I just got back from a three day swim meet in West Virginia for my 2 youngest children. Ah… what we won’t do for our children. It was particularly different for me, as this was one a the few swim meets where I did not have to officiate.
I got to be a spectator.
Just watch.
and think.
And something my wife said to me on Saturday has been in my mind for the last 48 hours. And on the 4 hour drive home, I was deep in thought about it.
My youngest son Kazys (named for his Lithuanian Great Grandfather), is my hero.
Plain and simple.
Not taking anything away from my other children. This guy is just hands down amazing.
Why?
He has overcome every adversity life has thrown at him.
In his own words….
Asthma? Screw you, asthma! I am going to be a competitive swimmer. You will not stop me. You may make it near impossible to swim, you may make me puke and you may try to slow me down, but I will triumph over you!
Eczema? Screw you too, eczema! I am going to live my life like you do not exist. You may make my skin varying shades of tan, create painful blisters and cracks on my hands and make me want to curl up and hide from all the other kids, but I will NOT.
Hey eczema! my mother may have embarrassed the crap out of me by making me wear white cotton gloves for the first 10 years of my life, but I still made friends, the kind you can count on. I may have been the only kid in the whole state playing soccer with little white gloves. But who cares?
Allergies? Yeah you, allergies. Eggs, dirt, grass, nuts, pollen and who knows what else will not stop me.
Sure, Mr. Allergy, you may have given me more trips to the ER in the back of an ambulance more times than I care to remember, but SCREW YOU TOO!. I have epi-pens all over the house, you won’t get me!
Sure, I had to carry around a little medical bag when I went to a friends house to play, with my lotions, potions, inhalers and epi-pens. I love the look on the faces of my friends parents when we showed up with the list of emergency instructions.
Mr. Allergy, you may have denied me birthday cakes for my whole life, but I had Oreo’s. So, take that. I don’t even like cake.
Misters Asthma, Eczema and Allergy, you tried to screw with my childhood. But I beat you all. How does that feel?
I have friends. Real friends.
The kind that do not recoil in disgust when I have a skin breakout, but instead stay close.
The kind that understand when I need a bit of a rest, and rest with me.
The kind that cheers me on in my races and life.
My dad wants me to say this one… Screw you insurance companies. Screw you for making me wait for a drug that could bring my issues under control so I could have a normal childhood. What? Did you think that just because you made me wait for years, while trying all of the cheaper drugs, would make me go away?
Not a chance.,
My dad calls me a hero.
Well I am not.
I am just a kid.
A kid with a body trying to kill me, but still just a kid.
