Father's Devotion To Disabled Son Sees Them Competing In Races From 1977 Onwards

Dec 06, 2019 by apost team

Each parent hopes that their children will grow up without any complications. Parents want what's best for their kids and want each to have the best life possible. It's inspiring to imagine hearing your own children's words for the first time or seeing them taking their first steps. Parents are excited by their children's physical and mental milestones throughout their early years. Fathers often eagerly await the day they can teach their children how to play sport.

While this goal may be easily obtained by most parents and children, some are born with challenges that require a little more attention and effort. It can be very different for a child with special needs. They require more sacrifice, love, patience, strength, and time. Loving parents will go to extreme lengths to ensure that their child can live a happy and normal life despite any present challenges. Dick Hoyt fell into this category.

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His son, Rick Hoyt, was brought into the world in 1962. Tragically, Rick's brain didn't receive enough oxygen due to some complications around the time of his birth. As a result, doctor's diagnosed him with cerebral pasly and spastic quadriplegia. Some people suggested to Rick's parents that they should institutionalize their kid due to CP's irreversability. There wasn't much hope that Rick could lead a normal life.

Rick's parents did everything in their power to give their child a normal life. The helped him learn the alphabet, they helped him participate in normal activities like swimming and sledding, and his parents even helped find a solution to help him communicate. With the help of an interactive computer, Rick could finally communicate. The first thing he said was "Go Bruins!" which confirmed for his father that Rick had a love for sports.

In 1977, Rick's father joined him on a benefit run. Even though his father wasn't a runner, he ran behind his son, pushing him in his wheelchair. This ignited their passion and the tandem continued to participate in races regularly and even biked and ran across the US for 45 days and 3,735 miles. The duo even participate in triathlons with the help of some special aids. After decades of participating, Rick and his father have finished over 1,000 races. Rick even graduated from Boston University.

Hoyt senior bowed out of the game in 2015 and son Rick is currently on sabbatical from racing due to health problems, but is determined to compete again in the future. More can be read about the inspiring father and son duo and their momentous achievements here at Triathloninspires.com.

This story proves so many challenges can be overcome, show it to a family member or friend who may need some inspriation right now.