The Playground Challenge: The Backstory: Cady's Cause

Happy Sunday!

As noted yesterday, today's blog is going to give you all a bit more insight into how one challenge within the family spurred my discussion with Sully and prompted The Playground Challenge. First the introductions:

This is Cadence:

Cadence (Cady, Bug or Cadybug as she likes) is my niece. She's 5 (her birthday was just last Friday) and suffers from Cerebral Palsy. She is a very unique, playful and beautiful young girl full of spirit and life.

This is Corey, her father, my brother in law, and a close friend:

I'm sure you can see by our antics, we're 2 peas in a pod.(Corey and Kelly have 4 kids too. One more and we can field a Baseball team together) I made that California Club BTW. Two of those fed 2 families of 5 that night, during one of the best snow day sleepovers EVER!

Kelly, Corey's wife is pictured in the background. She plays the most integral part in this play,but we don't get to meet her until one of the final acts, we need to set the scene and plot first.

During cookouts and gatherings, we always talk about activities our kids can do together with the parents. Whether its a trip to the movies to see Brave, or taking the kids to the zoo or to a park, we always strive to keep them active in mentally and physically stimulating ideas (mostly because they don't go to sleep at night unless we run them ragged during the day) Cadence isn't capable enough to do many of the planned activities and though we try, there is always a sense of exclusion lingering in the background. Then there was the Hoyte video, posted by Geoff. It changed my life and I believe Corey's too. I don't think I cried that much in a long time, seeing not only the dedication but the love for each other...and when he told his father he didn't feel handicapped while running! Girl.. I needed some BonBons and Oprah at that point.

If you ever get the chance to meet Cady, it won't take long to realize that she is all there. I can remember first getting the news and thinking that she would never do much more than flop around and flail her body and I also remember the day I looked at her and asked her a question and she stared right at me with eyes of understanding and I immediately fell in love with her personality. She is so smart, laughing at jokes and giving you the stink eye when you tell her something she doesn't want to hear. Corey told it best by saying "she's a girl trapped inside a body that doesn't work.

After seeing the Hoyte video, and yes I am a MA man that didn't know who they were just 3 weeks ago, I immediately called Corey and told him about the video and how touched I was at the though of Cadence possibly telling him that she didn't feel handicapped if he ran with her. I also told him that I would run any race that he ran pushing Cady, maybe not all the way, but a good solid effort each time out. A barrage of emails ensued and within hours, talks of marathons and steeple chase races had my head spinning. Corey even so far as to go out to a co-workers house and pickup a race chair and was running the next day. He is blogging about it alongside my routine.

Much like the Hoyte family, Cady's parents Corey and Kelly have done everything they could to treat her unlike any of their other children. It is a feat which is to be commended and praised. Each time I see them I am still amazed at how well they keep their composure, always with heads high and never looking for sympathy, empathy or a handout because they have a handicapped child. More importantly, I think they have found the connection with "Bug". When asking her about her runs with dad, she lights up with a look and smile unlike any emotion I've seen from her ever, and when I tell her I'm going to be running too, she laughs so hard she starts coughing (even the handicapped kid get to poke fun at the fat guy!)

Please take a moment to visit the two blogs the Smiths have created,

http://cadyscause.blogspot.com brings you even more into Cady's story and an attempt to inject T-cells into her blood stream to fix the dead brain cells hopefully increasing her motor skills and normal function.

http://runningforstrength1027.blogspot.com is an update on their running. They are preparing for the Falmouth Road Race this August, I'll be a wheelchair escort for as long as I can make it.

Thank you all again for following me on my workout adventure and for your comments. Its amazing how this blog, CPC and one video have shaped me in just 8 days and how much it will shape me in 42 more, hopefully into this: