is fighting for her life and we don't know if she will survive.
I'm on auto pilot as I drive home from the ER and wake up Lindsay and Nic. Its too early in the morning for their alarms to be going off to get up for school. I feel guilty for waking them from their slumbers and I dread telling them that their sister is gravely ill. I just want to hold them tight and tell them how much I love them. They are only 12 and 14 years old but they are very perceptive for their ages, they can easily pick up on my emotions. I try not to let them see how frightened I am. I explain as best as I can that Ari is flying to Valley Children's hospital with Michael and we need to get there as soon as possible. Its a 90 minute drive so I need to pull myself together quickly. They offer to pack their belongings and suggest we eat breakfast from the drive thru at McDonalds to save time. I don't object, because I really need some caffeine to stay awake. I feel like I've been up for days. On the drive, they begin to ask questions and have real concerns for their baby sister. I try to answer their questions honestly but I feel myself choking up and fighting back the tears. I don't want to admit how grave Ari's condition is. So I gently share that the doctors in the PICU are the best in California and they are going to work really hard at getting Ari well. I'm hoping that they accept what I am telling them. I'm trying my hardest to believe that what I am saying is the truth!
Nine days later and Ari is improving. She is taken off the Vent and is on oxygen. The doctors think she is out of the woods and are cautiously optimistic. She is finally awake too. We are able to hold her, wrap her in her favorite blankie, and sing her favorite songs, and tell her how much we love her. We are so elated. We've never left her side. At least one of us, Michael or I, has been in her room 24/7. We just want to take her home and resume our family life as we know it. But we are painfully aware that our lives have changed again. We are frightened of what the future may hold. Ari has CP and with that can come respiratory complications. She is fragile, any colds, flu, or viruses can wreak havic on her lungs. This wasn't her first bout of pneumonia but it was the worst one ever. She fought the battle and won. We are incredibly grateful that we have been given more time with Ari and hope that the worst is behind us.
Its 5:01 in the morning and I gently touch Ari's arm trying to wake her. She looks so peaceful I almost feel guilty for getting her up so early on this Saturday morning. A couple of minutes later her eyes open. She looks at me and smiles that sweet smile of hers and says, "Its race day Mom!" Yes it is, I reply. Are you awake enough to get out of bed? She pulls herself up and rolls over the bedside. She puts her feet on the floor and slowly limps to the bathroom. I feel my body get tense as I observe her stiff gait. I see her struggle but she never complains. She is happy with this Early Morning Wake Up Call because its Race Day. Its our first 20 miler race and she has been looking forward to this all week! Its going to be a glorious day.
With Miles of Smiles,
~Team Ari
I'm on auto pilot as I drive home from the ER and wake up Lindsay and Nic. Its too early in the morning for their alarms to be going off to get up for school. I feel guilty for waking them from their slumbers and I dread telling them that their sister is gravely ill. I just want to hold them tight and tell them how much I love them. They are only 12 and 14 years old but they are very perceptive for their ages, they can easily pick up on my emotions. I try not to let them see how frightened I am. I explain as best as I can that Ari is flying to Valley Children's hospital with Michael and we need to get there as soon as possible. Its a 90 minute drive so I need to pull myself together quickly. They offer to pack their belongings and suggest we eat breakfast from the drive thru at McDonalds to save time. I don't object, because I really need some caffeine to stay awake. I feel like I've been up for days. On the drive, they begin to ask questions and have real concerns for their baby sister. I try to answer their questions honestly but I feel myself choking up and fighting back the tears. I don't want to admit how grave Ari's condition is. So I gently share that the doctors in the PICU are the best in California and they are going to work really hard at getting Ari well. I'm hoping that they accept what I am telling them. I'm trying my hardest to believe that what I am saying is the truth!
Nine days later and Ari is improving. She is taken off the Vent and is on oxygen. The doctors think she is out of the woods and are cautiously optimistic. She is finally awake too. We are able to hold her, wrap her in her favorite blankie, and sing her favorite songs, and tell her how much we love her. We are so elated. We've never left her side. At least one of us, Michael or I, has been in her room 24/7. We just want to take her home and resume our family life as we know it. But we are painfully aware that our lives have changed again. We are frightened of what the future may hold. Ari has CP and with that can come respiratory complications. She is fragile, any colds, flu, or viruses can wreak havic on her lungs. This wasn't her first bout of pneumonia but it was the worst one ever. She fought the battle and won. We are incredibly grateful that we have been given more time with Ari and hope that the worst is behind us.
Its 5:01 in the morning and I gently touch Ari's arm trying to wake her. She looks so peaceful I almost feel guilty for getting her up so early on this Saturday morning. A couple of minutes later her eyes open. She looks at me and smiles that sweet smile of hers and says, "Its race day Mom!" Yes it is, I reply. Are you awake enough to get out of bed? She pulls herself up and rolls over the bedside. She puts her feet on the floor and slowly limps to the bathroom. I feel my body get tense as I observe her stiff gait. I see her struggle but she never complains. She is happy with this Early Morning Wake Up Call because its Race Day. Its our first 20 miler race and she has been looking forward to this all week! Its going to be a glorious day.
With Miles of Smiles,
~Team Ari
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)