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by Bruce Barcott – October 2008 Runner’s World - Edited and reproduced with permission Tom White woke up with a powerful yearning to run. It was last October, early morning. The girls were asleep. Tom rolled over and found an empty bed. His wife, Tammy, had already pulled on her shoes and set off on a five mile run on the streets of Buena Vista, Colorado. Without him. Again. The Whites are well known in Buena Vista, a farm town where Tom, a 47 year old country doctor has delivered most of the kids in town. The sight of Tom and Tammy running together was a part of everyday life in Buena Vista. Tom had been a nationally ranked cross-country runner in college and Tammy completed a marathon about once a month. For the past 10 years they’d pace each other along river trails and mountain ridges. But for the past year, the townsfolk didn’t see Tom running. A degenerative condition in his left leg, the result of a motorcycle accident in his 20s, was worsening and causing great pain. For Tom, the injury was more than a disappointment. It was maddening. Running was an integral part of his life and identity. It had been taken away once years ago after his accident and now he was losing it all over again. Tom and Tammy coached the high school girls cross – country team and had taken the Buena Vista Demons to the state championships. It was a tradition for them to join the runners on a 5-K warm-up. But last weekend, the pain was too much to bear. “Coach!” the girls called. “You running with us?” Tom’s heart sank. “I can’t”, he said. “You go on without me.” Over the years he had joked that when his leg no longer served him he would get it amputated and get a prosthesis. Now it didn’t seem like a joke. Three years earlier at the New York City Marathon, he heard about the Achilles Track Club’s Freedom Team, a group of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans racing on prostheses. At that race, he met Sarah Reinertsen, a triathlete who runs on a hydraulic knee and a Flex-Run foot. Reinertsen had lost a leg to a congenital condition and still outpaced many ablebodied runners. Amputation has always been an act forced upon a body. It’s a last resort, where gangrene traps the limb. But for Tom White it was a different story. The choice he faced wasn’t life or death. It was life or a better life. When hiking and running, he felt fully alive. He was now considering cutting off a part of himself to retain his core identity. For Tom, amputation didn’t look like a loss. It looked like a life regained. Tom White decided to cut off his leg at a time when there had never been a better time to do such a thing. In the past few years, a profound change has swept through American society and the global sports culture. Seemingly overnight, amputees have morphed from pity magnets to competitors. New technology has certainly made an impact. Devices like the Cheetah foot and the C-leg (a biomechanical prosthesis that uses a computer chip to run a hydraulic knee) allow a more natural range of motion. But the gear – which has been widely available for nearly a decade – is only part of the story. The real change has come in public awareness and attitude. It has something to do with war amputees proudly wearing prostheses emblazoned with American flags. It has something to do with Pistorius making a leap from Paralympic champion to Olympic hopeful. It has something to do with amputees like Reinertsen flashing her high-tech leg in glossy ads for Lincoln sedans. These athletes are no longer human tragedies. They’re the future and they look mighty cool. Last fall, Tom made the choice to undergo one of the most radical transformations any runner will ever face: from two-legged to one. It was not an easy one. It was a struggle. One that takes grit and determination. And it was a long hard road back to running. A long, slow process. Nearly a year later when Tammy planned to run the marathon in France, Tom signed up for a 10 –K held the day before. At the start just before the gun went off he thought Maybe I should have signed up for the 5-K. But he was off and with a 12 minute pace in pack of the back – but he was running. He thought he might stop at 5-K and rest but he began to pick up the pace. And then the finish was upon him. Tammy and his young daughters, Whitney and Jasmine, dashed onto the course and ran the last 50 years alongside him. He hugged the girls and felt them crinkle his race bib. Around, him, runners caught their breath and checked their times. Tammy offered a congratulatory smile. He savored the world around him and the feeling, once again, of being whole. Dunwoody County Club: A Tradition of Giving Since 1987, the Dunwoody Country Club has selected a nonprofit organization to benefit from a series of fundraising events that include a swimathon, run, tennis pro-am, golf tournament and dinner/silent auction. The criteria for selection includes: program expenses as a percentage of revenue, fundraising expenses as a percentage of revenue and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue. Of all applicants, Lekotek received the highest score in all three categories. The Dunwoody Country Club also selects a charity that is local and small where their donation makes a difference. The Club chooses a charity that can benefit from increased community awareness, a charity not as widely known as larger nonprofits. Finally, there is a link between the charity, the sponsor who recommends the charity to the selection committee and the Club. Mike Wolf is a Club member whose niece, Noelle, has benefited from Lekotek. Mike submitted Lekotek’s name to the committee. Lekotek appreciates the more than $25,000 raised from the Club’s fundraising efforts in addition to increased awareness gained by this honor. In return, Lekotek is pleased to have provided services to many Dunwoody residents and Dunwoody Country Club members. New Staff Member Needs No Introduction to Lekotek by Ellen Lindemann Although I recently joined the Lekotek staff, my relationship with Lekotek is a long standing one. Our daughter Carla, one of Lekotek’s first kids benefited from play sessions when Lekotek began in the basement of Easter Seals. In the world of disabilities, Lekotek was unique. It was the one place we could have fun and just be a family. It didn’t include therapy, a diagnosis or the term ‘—ologist’. Lekotek encouraged us to focus on what Carla could do - not what she couldn’t. Lekotek’s philosophy is that everyone is a “player”. Today Carla is 25 years old, out of school and attends a day program. She is an active member of her community. She works at a typical childcare center using a laptop with switches to turn the pages of a book to read to preschoolers. The kids look forward to Carla’s classroom visits. In addition to being a Lekotek parent, I served on the board of directors for nearly a decade and was the organization’s first board chair. I enjoyed creating Lekotek’s original infrastructure and giving back to an organization that gave so much to us. While volunteering on the board, I worked at Southern Company for nearly 30 years until retiring a year and a half ago. With an engineering and business background I held several positions at Southern Company which included Vice President of Marketing, Senior Vice President of Human Resources and most recently, Senior Vice President of Environmental Projects and Construction. My husband Bruce and I have been long time supporters of Lekotek. Upon retiring, I wanted to use my business skills to “give back” to the community. Lekotek was a perfect opportunity. So here I am – full circle! Bruce and I have two other children– Andrea, a graduate student at UGA and Mark, a senior in the Chamblee High School magnet program. As assistant director, I look forward to building Lekotek’s capacity to make a difference for additional children and families. Lekotek Welcomes New Lekotek Leader, Elizabeth Waddey Lekotek welcomes, Elizabeth Waddey to the Lekotek team as a leader at the Duluth and Cliff Valley offices. She is a recent graduate of the University of Tennessee, receiving her Master's in Recreation Therapy and is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist. Elizabeth is a Georgia Bulldog at heart though, having earned a Bachelor's degree in Journalism from UGA. Previously, she has worked at Camp Twin Lakes and Shepherd Center in Atlanta, as well as coordinating camps in Knoxville for children with disabilities.Elizabeth brings her passion for the power of play to Lekotek. She knows that life would be very dull without play. In her personal time, Elizabeth enjoys spending time with friends, hiking, singing, reading, and traveling. Lekotek Receives Grant from Planet Philanthropy In 1984, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta funded Lekotek with seed money. Subsequent grants have facilitated growth and new program services that have benefited more than 4,300 children and families. Lekotek received an invitation from the Community Foundation to submit a grant request to Planet Philanthropy, an initiative whose goal is to develop the next generation of community philanthropists. Lekotek of Georgia’s request to a group of children, ages of 8 to 15, began as follows:
Imagine you want to
play a board game but can’t see the board or pieces. Imagine you want to
go outside, jump rope, play basketball or hit a Staff member, Ellen Lindemann, was asked to present to the group. The youngsters were asked to evaluate nonprofit applicants on criteria that included mission, financial stability, cost effectiveness and program services. As one of four finalists, Lekotek received a grant of two thousand dollars. This funding will be used to purchase adapted computer devices that make it possible for children with physical disabilities to access the computer. Software of the Month: PowerPoint Stories PowerPoint is an authoring tool that Lekotek Leader, Jackelyn Lamb, is using to create books. The child can read the text that appears on the monitor or listen to Jackelyn’s voice read each page. PowerPoint presentations consist of individual pages or “slides”. Using real books, the pages are scanned into the computer and the images are inserted into individual slides. Slides contain text, graphics and movies as movements and sound are written into each slide. The slides can be turned using a switch, a round button attached to the computer, a touch window or mouse. PowerPoint books are accessible to all children. Stories read through PowerPoint are exciting for children who love stories but cannot read or physically turn the pages of a book. Children can “read” the stories to their families. Hard copies of the books and props for each story make the software interactive and reading fun. |