The father and son team of Dick and Rick Hoyt has served as an inspiration to me in my quest to educate people on the plight of the physically-challenged.
For the past twenty five years or more Dick, who is 65, has pushed and pulled his son across the country and over hundreds of finish lines. When Dick runs, Rick is in a wheelchair that Dick is pushing. When Dick cycles, Rick is in the seat-pod from his wheelchair, attached to the front of the bike. When Dick swims, Rick is in a small but heavy, firmly stabilized boat being pulled by Dick.
Rick was born with cerebral palsy in 1962. At the time of his birth the umbilical cord coiled around his neck and cut off oxygen to his brain. In spite of this, the duo has been joining triathlons and marathons since 1979. They also once hiked a total of 3,735 miles across America. Awesome!
Dick is a retired air national guardsman, while Rick is a graduate of Boston University. Together they run to campaign for the integration of the physically-challenged in mainstream life. Another goal is to help the disabled participate in activities that would otherwise be inaccessible to them.
This has always been my goal as far as my son, Luis is concerned. Just because he is differently-abled doesn’t mean that he should be denied access to most activities.
Read more on Team Hoyt here.
