July 29, 2013

by: Guest Contributor

Team Drew’s Inspiration

This week UCP of Greater Cleveland is happy to welcome Jackie Lohn, Drew’s mom, as our guest blog contributor.  This will be the second year that Team Drew has participated in the Cleveland Triathlon, and we are so happy to have them as a part of Team UCP!  See you at the finish line, Team Drew!!

 

I can’t help but get emotional every time I hear a family’s story or read a blog about what inspires them every year to do the Cleveland Triathlon.  We all have the same reason:  Our children.  So I jumped at the opportunity to share Drew’s story and how being a part of Team UCP at the Cleveland Triathlon has affected our lives.

Although Drew doesn’t have Cerebral Palsy, he’s been diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder that impacts his muscles and how they react.  He cannot walk on his own without support from either his walker or holding someone’s hand.  He can speak very fluently for a 5 year old and may be the funniest person on the planet.  His smile is infectious and he lights up the hearts of everyone he meets.  Thankfully for him, his condition isn’t degenerative and there is great hope that he will outgrow it and catch up (so to speak) with his peers.  And with as hard as he works every week at UCP that is becoming more of a reality rather than just a dream.

When Drew was 2 years old, his teacher in the special toddler program he attended suggested that I enroll him in the STEPS to Independence Program at UCP, which is a 3-4 week intense program.  We were receiving PT/OT elsewhere at the time.  Admittedly, I was apprehensive when I saw how hard they were working him, but soon realized that they saw his potential and were pushing and challenging him (and me) beyond our comfort levels and guess what?  He was doing it – some of it with ease!  He has all this strength and potential inside him and the staff at UCP brings it out of him every week.  They do it with so much love and encouragement that you know that they truly care about the children and their families.  At the end of each session, he always comes out with a big smile on his face and hugs me and then his therapist, because he is so proud of himself and knows that we are too and he always says enthusiastically “I did a great job today!”

So last year when I saw that UCP of Greater Cleveland was the official charity of the Cleveland Triathlon, I was like – where do we sign up?! Not because I’m a super star athlete, but because I had to get involved and help support this organization that has done so much for me and especially for Drew.  The super star athlete in my family is Drew’s Aunt Kay, my oldest sister (she’ll cringe because I said “oldest”). She’s the eldest of 5 girls and after we lost our mom at the young age of 60, my sister Kay started participating in local triathlons to improve her own life.  So she jumped at the chance to do the Cleveland Triathlon last year to support Drew.  We signed up as a relay team, with her doing the swimming, biking and running.  I walked with Drew, my other sisters and nieces.  This year, his Aunt Kay is doing all 3 events again and I’ll be running the Sprint (5k) portion, pushing Drew in his stroller along with my sisters and nieces in addition to friends and loved ones joining us this year.  I’m so proud to support UCP and all that this organization represents.  However I’m especially proud to be Drew’s mom and I can’t wait to cross the finish line with him this year to share another inspirational moment with my child who is the biggest inspiration in my life.

Jackie Lohn
For Team Drew

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