Well, it's a good thing that Mark has an additional day tomorrow for his weekend! He wore himself out at sports camp. It started with a kick off "cocktail" party on Wednesday evening and continued to a farewell dinner last night. It was all sponsored by the US Paralympic Military Program in conjunction with the VA. The Tampa VA was the first of the poly trauma units to host one of these camps and recreational therapists from the other three units in Minneapolis, Richmond, and Palo Alto were in attendence. There were also representatives from a number of organizations, most noteably, Blaze Sports which is a nationwide adaptive sports program company. Mark was invited to attend the London paralympics in four years by the representative from the U.S.O.C. who was here. He thought that was the greatest idea yet!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Thursday he learned various techniques in track and field. They did wheelchair sprints, discus, shot put and javelin. His favorite was javelin which is something he has always wanted to try. Ohio bans javelin from high school track (of course, who in their right mind would give spears to teenagers!)
Friday was taken up with table tennis in the morning and swimming in the afternoon. Mark did have some problems doing the freestroke, but aced the backstroke. Saturday was filled with strength training in the morning and cycling in the afternoon. He really loved both. He was never much into lifting weights, but with the kind of professional coaching he got, he was hooked. The cycling (see video clip) was just about his favorite and after some fitting and instruction in the particular bike he used, he and his therapist (jogging along side) completed a mile and a half circuit which was wonderful for his first time, especially in the heat and humidity.
We finished the evening off with a nice dinner and award ceremony which everyone attended. All in all the camp was a wonderful experience for Mark. I was told he started out quiet and when he realized he could do so much, he opened up and the true Mark came out. I do believe it was wonderful for him to see how much there is to do, even with some permanent disability. He is bound and determined to be the best he can be and that makes us all very proud.
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4 comments:
Congrats to you Mark !!!!
We will certainly be at the London
Olympics to watch you win GOLD . Keep up the training , we are all very proud of you.
Hey Mark, Mike and I wanted to say you are doing amazing and we can't wait to see you. We are going to try and come for a weekend in November but as we figure it out we will let you know. We will also be in London to watch kick butt!!!! Let us know when!
Go Mark Go! That would be cool if you can get in shape and go to London! I would love to see you get that opportunity! I hope you take is seriously and train for it. It is starting to get cooler at night here but I am travelling south Weds. to my son's wedding in Nashville. The fall color should make the drive wonderful! I am excited about the wedding and sad too! Take care and keep working on the PT and Training. Proud of you!
Look at how far you have come on grit , determination and prayer! We continue to root for you and are proud of what you have accomplished so far! Kathy Holland
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