Overcoming Disabilties Team Room

[brotherjim]

You can Train a dog with a whistle. I have trained many field trial dogs with one.

Thank you That is a great idea, I will check out a book at the library about this. Do you have any advice or sources I might look to help me with this?

[Drivetofast]

You may start with YOU TUBE. Where there is a will there is a way. You can take all training means and use them with what will work for you. I had a dog that would run to the house retrieve a Beer and bring it back to me where i was mending fences Also Richard Walters retriever training.

[brotherjim]

Thanks , I appreciate it.

[brotherjim]

Make-A-Wish Foundation Brings Paralyzed 13-Year-Old to Alaska

Adventures include ice fishing, Rondy, Iditarod

By Heather Hintze
Bio | Email


Story Created: Feb 29, 2012 at 12:48 PM AKST
(
Story Updated: Feb 29, 2012 at 12:48 PM AKST )


FINGER LAKE - Hundreds of kids were out at Finger Lake for the fifth annual Ice Fishing Derby on Saturday. While ice fishing may be commonplace for many families during the winter, for one 13-year-old boy it was the trip of a life time.

For many kids at Finger Lake on Saturday, it was just another day of ice fishing, but for 13-year-old Hunter Austin, spending a day in the frigid temperatures of Alaska isn't an ordinary adventure.

“I just wanted to go ice fishing and they said, okay, let's go to Alaska,” Hunter said. “It's cold, I mean, like really cold.”

Hunter and his family traveled to the Last Frontier from their home in sunny Florida. This is his dream trip, granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“ I got in the hospital and I stayed seven months,” Hunter said. “In the first two days they found a tumor and I became paralyzed.” The paralysis was brought on by acute myeloid leukemia.

“It's been really hard,” said Bonnie Hunter, Austin’s mom. “We all work and he goes to school but it.”

For hunter, it turns out arctic angling is a little frustrating. He got a few nibbles, but that was about it. And he wasn't the only one – the fish just weren't biting.

But organizers say it's great to see so many kids come out for the fishing derby, which also happens to be a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Over the past four years they've raised more than $15,000, or enough money to grant three wishes.

“This is amazing,” said Nicole Sheldon, the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s regional director. “We're a very small organization in Alaska; it's a grassroots effort, like the master angler Paul Reed's efforts that help us truly grant wishes that we're granting in our community.

While he waited for the trout to take, he decided to test out his wheels outside, then got a scenic tour around the lake.

While Hunter may never walk again, he's got the support of his family and newfound Alaskan friends to help him carry on.

Hunter's family spent Sunday taking in all the events at Fur Rondy. On Monday they headed to Willow where Hunter got to go mushing.

Make-A-Wish staff say he's not the only one from down south who wants to see Alaska in the winter. Next weekend they're granting a wish for a boy in Texas to see the Iditarod.

[brotherjim]

by Tiana Velez on January 1, 2012 - 12:55pm

Quest Vol. 19, No. 1

The U.S. Power Soccer Team went head to head with the best in the world last fall and came away champions of the 2011 FIPFA World Cup. It’s the second win for Team USA, which previously won the 2007 Cup in Japan.

Returning as undefeated champions, expectations were high for the U.S. players.

“It was more difficult this time around knowing that every team wanted to beat us,” said J.C. Russo, 21, Team USA’s goalie. Russo was one of five players making her second World Cup appearance.

Taking place over four days in November 2011, in Paris, France, the World Cup is the premier international competition for power soccer, the first competitive team sport designed specifically for power wheelchair users.

The Fédération Internationale de Powerchair Football Association, or FIPFA, hosts the single-elimination tournament every four years, drawing teams from 15 power soccer organizations worldwide from countries such as England, France and Japan. New to the 2011 games were clubs from Australia, Canada, Ireland and Switzerland.

Representing Team USA were 11 players — eight starters and three alternates. Of the 11, seven have muscular dystrophy or a related disease.

On the roster is Russo (Indiana); brother and sister duo, Jordan, 18, and Katie Dickey, 20 (Indiana); and Omar Solorio, 26 (California) — all of whom have a diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

Filling in as far wing was Case Calvert, 24 (Indiana), who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Alternates Jerry Book, 22, and Danny Gorman, 20, have diagnoses of SMA and DMD, respectively.

Rounding out the team were players Michael Archer (Indiana), Kendra Scalia-Carrow (California), Pete Winslow (Minnesota) and alternate Peyton Sefick (New York). Chris Finn reprised his 2007 World Cup role as head coach alongside assistant coach Mike Hayes.

“I love my other teammates, and we are all a part of one bigger family,” said Calvert, who plays locally with the Circle City Rollers of Indiana, alongside national teammates Archer and Russo. “Many of the other players have been rivals of mine since I started power soccer.”

Expressing a similar sentiment was Katie Dickey, a junior at Arizona State University majoring in global studies. Several teammates were “some of my biggest rivals, but it was great to play with them because they’re the best.”

As they prepared for their trip to France, members of Team USA set aside their old rivalries and focused on defending their title.

Early disappointment stuns, motivates

Picked as favorites to sweep the World Cup, the undefeated U.S. team was stunned by an early 1-0 loss to England.


With eyes riveted on the ball and fingertip control, Jordan Dickey, who has SMA, battles an English player for control.


“Everyone was down and very worried about the rest of the day. We played our second game of the day [against Switzerland] and won, but our intensity was still very low,” said Russo, a senior in computer graphics technology at Purdue University.

“It wasn’t something we wanted, but it really prepared us for the games after that,” added Calvert.

Sensing the need for an energy intervention, Coach Finn scheduled an impromptu training session at a nearby gym. No sooner had it ended that their next game versus hometown favorites France was set to begin.

“We entered the competition to a full house; the stands were filled with French fans, but we ignored it,” recalled Russo. “We were in such a frame of mind after that training session that no one could stop us and that’s how we played.”

Team USA beat France 2-0, which sent the team to the finals and against a familiar foe — England.

This time the odds were in favor of the re-energized American team as they dribbled, passed and defended their way to a 3-0 win — a victory sealed by a late assist from Katie Dickie to Calvert that netted the third and final goal of the game. “I will probably remember that feeling forever,” she said.



Final Results of the World Cup




1. USA
2. England
3. France
4. Belgium
5. Japan


6. Canada
7. Australia
8. Portugal
9. Ireland

[brotherjim]

Lots of local groups are gearing up for the Little Rock Marathon (March 3 & 4).

One of them is the Arkansas Down Syndrome Association, which is hosting a Meet & Greet at Little Rock Professor Bowl on Saturday, March 3rd.

The event, from 11AM to 12:30, is for families that include someone with Down syndrome, as well as their friends.

It's a chance for them to get together and meet those with Down syndrome who will be running in the marathon, or have someone running in their honor.

The following three families who are running in the LR Marathon/Half Marathon & 5 K:

Heath White and daughter Paisley
White has already run the marathon before (while pushing his daughter Paisley who has Ds in a stroller), and qualified for the New York Marathon. ESPN is covering this year's run for the former Air Force pilot who's and now a special agent with the FBI. He has family in North Little Rock but lives in Florida.

White has run other marathons while pushing a stroller with 4-year-old Paisley inside, for a total of 312.7 miles. Their most recent race was in late January when they ran the Miami Marathon along with one of Paisley's classmates who also has Down syndrome. When they finish with the Little Rock Marathon on March 4th they will have accumulated 365.1 miles of races.

Maj. Seth & Robin Tolliver of North Little Rock
Seth and Robin Tolliver will also be running in the Little Rock Marathon while pushing their daughter, Presley Grace. Seth is an active duty Nurse Practitioner in the Air National Guard on Camp Robinson. His rank is Major and he currently works for a Civil Support Unit/Weapons of Mass Destruction. Robin retired from the Army National Guard as a Major two years ago when their first daughter was born. She is a Physician Assistant and spent her last five years as the Commander of the medical clinic on Camp Robinson after returning from a year long deployment in Iraq. Click here for the Tolliver's Facebook page for more about the family and their upcoming race.

[brotherjim]

Posting a poem sent to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. The author's Dad was a paraplegic and has sadly since passed away. It is written from the Dad's point of heart.

Dance with Me
by Lorri Reed

I cannot stand or move my legs
Yet my daughter smiles at me and begs
Dance with me

There was a time when she was small
It would have been no trouble at all
When she would come to me and call
Dance with me

While others seem to find a way
To turn their backs and look away
My daughter always comes to say
Dance with me

I hang my head with tear in my eye
And realize there's no reason why
I shouldn't at least try
to Dance with her

So I grab her hand, hold it tight
and imagine that we take off in flight
twirling and spinning with delight
Dancing with her

The music stops, the dance is through
And I realize it must be true
That the spirit inside me grew and grew
By dancing with her

I laugh out loud because I find
That I can still dance
In my mind

[brotherjim]

Wendy & Udo to be part of the Olympic Torch Relay


Wendy Morrell from Broadstone in Dorset has been chosen by Lloyds TSB to be part of the Olympic Torch Relay, and as ever Dogs for the Disabled assistance dog Udo will be by her side.

Wendy and Udo, a Golden Retriever, will be the second Dogs for the Disabled partnership to carry the Olympic torch on Friday 13 July between Portland and Bournemouth in the torch relay preceding the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In her twenties Wendy was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) – a chronic pain condition that affects the growth of bone and cartilage in any area of the body.

Despite this, Wendy was not deterred from leading a full and active life. As well as teaching, Wendy learned to fly and to compete at national level in archery. In 1989 when training with the national archery squad with a view to compete at the Barcelona Paralympic Games, Wendy was hit accidently on the head by a discus, resulting in a brain injury.

Wendy explains; “Following 11 months rehabilitation I remember thinking, what now? My ability to concentrate was diminished, my short-term memory affected and epilepsy triggered as a result of the injury.”

But thanks to Dogs for the Disabled Wendy has gone on to live a full and independent life. Before qualifying with Udo on Valentine’s Day in 2011 she was partnered with Caesar, her first Dogs for the Disabled assistance dog, a partnership that was sadly to be short lived as Caesar died tragically of cancer. “Both Caesar and now Udo have made a massive difference to my life and thanks to Dogs for the Disabled assistance dogs I have been able to live a full and independent life, something I never imagined I’d regain when I sustained my injury.”

Wendy was fortunate enough to carry the torch in the build up to the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 and is very excited to do it again for London 2012. “I’m honoured to carry the torch for a second time and to represent Dogs for the Disabled assistance dog owners. Just as Caesar passed on the responsibility of helping me regain my confidence and independence to Udo, I will pass on the Olympic torch, helping to complete its journey to London. It gives me tremendous pride to be involved in what should be a great event.”

In addition to being involved in the torch relays, Wendy has advised LOCOG (the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) since 2007 on disability related issues, in particular access. Both Wendy and Udo travel across the world to speak at conferences and help improve the lives of people with disabilities and impairments.

[brotherjim]

I received a wonderful email from Concept2 congratulating us on our achievement during the Virtual team challenge. If you want, you can send me an email with your thoughts, and I will gather them together to send an email back to Suzanne.
This is the email.
jim

HI Jim,



Congratulations on your team Overcoming Disabilities’ amazing performance during the 2012 Virtual Team Challenge! You all logged many, many meters!



We like to do a short story about the team’s accomplishment in our spring 2012 Update newsletter. Would this be okay with you and the others? If so, it would be great to get a quote about what the challenge competition means to you and your teammates.



Please let me know what you think about the idea. It would be great to share your story and inspire more people to row.



Have a great weekend, Jim.



Best regards,


Suzanne

[brotherjim]

Age Is Just A State Of Mind


SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Jamie Moyer, at 49 years old, has made it back in the big leagues.

Moyer earned a spot in the Colorado Rockies' rotation and will start the team's second game of the season.

"It is still Jamie Moyer. It's the Jamie Moyer that was pitching prior to the arm injury that cost him the entire 2011 season. It's the same guy," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said Friday before the team's spring training game against the Texas Rangers at Salt River Fields.

"It's the same worker. It's the same professional. It's the same stuff, same velocity, same pitches. When he's right, same type of effectiveness. You're going to venture into this."
Jamie Moyer, who turns 50 in November, can become the oldest MLB pitcher to earn a victory. He will start Colorado's second game of the season.


Moyer, entering his 25th major league season, posted a 2.77 ERA this spring and beat out 22-year-old Tyler Chatwood and 28-year-old Guillermo Moscoso for a rotation spot.

"I was excited. I'm happy. I'm honored," Moyer said. "But in the end, like Jim said, `You earned it.' That was my goal coming here."

Moyer will start April 7 against the Houston Astros. He can become the oldest pitcher in major league history to earn a victory.

The last player to play in the majors at 49 was infielder Julio Franco, who finished out the season with the Braves in 2007 after turning 49 in August.

Moyer will be 50 in November


Good luck Jamie, I can remember when you were a young Cubbie.

[brotherjim]

The book "Born to Run" is a great book to enjoy and not only for runners but anyone who exercises.
I was saddened to hear of Caballo's death. I believe Rosi has mentioned she met him.

Body of ultrarunner Micah True, 58, found in New Mexico wilderness
Posted: 04/01/2012 01:00:00 AM MDT
April 1, 2012 7:19 AM GMT Updated: 04/01/2012 01:19:43 AM MDT By The Daily Cameradenverpost.com

Micah True's exploits were chronicled in the 2009 best-seller "Born to Run." Famed Boulder ultrarunner Micah True, the "Caballo Blanco" whose exploits were chronicled in the 2009 best seller "Born to Run," was found dead Saturday night in New Mexico after a four-day search, according to officials.

True, who was 58, according to Boulder County voter records, was last seen at the Gila Wilderness Lodge in Gila, N.M., on Tuesday morning when he went out for a run, officials say. The owners of the lodge reported him missing when he didn't return Wednesday morning, and the search began that day.

True's body was found about 6 p.m. Saturday by searchers near Woody's Corral, just 1 mile southeast of the Gila Cliff Dwellings, according to incident commander Tom Bemis.

Bemis said that one of True's friends found his body and that the cause of death is unknown.

"It's too early to say. There was nothing obvious," he said.

Bemis said that the medical examiner was on his way to the scene and True's body probably would be removed by horseback or litter team late Saturday night.

Nine search-and-rescue teams took part in Saturday's operation, as well as a New Mexico State Police helicopter and a Civil Air Patrol fixed-wing aircraft, according to Bemis.

Though daytime temperatures in southwest New Mexico have been mild, temperatures dipped into the mid-20s on recent nights. Jane and Dean Bruemmer, co-owners of the Gila Wilderness Lodge, said True had a water bottle and was wearing shorts, a T-shirt and running shoes when he left.

[ronnie1]

I hope everyone is doing great, the season is almost over. Zander qualified 3rd in Javelin, 4th in weight throw, so he will be on traveling team. I was 4th in 2k rowing and 2nd in 10k canoe so I also qualify to travel.
Have a Happy Easter
Ronnie and Z

[rosita]

Way to go Ronnie and Zander!!!!! Good luck and most importantly, have fun

[brotherjim]

Congrats Ronnie and Zander

[Kona2]

I hope everyone is doing great, the season is almost over. Zander qualified 3rd in Javelin, 4th in weight throw, so he will be on traveling team. I was 4th in 2k rowing and 2nd in 10k canoe so I also qualify to travel.
Have a Happy Easter
Ronnie and Z

That's such exciting news!!! Is this for regionals as a pre-qualifier for Paralympics? I am not sure how this works, so am hoping that you will say more about it. Congratulations!