An “All Star” with CP

On Tuesday night, we were all watching the beginning of the All Star game. Before the game started, the announcers announced that People Magazine and the MLB had teamed up and were honoring and recognizing thirty people (out of thousands across the nation) as “All Stars Among Us.” One person representing each team and each person being honored somehow makes a difference in the lives of others in his or her community. 

We got excited when we noticed that one of the “All Star People” being featured was in a wheelchair. We listened and watched as we learned a little bit more about this special boy. Tears filled my eyes as I learned that this seventeen year old young man named Gary Lynn,  who was in a wheelchair and in many ways resembled my Noah, had cerebral palsy and had started a foundation of his very own to raise money for research and education for cerebral palsy. Gary is from Houston, Texas and was representing the Houston Astro’s. He’s raised over $12,000 for CP research to date. 

When Noah first saw Gary in his wheelchair, he got excited, as he often does when he sees people in wheelchairs. He identifies with them and I think he automatically feels a sense of kinship with them. It’s something big that connects them. So, he did get excited when he first noticed the wheelchair. Once J and I figured out what it was all about, J pressed paused and we stopped for a minute to explain to Noah. I wanted to be sure that he understood that the people that were walking (or wheeling in Gary’s case) onto the field were being honored. I wanted to be sure that he understood Gary had cerebral palsy too. I knew it was a good teaching moment, an opportunity to show Noah that nothing, not even cerebral palsy, can stop or define him.  It was a good moment, very neat to watch and I felt so proud of a young man I don’t even know. Be sure and check out The Gary Lynn Foundation.