The 2013 Chapter and Beyond

I am excited that my journey to become "Shawn's Ironman" brought a lot of awareness in the Houston area about congenital anomalies, but as I looked around, I have not noticed others that were willing to take up the cause as fast as I had hoped for.  This led me to consider the huge challenge to finish Ironman events around the U.S.  I felt, if others are not willing to do it, then I will just have to do it on my own.  I prayed that others would support my efforts by contributing to the journey with donations that would pay for the campaign while helping support other families affected by congenital anomalies.  Unfortunately, only a handful of "others" were willing to support the mission.

A good friend explained to me that he has heard several people say they were tired of hearing about my journey and was turned off by me asking for votes to get into the Ironman World Championship through the Kona Inspired program.  Somehow people had the perception that this was about me more than it was about helping others and hoping that others would join me.  Somehow my motives have been questioned and it is as if all of my awareness efforts were now not only producing the fruit I expected, but somehow poisoning the whole awareness mission Shawn's Anomaly.

Although my family's story has been in the forefront of the Shawn's Anomaly awareness campaign, and my son's recovery is honored through the name of the organization and my personal journey, I can assure you, that I never wanted this to be about me, and frankly, I did not even want it to be about my son.  The mission is to help other families dealing with congenital anomalies and to reduce the number of congenital anomalies through awareness and research.  I deeply apologize if you felt any other way by my actions.

With all that being said in what was probably a horrible way (if you are even still reading), I have decided that the only way to prevent this being about my son, my family, and me is to end the "Shawn's Ironman" journey unless, for some reason, I get selected through the lottery program to compete in the Ironman World Championship in the future.

I will also continue to encourage others to attempt the impossible and help as many individual families that are affected by congenital anomalies as my family has the capacity to help.  I will continue to tell the stories of athletes that choose Shawn's Anomaly and the families that benefit from the fundraising efforts by contributing to the Shawn's Anomaly blog and videos.

Although the "Shawn's Ironman" story is ending the Shawn's Anomaly mission continues, and I will continue with my responsibilities of chairman/founder of the non-profit.  I will also use the endurance events that I am already signed up for the Ironman 70.3 New Orleans, Ironman Lake Placid, and Ironman Florida to raise money for three specific families dealing with congenital anomalies as long as I can stay healthy and injury free.

There is currently a fundraiser to help get the Pratt family's medical needs revolved around the Ironman 70.3 New Orleans.  I ask that you please donate to the Pratt family to help pay for needed treatments and medical equipment by going to fundraising website and giving $5 and individually telling 5 people you know about their story and asking them to do the same thing.  Their fundraising site is http://www.indiegogo.com/SAPrattPack5

What is going to happen to this blog?  I am not sure, and to be honest, I rarely get any feedback from you, the reader, to know if you would even want me to continue.  However, I know God will reveal what He wants me to do with it.  No matter what, I am "Shawn's Ironman" and that is something that can never be taken away!

Thank you to all of those that have followed this blog, encouraged me along the way, donated, and the athletes that still to this day take up Shawn's Anomaly's mission as their Reason2Race.

Here is my final plea to all potential donors and athletes.  Please consider giving to the Shawn's Anomaly Mission or signing up for your personal fundraising page to raise money through your athletic events.  Without you, Shawn's Anomaly will continue do live up to the best potential that a shoestring budget allows.  Don't just say that you can, or you will.... DO!  There are too many deserving families out there that need your help and so many want to help, but we just don't follow through with an action. I encourage you to be the change you want to see.  I challenge you to take the pledge:

I Can, I Will...

Being Thankful & Aware

The past week after Thanksgiving, I had a lot to be thankful for.  I have my health, I have a great and loving family, and I have great friends!  This year was very special because of what happened while we were decorating our 2013 Christmas Tree.

After Hurricane Ike, my wife and I were moved to do something that most would consider a small sacrifice.  We decided that we would always purchase a live Christmas tree that we could enjoy during the holidays, and on New Years day, we would place that old tree on the beach to help gather sand that would help replenish the sand dunes that act as as nature's barrier during hurricanes.  It really never hit me how much that  helped with replenishment of the dunes till I went to the exact spot (according to my GPS) to where I had placed our previous year's tree was completely covered with sand and small patches of beachgrass was starting to grow on it.  Sure, our little tree was doing it's part, but I also looked around and noticed the other mounds where other families had placed their trees were accumulating sand and beachgrass like ours.  Together we were making a huge difference...but back to this year...

For the first time ever, Shawn (now 3 1/2) was able to participate in placing the ornaments on the tree.  He was so determined to find the perfect place for every ornament.  As one fell from the tree that he did not place on well enough, you could see his heart start to shatter just as the ball did when it reached the hardwood floor.  We had to explain to him that it was, "Okay" and that there were plenty more that would fill the tree.  I could have watched him all day decorate the tree, although the lower branches may not have lasted that long.  All of a sudden, Shawn said, "Uh oh!"  He started to run to the bathroom where stripped off his shoes, pants, and underwear so he could climb up on the toilet to "Pee Pee in the Potty!"  Soon after that tears flowed from my eyes.  This was the first time that I ever noticed my son, on his own, have the urge to go to the bathroom and act on it.  Why is this such a big deal to me?  It is because the doctors told us that this may never happen.

Because the doctors were working so close to the nerves that help with bladder control, they could not guarantee that Shawn would ever be able to control his bladder or even feel the urge to go to the bathroom without soiling his pants.  We had accepted that this may be true when he did not show any sign of wanting to potty train before now, but all of a sudden Shawn started to understand the concept of controlling his bladder.  Of course we did what we knew to help coach him, but accident after accident caused discouragement until NOW.  HE DID IT!  Shawn was beaming, Mommy was proud, YaYa was proud,  I celebrated the only way I knew how, by bawling like a baby, several tears of joy!  Sadly, success stories like Shawn's are limited.

According to the World Health Organization:

Congenital anomalies, also known as birth defects, are structural or functional abnormalities, including metabolic disorders, which are present from birth. Congenital anomalies are a diverse group of disorders of prenatal origin which can be caused by single gene defects, chromosomal disorders, multifactorial inheritance, environmental teratogens and micronutrient deficiencies.


Approximately 134 million babies were born in the world the same year that my Shawn was born in 2009.  4 million of those children were born in the U.S. alone.  If you consider the statistics that we know about congenital anomalies, that means over 4 million were born with some sort of anomaly and Shawn was 1 of the 121,212 in the U.S.  Of those U.S. newborns nearly 8,200 newborns did not make it.

Those 8,200 children were born with potential and the opportunity to change world that we live in, but tragically lost because of something that, in a lot of cases, could have been avoided if more awareness and preventative care were take.  Those that were lucky enough to survive still may never be able to do some of the things that all of us take for granted every day.  Because my son only has one kidney left, he may never be able to cross an Ironman finish line like I did.  I must confess that this makes me sometimes feel so guilty that I took my life and health for granted for so many years.  This is also what drives me, sometimes too much, to attempt what most would consider impossible.  It is not for personal accolades or fame as many seem to think.  It is because I am overwhelmed by the staggering statistics, and I feel lucky and thankful to be the father of a success story!

Ironman 70.3 Oceanside-SOLD OUT

I just found out that Ironman 70.3 Oceanside is sold out, and I can't even get a slot through the Ironman Foundation. This is very upsetting. World Triathlon Cooperation (WTC) and the Ironman Foundation is doing everything they can to help accommodate our journey, but I can't register for these events until I have at least secured the fundraising to pay for entry fees for that particular event. 

The reason that the Ironman 70.3 Oceanside was chosen as one of the events of the journey is because we would have been able to gain exposure to the Shawn's Anomaly mission in one of the top 3 media markets in the US while helping out a deserving famliy.  This would have been a great KICKSTARTER for this journey, but we missed it and one family that is affected by congenital anomalies will not receive the education, hope, and help that they deserve.  

Please help me prevent this from happening to other families and events. The popular events sell out fast and we never know when we will lose the opportunity to get into that event.  Help me raise the needed money to make the #SIM365USA Journey of Hope & Help become a reality.

#SIM365USA Announcement~ A Journey of Hope & Awareness

Here is the announcement.  I can't do this without your help. Can you help me get there?

Become an Individual Sponsor of  the Journey!

My Interview with Pratt Family

Trying to do something as crazy as finishing every Ironman in the United States in 2013 is NOT a personal accolade that I want to do, it is so much more.  In reality, if it were up to me, then I would be content just saying I have accomplished my goal of being Shawn's Ironman, but I personally feel that would be a very selfish considering the sobering facts that we just recently discovered:

Sure, Shawn's conditions affects 1 in 35 million children, but congenital anomalies affect 1 in 30 children.  We have also recently found a study by the Center for Disease Control that shows congenital anomalies are the leading cause of infant deaths (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr60/nvsr60_04.pdf).  That fact became all too real when we saw Liam lose his 18 month battle with a congenital heart defect.

I hope that I am never insensitive to any other organization that helps raise awareness for other conditions.  We have all been touched by cancer, diabetes, autism, etc.  I am happy that there are thousands of organizations out there that help raise awareness for these conditions, but I am also a little envious of their success. Maybe it is just because of my own impatience to bring more awareness to what we now has been proven to be HUGE issue that has received very little attention.   It has led me to sound like a broken record to those that are close to me or have been following this journey from the beginning, but I do this because I am reminded daily by someone's comment that they don't truly understand the real Shawn's Anomaly mission to provide education, hope, and help to families dealing with congenital anomalies.  They think that all of this is about my son.

Everything has a beginning, and Shawn was the start of Shawn's Anomaly, but it has now grown into something far greater than my family.  The #SIM365USA Challenge is designed to tell the greater story of the 1 in 30 children that are affected by congenital anomalies.

Our first story that we are highlighting is about the Pratt family.  I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Amy Pratt to find out more about her family.  Please see below the 4 part interview:

I hope that this interview helps show you how important this mission is.  It is not about me or my family, it is about you and what you can do for others and yourself.  I ask that you please honor the Pratt family and help out our journey.

HELP us by sharing this post and donating to the #SIM365USA Challenge.  Phase 1 ends on October 31st and important payments need to be made to secure that the challenge will happen.  This is your chance to change the lives of families just like the Pratt family.

Shawn's Ironman 365 USA (The Big Announcement)

After the completion of the Ironman Texas and the unsuccessful campaign to get into Kona, I have to admit, I was exhausted.  We have been going 110% since before the Houston Marathon.  My body took a pounding from the training, but most importantly I was mentally exhausted.  When I received the news that I was not going to be invited to the Ironman World Championship through the Kona Inspired program it was disappointing, but it started a much needed break.

Right before the Houston Marathon, I received and ankle injury, and I was closely being monitored by my doctor.  Fortunately it was not limiting my range of motion or performance, but it was really annoying.  I felt that the specialist would recommend that I have surgery to remove the scar tissue that had developed from a previous ankle injury when I was younger.  It was re-injured because of the amount of distance running that I was doing, so I decided that I would cut my season short this year and seek out treatment for my ankle.  Fortunately, after an MRI, the doctors determined that surgery was not needed, but I would receive some sort of shot in my ankle to relieve the annoying pain that I was still noticing.

Taking the last month off from training has been great.  I have been able to spend A LOT of time with Shawn and Rachel, and I have enjoyed every minute of it.  This time off has also gave me a chance to reflect on what we did.  I guess I really did not realize how much we were able to accomplish this year.  The money that was raised to go the medical research was great, but the awareness of the cause was huge and laid the foundation for future fundraising with other athletes.

Shawn's Ironman is just one of many stories now that help raise money for Shawn's Anomaly.  I am so proud to be surrounded by amazing athletes and beginners that decided to take up the torch and choose Shawn's Anomaly as their Reason 2 Race.  Team Shawn's Anomaly is now 10 members strong and growing, and we have committed to providing assistance to several families.

After reflecting on the success, I still can't believe that it all started with just the inspiration I got from watching Shawn overcome those 3 surgeries in his first year of life to attempt to complete just ONE Ironman triathlon.  Of course that led me to thinking, if we can gain this much awareness for Shawn's Anomaly just by completing one Ironman Triathlon, what if I committed to completing many of them in a row.

Starting in March of 2013 after a long off-season dedicated to getting to an optimum weight and fitness level, I plan to complete every Ironman and two more 70.3 distance events in one year.  My hope is to raise $100 a mile for every mile completed.  That will be a total of 12 events, 1,546.6 miles, and $154,660.00.

I am dedicating each race to a family that has been affected by a congenital to give them an opportunity to tell their story and provide encouragement to other that there are people who care and you are not a lone. My hope is that the journey will raise the needed awareness that will allow us to provide education, hope, and help to the 1 in 30 families that are affected by congenital abnormalities throughout the world.

I know that most people will think that I am crazy for even attempting this, and you may be right, but with your support and the amazing dedication of my wife and family, I know that we can turn the impossible into possible once again.

I can't do this without your help so please follow the link CLICK HERE to help me complete this journey.

It Is A No for Kona 2012

Ironman announced the winners of the two remaining wildcard spots for the Kona Inspired.  I did not make it, but my friend, Fireman Rob, received the good news.  I want to congratulate him for making it.  He has stated that he will be wearing a Shawn's Anomaly patch on his fire suit for us at Kona this year.  Thanks Rob, I can't wait to see your story and watch you cross the finish line.

http://ironman.com/mediacenter/kona-inspired-winners-announced#axzz214RmPW2r

I first off want to thank Ironman and the World Triathlon Corporation for giving us average athletes one more way of making it to the Ironman World Championship.  The Kona Inspired program really helped further the mission of Shawn's Anomaly, and I will be forever grateful to WTC for that .  You help us again and again prove that "Anything is Possible".

I want to thank all of you that have supported my Kona Inspired Campaign.   Obviously it is heartbreaking to know that I will not be going to the Ironman World Championship this year, but I WILL NOT GIVE UP!  It will just taste sweeter next year.  There is not need for apologies.  Shawn's Anomaly won!  Families like Liam Lyon's won!

The Shawn's Ironman journey is not over, and I now realize that it will never be over until I get to Kona.  I am committed to getting to the Ironman World Championship for as long as it takes, and I am committed to the mission of Shawn's Anomaly for life.  If you have not done so, I encourage you to bookmark www.shawnsanomaly.org and LIKE the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/shawnsanomaly

For any you that have been inspired to say "I DO", whether it be a 5K, Mud Run, Warrior Dash, Color Run, Triathlon, Marathon, Ironman, etc., I would be honored to have you join our fundraising team.  Together we can continue to help the 1-in-30 children and families that are affect by birth abnormalities all over the world!

As for now, I am leaving up the next steps of my personal endurance journey up to God.  God knows what he is doing, and I have faith that this journey is ordained by Him.  Whatever those plans are they will always be better than mine. 

My final thought:  I just hope that YOU have gotten something out of this journey as much as I have.  I am sure you got tired of seeing my postings and my messages in your spam folder and on Facebook telling you to vote, but that is just a testimony to how much it means to me that you know what we are doing.  There are so many families out there that need help, and I don't ever want them to feel alone again.  You can help with that by supporting Shawn's Anomaly financially and getting the word out about our mission.  We are the only foundation that caters to the 1-in-30 families that have children born with congenital abnormalities.  It is a big world, and I can't do it alone.  I hope you will help me!  Please just step up and say, "I DO"!

Thank you again, and God Bless!

Kona!  I will see you later!

The Kona Inspired Results...

After a little bit of confusion, the winners of round 3 were announced early this morning.  Unfortunately, my name was not one of those names.  There is still a glimmer of hope, however, because the remaining 39 that did not win any of the three rounds still has a chance to get an invitation through 2 wildcard entries.  As far as I know, they have not announced who those winners are at this time, and the rumor is they will announce the winners on Friday, 7/20/2012.  Please continue to pray!

I could not believe the huge surge that we had of voters and support yesterday right before voting closed.  It was amazing to say the least.  There were a lot of contributing factors, including more and more people were sharing and voting for the video, people were talking it up on Facebook and twitter, and most importantly our exposure to the Houston media via NewsFix 39:

Unfortunately the surge came a little late, and we were not able to get enough attention or votes to obtain one of the top 2 spots in round 3.  I want to congratulate the 6 winners of each round:

Round 1
Annee Deering-Triathlon Is My Triumph: Overcoming Childhood Sexual Abuse
Brady Murray-Racing for Orphans with Down Syndrome
Round 2
Mike Thompson-Love For Life-My Own Finish Line
Heather Wajer-Transformation through Triathlon
Round 3
BethAnn Telford-Survivor
Shay Eskew-Burning Desire

Each one of their stories are so inspiring.  If it were up to me, I think all of the top 45 stories should eventually be told.  I can't wait to see more about the winners in the television coverage of the event that is usually released in December.

Now, it would be really easy to hang my head and feel like we lost, but in reality, WE DID NOT LOSE!  Thousands of people from all over world found out about the mission Shawn's Anomaly, Shawn's Journey, Liam's Journey, and what we are trying to do to help other families.  That, my friends, is a HUGE WIN!  Thank you all that helped spread the word.  I could not have done this without you!

When I first started this journey 2 years ago to finish the Ironman World Championship, I was a little naive on how hard it is to get there.  Of course with hard work, hard training, and your support, I was able to become an Ironman on May 19th.  I felt at the time that was going to be the final chapter of this whole "Shawn's Ironman" journey, but God had bigger plans.  If I would have made it to the Ironman World Championship in the first year that I attempted this, then there would not be the exposure that we have today.  Obviously God knows what he is doing, and His hand is in the planning and decision of me not winning the invitation this year.  It has been a hard, but fun, ride so far, and I have faith that I will eventually make it to Kona!

Recently I received a message from someone who said, "I can't imagine going through what you did and what you continue to do for others."  The best way I can answer that is that I was inspired to find the phrase "I DO"!

"I DO" is such a simple phrase but it is so powerful.  Powerful enough that it is used to confirm the bondage & commitment to marriage.  We live in a world of I Can't and I Don't.  You would not believe the excuses that I have heard from people of why they Can't or Don't do something.  I don't blame them though,  90% of the world has that mantra.  Some of us get inspired enough to go from the "I Can't" to "I Can", but never get around to doing anything to make that phrase "I DO!".   The 1% of the world that has finished an Ironman triathlon, understands the phrase better than most.  They just not say there were going to do something, they did it.    You don't have to finish an Ironman to use this phrase.  I challenge you to change your life mantra to "I DO!"

I DO better those around me

I DO better myself

I DO encourage others that say I DO

I DO help those that are less fortunate

I DO test my boundaries

Are you ready?  Where do you start your journey of:

For me: I DO commit to continue to honor my son's recovery.  I DO commit to helping other families that are dealing with congenital birth abnormalities like Liam Lyon's family.  I DO commit to encourage and inspire others to get healthy.  I DO commit to spreading the word about the Shawn's Anomaly mission.


KONA 2013 campaign starts TODAY! 

Interview on NEWSFIX 39 Tonight

I was interviewed today by CW 39 reporter for NEWSFIX.  It will be on the 5:00 pm and 9:00 pm airing.  Check it out live or watching it online at http://www.39online.com/newsfix/kiah-ironman-to-save-a-little-boy-20120718,0,4373712.story 

Remember to Vote and Share!

Shadow Creek Ranch Triathlon Results & Photos

By accident, I decided to sign up for the Shadow Creek Ranch Triathlon hosted by Troika Productions. This is a second year race, and I must say that Bryan & Colette Kraham have done an amazing job organizing this race. I got to know both of them pretty well during the packet pick up because the let me pass our fliers to generate more votes for www.sendshawnsironmantokona.com. You can tell how good a race is by the people that show up for the race, and the Houston "A" list showed up to compete in this race. Here is how my day went:

As most of you understand, I started training and racing to become "Shawn's Ironman".   Shawn was my inspiration, but now I get to race for so many other families since we started Shawn's Anomaly. Liam was born with half a heart and has virtually lived in the hospital for his entire life. He is now 18 mos old. I was told about his story by a friend of mine because he was trying to get to Texas Children's Hospital for treatment from Tulsa. He underwent a heart transplant, but unfortunately he has had complications from that surgery that has lead to swelling in his abdomin and pretty much his whole body. Of course the older that he gets, the better chance that he has to survive, so getting treatment at TCH is our ultimate goal, but he has to become stable enough for the doctors to accept the transfer. Prayers are the ultimate thing that is needed, plus it is really expensive on the family. The mother, father, and grandmother have had to give up their careers to continue treatment for Liam in the hospital. We are doing what we can to help them.  Although we are limited financially, we try to make up for it by providing education and hope.

I decided to dedicate this race to Liam Lyon. It was the least that I could do, but it was at least something. I was very proud that my wife and I could wear the "Team Liam" shirts at the Shadow Creek Ranch Triathlon. It gave me a great chance to talk to other families that have gone through congenital anomalies, and ultimately bring awareness to Shawn's Anomaly's mission: Education, Hope, & Help.

I got into the water for the first time since Ironman. I can tell you how great that it felt great. With all the rain that we have had in the past week, the water temperature was nice for a July race. I took my place at the far end of the course, and then the gun sounded. I started off great, but I started to get tired. In all honesty I have trained barely at all for this race, so I really did not expect much, but I ended up finishing the swim in the middle of the pack.

As I got of of the water, I was able to show off our new Champion System Shawn's Anomaly kit for the first time. It is definitely easy to spot and as my friend Aaron says, "It looks like a rainbow threw up on it." Champion System did a really great job putting this kit together and I am sure it will be our kit for years to come. I am really excited about that.

I finished T1 in a super fast time and started off on the bike. The course was very flat that consisted of two loops. I love courses like that because you get to see the spectators more than once. With the absence of wind, it became insanely fast. I had my fastest bike split that I have ever had. It was great, and I felt confident going into the run.

I hit T2 feeling pretty good, until I started off on the run. That is when I realized that I had left my watch on the bike and did not have a way to regulate my heart rate with my cadence or min/mile. I decided to just trust my instincts instead of turning back to pick up my watch. I soon realized that was a huge mistake. I was still in IRONMAN mode which just simply means that I spent the whole run storing energy in the tank instead of giving all I had to the short course. After I finally figured out what I was doing, I noticed the finish line and it was too late. Oh well, the run was not perfect, but it was still so much fun to be out there racing.

So here are my results:

Swim
11:39.4 2:19/100 Yds
T1
01:13.7
Bike
47:29.6 21.0MPH
T2
01:07.4
Run
33:31.7 10:23/Mile
Total
1:35:01.9

No matter what, this was a great day for me in so many ways.  I got to see some great friends and met several new ones today.  This has reassured me that our ultimate goal of spreading the word about Shawn's Anomaly is getting accomplished.  That is a victory regardless if I receive the invitation to get into the Ironman World Championship.  Of course, don't let that stop you.  Please keep voting till Wednesday every day and share the link: www.sendshawnsironmantokona.com with all your friends.

Talking With Send Shawn's Ironman To Kona Supporters

Matthew & Pamela (Team Shawn's Anomaly Family Member)

Getting a much needed post race massage!

Hanging out with Aaron Palian before the race.

Bryan Agpar, Matthew Murphy, & Michael Barney post race!

Day 10 and 4 Days Left of Kona Inspired Round 3

Day 10 & 4 Days Left. This journey has definitely has proven to be a much harder journey that ever imagined it would be. It baffles me how the people in front of me can get so many views, and they all come from smaller towns. It is going to take a lot to get where we need to be, and I am BEGGING and PLEADING to you to help me get there. I cannot stress to you enough how important it is to send a message to all your friends and put in the website link into your page. Tell then what it is all about, ask them to vote, and most importantly, tell them to share with their friends.

It was such a pleasure seeing some of you at the Shadow Creek Ranch Triathlon packet pickup today, and I am looking forward to racing with you tomorrow. Thank you to all that has supported and voted for me today. That never goes unnoticed.

Here are the results today:

1 From coma to Kona 76094
2 Molli Serrano-An Ironman of a Different Caliber 61005
3 BethAnn Telford-Survivor 56320
4 Jason Gunter-Kona Inspired 15479
5 Burning Desire 15443
6 Lori McCarney-Never Give Up 10464
7 A Life without fear 8620
8 Seven Years to Kona 8209
9 Shawn's Ironman 7208
10 Refusing Mediocrity 5359
11 Fighting For Marriages 4694
12 Blazekid for the Cure 4324
13 James DeFilipp-Kona. I Can. I Will. 3495
14 FIREMAN ROB 2708
15 Ivan's journey to Ironman 2243

Radio Interview with Michael Garfield (High Tech Texan) on The 9-5-0

Interview with Michael Garfield (High Tech Texan)on The 9-5-0 (950 AM) Houston, TX 7/13/2012 from Shawn's Anomaly on Vimeo.

Rankings For "Kona Inspired" After Day 2

We moved one spot up to #11, but it is going to take a lot more shares and vote to get to the top two. Please continue to vote daily and share with all your friends. Make sure you tell all our friends to to share with their friends. Here are the results:

1	Molli Serrano-An Ironman of a Different Caliber	7059
2	From coma to Kona	4081
3	Burning Desire	2646
4	Jason Gunter-Kona Inspired	2546
5	Refusing Mediocrity	2366
6	Fighting For Marriages	1893
7	BethAnn Telford-Survivor	1862
8	Seven Years to Kona	1752
9	A Life without fear	1638
10	Lori McCarney-Never Give Up	1432
11	Shawn's Ironman	1378
12	Blazekid for the Cure	1272
13	James DeFilipp-Kona. I Can. I Will.	882
14	FIREMAN ROB	847
15	Ivan's journey to Ironman	598

I can't thank you enough for all of your support.  It moves and inspires me in way that you can't imagine.

Kona Inspired Voting Starts Tomorrow July 4th

We are just a few short hours away from the final round of voting.  I have to admit to all of you, I am a little nervous about everything.  I look at the contestants in round 2 and I am just shocked on how many votes they received.  It leads me to believe that we are going to need at least 220,000 votes to be considered for the invitation.

Of course that seems impossible to me, but after seeing Shawn's journey and crossing the Ironman Texas finish line, I know that anything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and have a lot of support.

I really need to count on all of you for that help.  Please tell all your friends about the Kona Inspired program, vote daily, and share with everyone you know the website: www.sendshawnsironmantokona.com.

I want to thank Damali Keith for putting together a great news segment.  Check it out:

What Can YOU Do to Help?

After reviewing the current 15 that is being voted on in the "Kona Inspired" contest, I can assure you that we have a huge task before us to get enough votes.  The top two leaders right now have nearly 180,000 views.  That makes this task for my video getting enough votes look impossible, but all have seen that "Anything is Possible", so know we just need to create a winning strategy to get enough votes.  

With the remaining time that we have between now and July 4th, we are looking to get us much medial exposure to our efforts, and YOU can help with this.  I have learned that if I tell a news media channel our story, they very rarely look at it since it is coming from me and not a supporter.  What you can do is all of the news stations and media publications on our behalf and ask them to tell our story.  Here is an example of what was recently sent out by one of the Shawn's Anomaly volunteers who just sent it to NBC Nightly News on my behalf:

I am writing to ask if you would consider my friend, Matthew Murphy, as a story for your "Making a Difference" segment of the NBC Nightly News.  I know that his story would be great for this segment because it is very inspirational, and Nightly News could do a lot to help fulfill the final chapter of the story.

Shawn, Matthew’s son, underwent 3 surgeries to repair a urological condition that affects 1 in 35 million children.  The doctor that did the surgery had only seen 12 other cases, but Dr. Cisek attempted the uncharted surgery.  The 3 surgeries to repair Shawn were a success and started a huge change of events to help others in Matthew's life to prevent other families from going through what they did without education, hope, and help.  Matthew started a foundation a little over a year ago after his son's life threatening medical journey as an infant to help those families.  

The Shawn's Anomaly Foundation is one of a kind that is now catering to the 1-in-30 families that are affected by congenital birth abnormalities. Please see more about the foundation on the website, www.shawnsanomaly.org.

Inspired by his son's miraculous journey and proving that anything is possible; Matthew decided to raise money for the cause by going from an overweight smoker to an Ironman Triathlete.  After 2 years of training, Matthew successfully completed the Ironman Texas, on May 19^th, to become "Shawn's Ironman", but his journey is not over till he can cross the finish line at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, HI.  He now has that chance to do that with your assistance and the help from online voting from the general public.

Getting into the Ironman World Championship that you see on NBC is very hard for average athletes because of the qualification standards.  For an athlete like Matthew, it is nearly impossible without outside assistance.  The "Kona Inspired" program, introduced by Ironman, now makes it possible for Matthew to get into the race and tell his story to the world. Through this program, athletes submitted their videos to be voted online by the general public. The 45 semi-finalist who receive the most online votes will be narrowed down to 8, after a second round of voting, to compete in the Ironman World Championship and share their inspiring stories during the television coverage of the event. Matthew is one of the semi-finalist.  Voting for Matthew's video is between July 4th - July 18th the on www.konainspired.com website.

Matthew's story and journey not only helps raise money to help other families, but it also has inspired several people to start their own fitness journey, including my own, who now join him to raise money for Shawn's Anomaly.  I also volunteer for the foundation to further the mission to provided education, hope, and help to families affected by congenital anomalies.  I know that exposure on your program would greatly help get Matthew to Kona, and further the mission to help other families in need.  Thank you for your consideration.

P.S. There is a lot of HD video and pictures of Matthew's events, and he was recently featured on a local NBC affiliate.  Please see the story here: http://www.click2houston.com/news/Houston-father-takes-on-Ironman-in-honor-of-son/-/1735978/13405010/-/p7876dz/-/index.html 

This is a REAL way you could help with the Mission.  Strength is in numbers.  Now, I am not saying that you should send a detailed message like this, but even calling and emailing the news stations and media publications about this effort on our behalf would really help spread the word which in return would result in more votes during the July 4th-July 18th voting period.  Here are some contacts locally in Houston.  Our focus should be there first: 

KHOU 11 (CBS)	assignments@khou.com	713-526-1111
KPRC 2 (NBC)	desk@kprc.com	713-778-4910
KTRX 13 (ABC)	news@abc13.com	713-666-0713
Houston Chronicle (Features)	features@chron.com	713-362-7171
Houston Chronicle	news@chron.com	713-362-7171
Channel 39 (CW)	gjaffe@39online.com	713-781-3939
Channel 39 (CW)	smark@39online.com	713-781-3939
Channel 39 (CW)	trigia@39online.com	713-781-3939
Channel 39 (CW)	tvirgil@39online.com	713-781-3939
Channel 39 (CW)	steve@39online.com	713-781-3939
KRIV 26 (FOX)	newsdesk@fox26.com	713-479-2801

I Can't Sleep...My Mind Is Racing!

As I start this post I look at the clock on my computer to see that it is 3:45am.  I have seen that number several times before since I have started this journey, but never has it been for this reason.  My body wants to rest, but my mind is not allowing me to because I have too many things that are running around in there.  All I can think about is Liam, Kona, The Movie, and the Future.  I am not sure how this post will finish, and it may be only for myself, so please keep that in mind before taking the time to read it.  I can also tell you that I have permission to speak about the information below from Liam's family.

For nearly a week now, I have been working with Liam Lyons family through Shawn's Anomaly.  If you have not had the chance to follow the posts on www.shawnsanomaly.org on the right side of the page, Liam Lyon was born nearly 16 months ago with 1/2 a heart.  He had a heart transplant at 6 months old that should have saved his life, but he has had complications with it every since.  Liam's family has been trying so hard for months to get Liam in to Texas Children's Hospital so he could get the care of some of the best doctors in the world, but they have underwent major hurdles to get him transferred.  Most of the reason that the transfer has not happened is because they have not been able to find an accepting doctor at TCH.  Of course, that got me involved because I know how great TCH is.  I mean, they saved my son's life!  I just did not understand why they were not allowing Liam to come to get treatment.   

Of course, you can't fault anyone at TCH for not wanting to accept Liam.  After all, Liam is really getting very good care at The Children's Hospital at St. Francis in Tulsa, OK by Dr. Barton.  I don't envy his job at all.  He has done a lot since Liam was transferred into his care from Arkansas Children's Hospital pretty much as a hospice patient since the surgeries and Liam's current position does not make him a candidate for another heart transplant.  Unfortunately nothing has seemed to work.  You would have thought he would have given up a long time ago, but Dr. Barton keeps pressing on for Liam and trying everything possible to help.  He has tried already to get Liam into TCH, but unfortunately the decision was made not to accept transfer because they felt there was nothing else that TCH could do better.  I cannot fault their decision at all.  

Recently, they found that there is now a hole in Liam's trachea from the tubes they put down his throat to help him breath.  This of course changes everything because now the ENT doctors at Tulsa do not feel comfortable performing the very risky surgery on Liam to fix the hole.  Again, Dr. Barton has requested that Texas Children's Hospital to accept Liam now hoping that a doctor at TCH will be more willing to perform this extremely risky surgery.  After all, how many doctors do you know want to perform a surgery on a child just to watch that same child not make it out of surgery.  The chances are very low that they will find a doctor who will be willing to accept a transfer at TCH, but at least TCH is considering it.  

The transfer to TCH would really be great for not only Liam, but the family.  I know that they have been through a lot in the past 16 months.   Liam's Aunt already lives here in the Houston area and has really been leading the charge, but you can tell in her eyes that she is tired.  They are all exhausted, but they don't give up on Liam.  You can also see in Liam's eyes that he is a fighter.  He does not want to give up either, so because he doesn't, the family doesn't either.  They are praying daily for a miracle, and now so am I.

As parents you may sympathize with their situation, but you may never understand how hard it is and how alone you sometimes feel during the process.  I pray daily that you don't.  My wife and I do, and just sharing our story and our experiences with Liam's family seems to help.  We can't do much financially right now through Shawn's Anomaly because we are just getting started and the donations just don't seem to match up with what I would love to offer them, but we are trying our best to be there for this family and others just like them.  After all, that is what Shawn's Anomaly is really all about.  It is not about finding a cure for Shawn's conditions or about saving kids lives.  That is what the hospitals are for.  Shawn's Anomaly is about providing education, hope, and help to the families of these children. We want to let them know they are not alone and there are other people who have, "Been There, Done That!"  That statement, believe it or not, goes a long way. 

I often feel that I don't explain that mission better, and for that I hope that you will truly accept my apology.

I realize now after seeing what I have written, it would be crazy for me to continue and tell you the other reasons why I can't sleep in this post, so with that being said:

To Be Continued...

In the meantime, I ask you to pray for this family, pray for the decision that TCH is currently underway making, pray for Liam, and lastly pray that I get some sleep.  I am going to be useless to this family and other 1-in-30 families that are dealing this birth anomalies if I can't get any sleep. 

Calling All Shawn's Anomaly Supporters

Do you want to see the Shawn's Anomaly Mission (Education, Hope, & Help) in full action?  Well this is where we as supporters can come together to help little William Elija Lyon, affectionately dubbed Liam.  This family is desperately trying to get their baby to a doctor at TCH that can help with Liam's congenital heart anomaly.  We have contacted the family to see what we (Shawn's Anomaly) can do to help, but we need all hands on deck to brainstorm on what we can do.  Please see the latest correspondence:

5/20/12 Last night Whitney called me to let me know that they were doing "parent care" - which is like the step down unit at ACH - the parents room in with the child and do all the care - just as if they are home. This is a BIG step towards going home. So for those that read this part of the page - we have a couple of options for transfer. Our first choice was to get an accepting doctor at Texas Children's and transfer him for a complex discharge. Basically get him here and evaluated and then discharge him to home (my house) after they were certain we were prepared and they had a good baseline on him. Not happening. Our next choice was to transfer to a transitional hospital in Houston - it is kind of a skilled nursing facility for chronically or serioulsy ill children - and it would only be long enough for them to evaluate and make sure we were prepared for home care. The hitch is they are concerned about Liam and want to be able to reach out to TCH if there is a problem - which is totally understandable - he can be a handful! This option is pending - and we would really love to see this happen. And if he transfers hospital to hospital, he will get a medical transport. The last option is he gets discharged to "home" from St Francis. They have said he can't go to his home in Cameron - it is too far from a large children's hospital that is equipped to deal with transplant kids. So "home" would be to somewhere safe in Tulsa. But Liam needs specialists in cardiology, pulmonology and trach care, nephrology, enterology and developmental. All systems are pretty optimal right now so we really want to get him to Texas as soon as possible! If he is discharged to "home" we will have to provide the transportation - that means an approximately 11 hour drive or a private flight in a small plane with an unpressurized cabin. We have volunteers to fly (3 pilots) and a plane, and even a pediatrician who has volunteered to fly with him. So we wait to see if he gets ready to discharge before he gets transferred. Either way, he is really, really doing good. And we got a crib off Craigslist - once the folks heard his story they wouldn't take any money for it. Whitney and Cheyanne fly to Houston tomorrow. And we are going to meet with some people and go see the transitional hospital. Keep us in your prayers - and keep Liam in your hearts - we are still following the path our hearts and prayers are leading us down. 33000 strong - what a journey this little boy is taking us on. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.

As I have seen what the masses of support can do in the past, let come together for this little miracle and help his family.  If you can offer any type of assistance, please contact us immediately at shawnsanomaly@gmail.com

We Are A Semi-Finalist!!!

This just in from the World Triathlon Club:

Congratulations!

You have made it to the Semi-Finals of the 2012 Kona Inspired Contest!

You have been placed in Round 3.  Your video will be available for viewing and voting beginning Wednesday July 4^th through Wednesday July 18^th.  The top two (2) Video Entries with the highest score based on Public Evaluation (only with respect to the applicable Final Evaluation Period) in your group will be deemed the winners of Round 3 and will be notified via email.  If any tie score occurs in the Public Evaluation the tie will be broken by the Panel judging which of the tied Video Entries best represents, in the opinion of the Panel, the Ironman mantra "Anything is Possible."

Additionally, on July 20^th, the Ironman Panel of judges will announce two (2) wild card entries chosen from the 39 semi-finalist who did not win their round.

Thank you to all that have voted so far.  We would not be where we are if it was not for help.  We are fortunate that we will be able to get the word out about voting, but we now need to get everyone ready to Vote for our video between July 4th and July 18th.  I will be sending out an invite to everyone where you can invite all your friends as well.  It will probably take 50,000 votes to get this, but I fee we have a great chance.

Thank you again, and stay tuned for more details as soon as I receive them.