Imagine, for one moment, that everyone in the world had a disability. Imagine if we all had to use wheelchairs, walkers and other assistive devices to help us do every day tasks.
To some, the world might look and seem like one, big uniformed chunk of humanity. There might not be any difference in the eyes of a select few. To others however, the would could look the way our forefathers intended it: the land of opportunity.
I think that begs some worthwhile questions:What would we, as a people, look like to each other, let alone ourselves? How would we each react to the inevitable weight that disability brings? Most importantly, how would we overcome the weight of society–knowing that the very prospect of opportunity takes on an entirely new, heightened meaning when disability comes into play?
If father and son duo Dick and Rick Hoyt are any indication, you conquer the world together. Rick, whom doctors claimed would be nothing but a “vegetable”, has used a wheelchair since birth. He speaks with the help of a speech output device that Dick had built when Rick was born.. In the Upworthy original video shown above, Dick explains how competing in local running marathons together have helped him cope with his son’s disability–and receive the greatest reward as a father in return:
“[One night], Rick wrote on his computer, ‘Dad, when [we’re] running, it feels like my disability disappears.’ So that was a very powerful message to me, that we found a sport that Rick could get involved in–just like everybody else.”
However, Dick’s determination to help his son live a full life started long before they began competing together.
“[The doctors] said, ‘Forget about Rick. Put him in an institution.” “I said, ‘No, I’m going to bring him home and raise him like any other child.'”
That drive led the father/son team to run in their first five-mile race in 2013. They came in close to last place, even though others in attendance doubted that they would finish at all.
To me, this is about determination at its best. After all, isn’t thar what truly makes America great?
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Photo Credit: AbsolutVision on Unsplash