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!