Today was a very busy day for my family. It was the final day of the Kona Inspired voting, but most importantly, it was the day that Shawn and I got up and got ready to go the hospital where it all started to reveal the H.O.P.E. Flag. It became a family affair since my mom and Shawn's "YaYa" was in town and Rachel was able to pull away for a few minutes from her hospital to come over. We were excited to see several well deserving kids that are at the hospital currently place their name on the flag. We also were able to meet up with Houston's Buzz Lady, Roseann Rogers, so she could bring her son Nikhil to come put his name on the flag. Nikhil is the first child to actually place his name on the flag by himself, and I was really honored to watch that happen. He was born with a congenital heart defect that took several months to treat.
We were very fortunate to get coverage from KPRC Local 2 News in Houston and NPR KUHF Radio. Here are the stories:
KPRC Local 2 Houston Story:
Here are the results of todays views:
| Views | Daily Views | ||
| 1 | Jacob Fuka_Kona Inspired | 33402 | 3524 |
| 2 | Kona for the Kids | 28757 | 8486 |
| 3 | For Mari | 27402 | 13427 |
| 4 | Clarissa Alba | 21249 | 3285 |
| 5 | Persistence, P.E. & Pushing Your Limits | 11713 | 4231 |
| 6 | Failure Is Not An Option! | 6871 | 917 |
| 7 | A Grizzly Ironman | 5320 | 931 |
| 8 | Cancer-Baby-Bone Marrow | 4210 | 972 |
| 9 | The Quadfather (Nick Tieney) | 3650 | 508 |
| 10 | Shawn's Ironman | 2664 | 627 |
| 11 | Starting to Tri-Special Olympics | 2346 | 183 |
| 12 | Mariya Hristo~Kona Inspired | 1418 | 179 |
| 13 | Lisa Hallett wears blue at Kona | 1367 | 140 |
| 14 | The iron will to Win | 1142 | 151 |
| 15 | Submarine Tri-Training | 942 | 97 |
As I watched the coverage and even listened to the story on NPR, I kept seeing the same pattern. All of the stories are somehow centered around me instead of what this is all about. It is about the 1 in 33 children born with the birth defects. It is about the parents that use every ounce of strength to get through the day. It is about the collected effort of athletes and volunteers that are doing the best to make a difference in these family's life.
Today I saw that more than ever. It took all my strength not to shed tears in front of the children that came in to sign the flag at the reveal. One specific child and I had an amazing conversation. He was not able to walk and had to be wheeled to me so we could chat. He was a little shy at first but later told me that he had a severely tethered spinal chord that prevented him from walking. Shawn's third surgery was for the same thing, but his chord was not as bad as this child's He looked at me and said, "What is the Ironman?" I started to tell him and then his head dropped, but then he looked up at me with tears in his eyes and said, "Thank you!" I started to tell him that he was welcome, but before I could, he grabbed my knee and said, "Thank you for being my strong legs!" I sat in silence for what I felt was an eternity. He help remind me about what all this is about.
This journey, this flag, is not about me... If you felt that it was, then I don't blame you for not wanting to support my Kona Inspired campaign. It is a little confusing, but it is all over today. I can go back into my cave and continue to focus on the stories of children, parents, and the great athletes that are helping Shawn's Anomaly raise awareness for the mission. One specifically is Yvonne Hawley who will be racing at the Ironman 70.3 Buffalo Springs this weekend. Please take the time to show her your support and sponsor her fundraising page: https://my.reason2race.com/YVONNEGUTIERREZHAWLEY
To all of you that understood that Kona Inspired was not about me, but about the 1 in 33, I thank you for the support and votes. The great news is that we reached over 3,500 in the 11 days of voting. 70% of those that came to the site were new visitors from over 62 nations in the world:
We still have the "Wild Card" spot that we may receive through Kona Inspired, but even if we don't make it to the Ironman World Championship the Shawn's Anomaly mission is making it to the WORLD. Thanks again for all of your hard work in voting and sharing. WE WON!
