Wanted to share with our PF family

[saxguy64]

Hello all,

It's possible you may have seen this. AP picked it up and it's turned into a nation wide story. Updates are coming, but nothing is resolved yet.

This is my son.

Thank you for reading

-Jon

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjAMegQIARAB&usg=AOvVaw2fpp005ADU1aD7NeOQ-ugt

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...ChAB&usg=AOvVaw0NVk6R5RbfXG_UeOSQWy6P&ampcf=1

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[Flboy]

Wow! A seven minute mile in a wheelchair! I have never broken 9 minutes! On my feet! By the end, on my knees!

 

[Terry57]

Jon, this broke my heart. I so hope that they do reconsider their decision so that Jonathan can compete. He has earned this. It will open the door for so many others as well.

 

[Tami2]

Thank you so much for sharing Jon. :heart:
I am sobbing, such a beautiful boy with an amazing heart and determination. You must be so proud!
May God Bless Him Always!!

 

[SailBoat]

Way to go! Nothing like getting Administrators to think outside of the box! Hey, if they believe that he would be too fast, you could offer to have Baxter ride along.

 

[Scott]

Wow Jon, your son is amazingly inspirational. Let us hope they rule in his favor; your solution is eminently practical and will open the floodgates for others.

 

[LaManuka]

Never underestimate the capacity of small-minded bureaucracy to make dumb decisions. I hope Jonathan gets to race!

 

[GaleriaGila]

He's a hero, nothing short. Wow. And yes, an inspiration. And so is his dad, for quite few reasons. What an honor to have your family as part of ours.

 

[saxguy64]

Wow! A seven minute mile in a wheelchair! I have never broken 9 minutes! On my feet! By the end, on my knees!

Actually, the 7 minute thing is because he did a 5K (3.1 miles) in 20:33, so 3 consecutive miles under 7. Believe it or not, that's quite slow in the land of wheelchair racing, but a huge personal record for him. Same race last year was over 26 minutes, so he's gaining fast.

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[saxguy64]

Jon, this broke my heart. I so hope that they do reconsider their decision so that Jonathan can compete. He has earned this. It will open the door for so many others as well.

Oh Terry, don't be heartbroken just yet. The support for him has just been overwhelming. We have an army of amazing people on our side, from athletes (able bodied to paralympians) and coaches, to legislators and attorneys. It will be resolved, one way or another. I just wish it would have been done the easy way.

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[saxguy64]

Thank you so much for sharing Jon. [emoji813]

I am sobbing, [emoji24] such a beautiful boy with an amazing heart and determination. You must be so proud!

May God Bless Him Always!! [emoji1317]

Thank you Tami. He really is an amazing kid. We all hope that our kids will find something in their lives that they truly love to do, where they have a chance to excel. Kids with disabilities often have few opportunities to do so. This kid made his own thing. It's his, and he is incredibly good at it. He makes it look almost effortless, while in reality, it's nearly impossible. He works harder than anyone I have ever seen to be able to do what his team does. He earns it If the day's training run is 5-7 miles, he will unquestionably do the full 7. I'm not a distance runner, ànd never will be, so I ride a bike just to keep up with him on those runs. And yes, he does it using just his arms. The way I look at it, he's running, just his shoes are round and have spokes. It's humbling for sure. Yes, you could say I'm a little proud lol.

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[saxguy64]

Way to go! Nothing like getting Administrators to think outside of the box! Hey, if they believe that he would be too fast, you could offer to have Baxter ride along.

Outside the box is all my son. Entirely his idea to do cross country. Getting the Powers that be to think outside the box, inside, or at all is the problem. We will get there.

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[saxguy64]

Wow Jon, your son is amazingly inspirational. Let us hope they rule in his favor; your solution is eminently practical and will open the floodgates for others.

Thanks Scott. The paper also ran an awesome article about exactly that last year. Now his story is all across the country. Incredible is all I can say.

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[saxguy64]

Never underestimate the capacity of small-minded bureaucracy to make dumb decisions. I hope Jonathan gets to race!

Thank you! This particular group has a long standing history of bad decisions. I honestly wonder if they look at every situation, and purposely choose the worst possible solution.

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[saxguy64]

He's a hero, nothing short. Wow. And yes, an inspiration. And so is his dad, for quite few reasons. What an honor to have your family as part of ours.

Thank you Gail! Definitely an inspiring kid. We've been to meets where other runners were having a bad day, and decided they couldn't run, then watch Jonathan, and change their minds. "If this guy can do this in a wheelchair, why am I feeling sorry for myself? I'm going to try!" He really is a hero. I'm just a dad, doing what I can so our child can do something he loves. Nothing more.

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[Jen5200]

Jon, this broke my heart. I so hope that they do reconsider their decision so that Jonathan can compete. He has earned this. It will open the door for so many others as well.

Oh Terry, don't be heartbroken just yet. The support for him has just been overwhelming. We have an army of amazing people on our side, from athletes (able bodied to paralympians) and coaches, to legislators and attorneys. It will be resolved, one way or another. I just wish it would have been done the easy way.

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Change isn’t easy for some, but people like you and your son are helping to make positive changes that everyone will benefit from. Amazing kid (and Dad)!

 

[saxguy64]

Jon, this broke my heart. I so hope that they do reconsider their decision so that Jonathan can compete. He has earned this. It will open the door for so many others as well.

Oh Terry, don't be heartbroken just yet. The support for him has just been overwhelming. We have an army of amazing people on our side, from athletes (able bodied to paralympians) and coaches, to legislators and attorneys. It will be resolved, one way or another. I just wish it would have been done the easy way.



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Change isn’t easy for some, but people like you and your son are helping to make positive changes that everyone will benefit from. Amazing kid (and Dad)!

Thank you Jen. One of the reporters I spoke with yesterday actually stopped in the middle of our conversation and said, "wait, this is 2019. Why are we still having to fight these issues?" Everyone is puzzled by the whole thing, save for a few knuckle dragging purists that think they know everything because they ran cross country 40 years ago in high school.

It's been quite a ride so far, I can tell you that.

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[Anansi]

Jon, thank you so much for sharing this! Your son is truly inspirational! I love his determination, and I love the solidarity as his team seems to be standing with him. (Great vids of them running with him through a course.)

I also love how you're fighting for him. I know that must mean the world to him, my friend.

And his wheelchair! I know I've mentioned it before in another post a while back, but it bears repeating: That thing is darned impressive! And he wields it like a champion! Anyone who may have missed the video in that second link might want to go back and take a peek. Beautiful to watch.

We're all rooting hard for Jonathan to get to compete! Please keep us updated.

 

[saxguy64]

Jon, thank you so much for sharing this! Your son is truly inspirational! I love his determination, and I love the solidarity as his team seems to be standing with him. (Great vids of them running with him through a course.)

I also love how you're fighting for him. I know that must mean the world to him, my friend.

And his wheelchair! I know I've mentioned it before in another post a while back, but it bears repeating: That thing is darned impressive! And he wields it like a champion! Anyone who may have missed the video in that second link might want to go back and take a peek. Beautiful to watch.

We're all rooting hard for Jonathan to get to compete! Please keep us updated.

Thanks Stephen! It's kind of funny, the vids of him with the team as a group was more of a pre-warm up for the camera. The actual courses are on much more difficult terrain. The vid with the crowd cheering was in a field, just before the last turn and finish. Really bouncy because I took it while running next to him, trying to keep up.

The team, and all the other teams, have been amazingly supportive. These are some awesome kids, as well as being incredible athletes. I'm honored to know them.

The comments by the guy from MPA were purely defensive, and largely untrue. This thing has been in the works for over a year now. They have not been working hard to include him. They've been ignoring, dragging their feet, and hoping it would just go away. When we kept pressing the issue, they tried to squash it by just saying no, and made up unfounded, uninformed excuses, with no specific reasons why.

I hate this whole thing. I never asked for it, and hope their new decision is right. Constant contact with press, coaches, legislators, and lawyers is exhausting. At least it brings some awareness to the problem people with disabilities face every day. Everything is a fight, but we do it, and unfortunately, we get good at it. Why should we have to?

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[wrench13]

Jon, you must be very proud of this young man, justifiably so! My Mom was wheelchair bound almost my whole life with her, and was not a fighter like your son. Wish him all be best from my family!