Push

Rick Hoyt was asked one time, if he could give his father one thing, what would it be? His answer was “The thing I’d most like for my Dad is to sit in the chair and I would push him for once..”


Rick Hoyt was born with an oxygen deprivation to his brain at the time of his birth. Because of the split second absence of oxygen, he has to endure the life-long spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy condition. Rick Hoyt couldn’t walk or speak. He was able to communicate through a specially made interactive computer attached to his wheelchair. But even with this condition, Rick Hoyt was into sports and his first “spoken” words was “Go, Bruins!” referring to the Boston Bruins, a professional ice hockey team in Massachusetts.


Dick Hoyt is Rick’s father. He is a retired Lieutenant Coronel in the Air National Guard. Today, being Father’s Day, I chose to write about this man whom I have never met instead of my experiences as the “pillar” of the family. Compared to me being a father to my children, I will terribly fail against Dick Hoyt.


Back in High School, Rick’s classmate has been paralyzed due to a sporting accident. A charity run was organized for his benefit and Rick “told” his father he wanted to participate in the charity run. Remember, Rick has been trapped in a wheelchair since birth and now he wanted to run. Always a loving father that his is, Dick Hoyt agreed to his son’s request. During the charity run, Dick was there behind Rick to push his son (in his wheelchair) until they reached the finish line. At the end of the run, Rick told his Dad these eternal words “Dad, when we were running, it felt like I was not disabled anymore.”


That was the beginning of the Father and Son “running” tandem which have completed over 1,000 races now including marathons, duathlons and triathlons. In the triathlon, Dick would pull Rick in a boat for the swimming stage, Rick rides in a custom made two-seater bicycle in the biking stage and Dick will push his son in his specially made wheelchair in the running stage. Father and son, they always finish the race together without doubts, fears or signs of relinquishment.


I am not a ideal father (one that can be compared to Dick) and this story tells me something more than what meets the eye. Whether I like it or not, I am a father in the eyes of my children and I need to do more pushing to help them realize the value of life more than what they learn in school. I need to push them to explore the oceans so they will learn how to swim the seas. I need to push them to play unmindful of the bruises they might incur, for only when they learned the games will they be able to appreciate the beauty of winning and losing, I need to push them to enjoy watching TVs even if the finals is coming the following day, for only when they failed the exam will they realize the importance of self control, I need to push them to eat ice cream in the morning, by doing so they will realize that life is beautiful specially with an ice cream at the beginning of the day. All these being done of course without the knowledge of their mother, something that only a father can do.


Fathers show their love to their children in many unconventional ways. It may be running thousands of miles with his son or singing “teenager” songs with his daughter without knowing the right lyrics. However which way, a father always pushes his children to the limits (for their own good) in a way only he can eloquently understand - without expecting anything else in return. And at the end of it all, the sweetest gift a child can give his father back has been powerfully said by Rick Hoyt; “The thing I’d most like for my Dad is to sit in the chair and I would push him for once..”