As I reflect back on 2011, I am so amazed at what has been accomplished this year. I am so grateful to what has been accomplished both through my events and for medical research. I did not realize how many people would actually follow this journey, and I get inspired by every comment that comes in from all over the world. In case you have not followed the blog before here is a recap of 2011 (Click on the titles for actual article):
Without your support and the help from our sponsors, none of this could have happened in 2011. Thank you for all of the support!
2012 is already starting to look like an amazing year. It may be the final chapter of Shawn's Ironman, but it is also the continuation of Shawn's Anomaly and helping children from all over the world that have conditions like Shawn's. Please sign up for the updates and like Shawn's Anomaly and Shawn's Ironman on facebook and twitter. Here are just some of the events for 2012:
January 15, 2012 Houston Marathon & Shawn's Anomaly Marathon Party (Details Coming Soon)
April 1, 2012 Ironman 70.3 Texas, Galveston, TX
April 29, 2012 Team Shawn's Anomaly Competes in the Kemah Triathlon
May 19, 2012 Ironman Texas (Final Chapter of Shawn's Ironman)
August 5, 2012 Team Shawn's Anomaly Competes in the Kemah Triathlon
September 30, 2012 Team Shawn's Anomaly Competes in Houston Triathlon
October 6, 2012 Ironman World Championship (Qualification/Invitation Only)
November 2012 Shawn's Anomaly Dallas to Houston Triathlon Challenge
* other events may be added to schedule to support team members. Keep coming back for posted new events.
As we begin the new year, please take the time to consider being a part of this journey either as a volunteer, athlete, or donor. You can click the buttons on the top right to help. Shawn's Anomaly is just starting to make strides to the development of treatment and care for children all over the world with conditions like Shawn. Every little bit of help, regardless of how big or small, really goes a long way to us achieving the mission of preventing another family from ever having to go through what we did. Will you attach your name to this mission?
We are putting together a super secret mission to help raise awareness for Shawn's Anomaly on May 18th, and we need a lot of shameless volunteers to pull it off. If this peaked your interest, email shawnsironman@gmail.com for more details with the subject line, "Top Secret"!
For years I have heard the poem Monday's Childrecited by my mother. This 19th century poem and song is often popular because of it's fortune-telling abilities to tell a child's character or future based on the day they were born. I don't know how much I believe in nursery rhyme's fortune-telling powers, but I can attest to the lyrics being true in my life:
Saturday's child works hard for a living...
If you have had the privilege to meet my Saturday born wife, you can easily agree with me about her beauty and kind heart, but some of you may not realize how hard of a worker she is. I sometimes take for granted how the clothes get cleaned, how the meal magically gets cooked and appears in front of me, how there is always an endless supply of household goods, or how the home front somehow is clean and beautiful all the time. Somehow Rachel gets all of this accomplished outside out of her working a full-time job as a dietitian. Now. I know that you can give me a countless list of women that pretty much do the same thing as Rachel does for our family. For me, it is how she can do all that and put up with me as we went through our medical journey with Shawn and my training.
The journey to become "Shawn's Ironman" was a decision that had to be made by both of us even though I am the one that is doing all of the swimming, biking, running, and blogging. Without Rachel's continued support, love, and willingness to entertain Shawn in my absence is invaluable. She also takes time to be a very important part of the medical research process for Shawn's Anomaly that has now become a much larger responsibility that either of us could have imagined.
I realize that I don't even understand how hard it is for her to keep our family balanced during this journey, and sometimes it has looked overwhelming. As I have been able to push beyond the levels that I often felt I could never achieve physically, Rachel has done the same emotionally. The result is a family that has become stronger that is pretty much bulletproof.
I have tried to schedule my training to not let it affect our family time together, but it still does, and Rachel somehow figures out how to tow the line when I can't or put up with my crankiness when I am recovering. The complexities of her sacrifice and hard work may never be truly understood, but it will never go without my never ending appreciation.
Friday's Child is Loving and Giving...
The Friday that Shawn was born is a day that I will never forget. Our whole family was excited and nervous at the same time because we knew that Shawn's birth was just the beginning of his medical journey. Along the journey, Shawn's loving and giving nature is revealed, and teaches us all how special he truly is.
I really don't know where Shawn gets it, but his heart is HUGE. Even at his young age, he wants to share everything of his with you. Where I really see this shine is when he interacts with other adults and children alike. Shawn sacrifices the time needed to get a smile on your face either through interacting with you, giving you something of his, or showering you with hugs and kisses that seem to be endless.
Don't get me wrong, I have seen loving and giving before, but Shawn's ability to take it to another level has really educated me. Shawn knowing exactly when say, "I love you Da Da" is heavenly. It is what keeps me going for sure. Even when Shawn was in the hospital recovering from his surgeries, he always was willing to give a hug or a kiss to anyone that would be willing to receive.
We all are just now starting to realize how his birth and medical issues have and will continue to give hope to other families and children. If Shawn was not born with the infamous anomalies, I am not sure if any of this would have happened. I would probably still be just a couch potato and society would still be uneducated on these rare conditions. Shawn is the lighthouse that illuminates the path to a better world.
During this season of loving and sharing, I hope you take the time to show appreciation to those around you and help those that need it.
And if you were wondering what day I was born on, I am a Thursday's Child that "has far to go." Imagine that!
