Probably one of the most fulfilling events that I've had the pleasure to be a part of so far in my life.
I'm so thankful for my chance meeting with Susan Tudor at C'Siren Day spa, and subsequently working for her on her "Cyclist Massage" team. It was through that connection that I got hired to work for CAF (Challenged Athletes Foundation) as a part of the MDC (Million Dollar Challenge).
October 12th I got on a plane and flew up to Santa Cruz, CA and met with 7 other Massage Therapists who were contracted for the 7 day event in which roughly 116 cyclists road 620 miles down the coast of California starting in San Francisco and ending in San Diego. That first day/night was just us MT's getting to know each other, some of us had met before others had not, and relaxing before the start to our crazy adventure the next day.
This was the 7th year that this event has taken place. The goal of CAF is to raise 1 Million dollars, thus the name of the ride, and I believe that this year had $1.4+ million dollars raised.
Challenged Athletes, such an interesting term, but one that is very apt. These are people who want to continue or have an active lifestyle despite circumstances in their life. Some are born with birth defects, others experience strokes, car accidents, or other health related difficulties, and still others are due to circumstances beyond their control such as car accidents, and/or injuries occurred while defending our nation in a time of need.
I don't know if I can begin to do this event justice. I was so blessed and so honored to be a part of it. Everyone involved was amazing from the staff to the support crew to the athletes themselves. We all had tired days, but the perseverance to push through was palpable. The riders, the reason why we were there in the first place, were the stars. They rode anywhere from 30+ miles to 100+ miles in a day through all sorts of terrain, and beautiful windy weather (I was told that this was the nicest ride in terms of ambient temperature and daily weather patterns, minus the wind). After each day's ride we, the MT's, got to work. Providing 5 hours of free 15-minute massages post ride, and then after a dinner break 2-3, 60-90 minute private massage sessions in the riders room.
I had the pleasure on working on some of the Challenged Athletes, which truth be told is something that I've always wanted to do since I decided on pursuing becoming an MT. While I'd originally thought of only Wounded Warriors, that leap is pretty easy to understand considering I've been married to a Marine for 6+ years, this opened up my eyes to the fact that there are so many other people out there who need the healing power of therapeutic touch. I had not yet had an opportunity to work with someone who had a prosthetic and or needed the aid of modified equipment to do what the rest of us probably wouldn't think twice of doing. And it was definitely a learning experience but everyone was patient and understanding.
I really want to write about some of the specific people that I met, but I'm unsure how they would react to seeing their story in my blog. Their overwhelming perseverance is something that blew me away as I watched them throughout the week. We had athletes ranging from zero physical challenges, to birth defects that meant that a leg didn't develop fully and neither did the phalanges on their hand, to a stroke surviver, and a full quadriplegic due to being involved in some sort of accident while deployed with the United States Marine Corps and all sorts of physical abilities between. There were days where they road over 100 miles, two in fact back to back, and days where the wind was so high that even though it was a relatively "shorter" day they were just as exhausted by the time they got to the end of the route. I saw people who had prosthetic legs that either clipped directly onto the bike pedals, or had a shoe on the end of it that clipped in. Bikes that were modified so that people could either remain upright, be recumbent and/or hand cycle. We had a duel recumbent bike that allowed for someone to drive the bike for our athlete who was a quadriplegic, and he had different "drivers" each day.
Watching a video of him riding down this incredible decline, getting up over 40 miles an hour, listening to the other cyclists cheer him on and hold back the cars so that he could experience that... Brought me to tears.
That is why we were there. So that CAF could help give more grants to those who really truly want and NEED it. Did you know that while most insurance companies will cover a basic prosthetic or basic mode of transportation, i.e. arm crutches, wheel chairs, etc, that they do NOT usually cover "athletic" gear because its considered a luxury?! Cheetah legs so they can run efficiently are not covered, neither are decent quality jointed prosthetic legs, modified equipment like bikes, snow boards, and the like are definitely out of the question... Which to me is so sad.
There are people out there who would probably either have never reached their full potential or ability if it were not for CAF. Take Blake Leeper for example. I had the absolute pleasure in meeting him on our last night in Dana Point, he came to speak at the dinner that was held that night and we lucked out in sharing a table with him. He was raised in TN and while he had basic prosthetics and played sports in high school he didn't have amazing equipment and knew that he could do more with the right legs. He reached out to CAF, got one of their grants for Cheetah Legs and just competed in the 2012 London Para-Olypmics winning a Silver and Gold medal. How amazing is that?! This incredibly driven young man didn't let his physical limitations hold him back, he persevered and showed us all how to get things done.
My outlook on life was drastically changed while working with these incredible Athletes for a week. I'm currently studying for my National Exam so that I can be National Certified and hopefully start moving my career in the direction of working with athletes, both Challenged an non-challenged. I will reach out to Wounded Warriors even if it is on a Volunteer basis because I do believe in the healing power of touch. I will NOT whine when things get tough. I'd say many of the people that I had the absolute pleasure of working with had been dealt a tough hand, and they not only worked with it, but they showed it who was boss.
I look forward with pleasure to hopefully be involved in many more CAF sponsored events in the future. From the MDC, if I'm asked back, to the Back2Back Century rides that they do, to the Tri events, Marathons, 5k's whatever...
I'd like to ask everyone who reads this to take a moment. Look at your life, be thankful, grateful for what you have been blessed with. If life is difficult right now remember that you can make it better. If your out on a run, or a bike ride, a walk with your children, or on your own - and things start to twinge, hurt, bother you, remember that you can do it. Take a moment, a deep breath, and have faith in yourself.
