The Garwood Story
The year was 1998. The day was 20 May. It was a day we will never forget. My husband, Leigh, received a phone call from Olivedale Clinic to say that a young couple in our church had just given birth to their first child and there were serious complications.
Leigh rushed to the hospital to find that Nicholas, who had been born prematurely, had suffered distress as the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. His left eye had not developed fully in the early stages of pregnancy. Subsequently as a baby he had an expander inserted to help grow the socket in which his prosthetic eye now fits.
Kevin and Cheryl were told later that their son had a serious brain injury and he was eventually diagnosed with Athetoid cerebral palsy with spasticity. Simply explained, this is a condition where the brain can’t send the correct messages to the muscles. The Garwoods were told to put their son in a home and to get on with their lives as Nicholas would never walk, talk or be educated. This they refused to do. Nicholas already had a home and they were not going to give up on him.
And so began their journey as new parents trying to figure out how best to give Nicholas the life that God designed for him.
The Garwoods found an American home-based therapy programme to help with Nicholas’ development in the first few years. Kevin gave up his career to take care of Nicholas full time and through home schooling Nicholas has now completed Grade 3. He’s improved remarkably.
In April 2009, Kevin watched a video clip called “My Redeemer Lives” which showed an American father, Dick Hoyt (69), participating in an Ironman event with his disabled son, Rick (48). (www.teamhoyt.com)
“I burst into tears when I saw it. As a father one of my biggest dreams was to one day be there for my son and support him in sporting events. I could never do that. When I saw this video, I realised there was a way to compete with my son,” recalled Kevin.
And so began their courageous sporting journey as Team Garwood. It’s been a journey filled with obstacles, but it’s been amazing and inspiring at the same time.
They started out by participating as a family in the Discovery 702 Walk the Talk in July 2009, walking 8 km. Kevin sourced a small jogging buggy from Canada, called a Wike, which conveniently can be used as a trailer too. Kevin’s Bible study group was helpful in rallying together all sorts of assistance and equipment that he might require on this athletic journey. They’ve steadily progressed to running, cycling and swimming and have now done a number of triathlons. Nicholas accompanies Kevin on all three legs of the triathlon. In the swimming section, Nicholas is in a kayak tethered to his dad’s waist. For the cycling part, Kevin hooks Nicholas’s “jogging trailer” to his bike pulling him and for the running leg of the race, Kevin pushes Nicholas in the Wike.
The Wike weighs about 15 kg and Nicholas another 30 kg. Add that to Kevin’s own weight and the weight of his bike, and it’s remarkable that they even finish these races. It has taken lots of training, self discipline and perseverance for Kevin to be able to do all this. To get an idea of what’s ahead of them and to prepare for next year, Kevin will be doing the full Iron Man by himself in Port Elizabeth on 25 April 2010.
“It’s phenomenal what it has done for Nicholas. We can see a change in his personality, his speech is more fluent and he has a memory of note,” says his mom, Cheryl. She has supported this father/son duo in all their events and has recorded their amazing journey in a beautiful scrapbook. For those who attend Rosebank, ask the Garwoods to show you their scrapbook.
For those on Facebook, go to “Team Garwood” to get full updates and reports on their activities and races with photos.
Truly the Garwood story is inspiring. Proverbs 13:12 says that “When dreams come true, there is life and joy.” You just have to look at the faces of Nicholas and Kevin to see that life and joy.
