Parafrickingfantastic

I write this on the eve of the opening ceremonies of the Rio Paralympics. This is significant because it means that tomorrow I continue my edification about all things parasport. I really knew very little about parasports before my paralysis, and it may be bold of me to say, but I think that unless you are directly connected with a coach or parathlete, I am guessing you know little, too. When I write my book "What you didn't know, want to ask, or wish you hadn't asked about Spinal Cord Injuries" this will be a whole chapter!

As a family we learned more about parasport on Labour Day when we listened to a special CBC program called Chasing Dreams. We were making lunch at the time (bacon and tomato and/or apple, toasted or not, with or without cheese) and it became clear that we all had questions we wanted answered (especially the kids) as we tried to listen and comment and question all at the same time. How many times have we said "listen and maybe they will tell you!" in our kids lives - Ella is learning this CBC radio listening skill (except when it come to Donald Trump), Oliver has a way to go yet.

What we heard were many tales of mostly (but not all) young people who came about having a disability early in life, yet pursued their sport regardless (and or recklessly as in the case of wheelchair rugby). I was particularly curious to hear the stories related to swimming and we had a good laugh about the possibility of me throwing a 3kg shot put (I had some difficulty with the egg toss at my Mother-in-law's birthday gathering two weeks ago - it was a gentle enough toss though, as the egg didn't break and my partner and I won the gold medal - let's just leave it at that.)

One swimmer talked about swimming "just without a hand", we learned how to "hit" in wheelchair rugby and about running and cycling with a visual impairment. Swimmers are all classified by the level of impairment (I think 11 different classes) which makes for a level playing field. Wheelchair basketball players can place the ball in their lap and push a maximum of twice before they have to pass or shoot the ball. All the athletes had stunning stories about what they had to overcome to become an athlete. Add to that what it takes to get to the Olympics.

One message really shone through all the stories. Parathletes are tough. And they are not at the Olympics just because they have a disability. They are there because they have made the same incredibly difficult - poured thousands of hours into their training, scraped together and fundraised for equipment and travel, find a job that works around their training, sleep anywhere - choice to represent their country. The same as any other Canadian Olympian. Except, they have a disability, that (as I am learning) also takes a tough-as-nails attitude.

Under the category of "stupid things that people say" (but as I have pointed out earlier - they didn't know) falls the comment that goes something like this: "Oh, Julie, you are going to be at the Paralympics someday!!" Now having said that, don't feel bad if this was you. You did not know that what you were saying was highly inaccurate and, at the time, it likely made me feel better anyway. Here is the analogy that Theo and I came up with: "Oh Julie, you have been training to do triathlons for two years and you came third in your age group at the Goderich Triathlon! You are going to be at the next Olympics!!" Said no one, ever.

So you see?

Anyway, I'm old.

I'm not saying that I am giving up on sport, I am just trying to manage some realistic expectations. In fact, just today we did some experimenting in the pool to see if taking off my water shoes (which protect my toes) made me go faster - which I think it did if you ignored my bobbing knees while I did my back crawl. How about another piece of evidence that my competitive spirit is not lost? I may have found myself a new sport. And I already won a gold medal thanks to Erin, the best biathlon shooting coach I have ever had :)