Rick Runs again!

You know a couple of weeks ago  when I talked about Terry Fox.  Well, today I'm going to tell you about another inspirational man, Rick Hansen.  Rick is one more of Canada's biggest hero's.  He started off just  a regular teenager and then he turned into a nation wide star.  When Rick was in his late teens, he went on a fishing trip with his buddies.  They drove there in a truck, and Rick was in the back.  They got into an accident.  Rick survived, but ended up with a spinal cord injury.  Rick, like terry fox, knew that people all over the world suffer from spinal cord injuries.  There is a chance these injuries can be cured by some sort of spinal stem research.  So, Rick, inspired by terry, wanted to wheel  through Canada to raise money for the research to find a cure.  Two B.C boys crossing the country to make a difference in the lives of others.    Rick's run was a big success  now hes back at it again to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his run. This time, he wants all of us to be a part of it with him.  This summer, Rick started his journey  in Newfoundland, Labrador, the most Eastern Part of Canada.  Rick isn't the only one participating  his time.  He has tons of supporters,.  Here's the big news!  Part of Rick Hansen's team is coming through my town, Invermere B.C.  A group that I am involved in, called A.C.E(Access in the Community for Everyone) is a non-profit organization that helps improve the accessibility around Invermere, so it is a enjoyable place for everybody.  I  have just started  to really be actively involved with A.C.E  a couple of years ago.  Anyway, on to the fun part.  Since part of Rick's team with be coming through the town, Invermere has been chosen for  an end of the day celebration spot.   A.C.E  is organizing what is planned to be a  fun, nighttime event on Friday, April 13, 2012, that will raise awareness about disabilities and barriers in the community  Like I said, Rick has supporters running with him.  They are medal bearers.  And guess what?  You could be on of them.  All you need to do is go to the Rick Hansen website (http://www.rickhansenrelay.com/).  Once you get on the website, there will be a tab that says read more.  Click that, and once you get there, scroll down a ways until you get to a blue tab that says Relay Contest.  Click the little yellow arrow.   It will take you to a link that says "you don't need to Cross the world to make a difference, just 250 kilometres across your community."    Under that click enter contest.  It's pretty self explanatory from there.  You need to follow four simple steps to tell a bit about yourself.  I really encourage you to join us.  Another thing I encourage you to do is nominate someone who you think would qualify as a "difference maker"  in Invermere.   This would be someone who you think gives a lot to the community and makes differences in peoples lives. This can be anyone, not just people who help people with disabilities.  Someone who makes Invermere a special place to live.   This special person will run the last leg of the race and wear the last medal.  They will be rewarded with a little speech made about them, so whoever you pick, make sure you state a good reason why.  I  hope lots of you will join us in this celebration.  We hope to make it quite the event.  Everyone should be aware of not only the things that we have to work on, like accessibility, but also, the things that we have achieved.  There are so many deserving people in this valley.  That is what makes it a special place.  If you live in Invermere, and you have an idea of  who a difference maker might be, email me at katers95@yahoo.ca. We are aiming to have all nominees in by November 3.  I have personally met Rick Hansen when I was at the Paralympics, and a lot of adults I've talked to, heard of, or went to inspiring speeches and conferences of his.  His is truly an inspiring man, and has every right to be celebrated.  We're excited to have you all join in with us to make this town a better and better place, and celebrate someone who has inspired everyone!  Thank you!

Special Olympic Swimming Program

Yesterday, the Special Olympic Program started swimming and golfing up at Fairmont Hot springs.  The same people that started the ski program now go swimming and golfing with the Special O.  I look forward to swimming every Sunday. It gives me something to do, and I am learning how to swim which is great! I absolutely love it.  Being in the water gives me so much freedom.  Its great for all of the kids to get out once a week  for some fun and the first Sunday started off great!  I write reports every week.   I will share some with you.

The Special O group is back swimming at fairmont again!  Everyone had such a great time this spring, so we all wanted to start it back up again in the fall!  The group goes mini golfing first and the swimming starts at 4:00 now.  Yesterday was a great start to our program.  We had a great turnout with six kids showing up to swim.  There was Aaliyah, and her friend cassidy,  Brion, Brandon,  Marlow, and Kate. The trusty volunteers that came up for the first day of season two of swimming were Trish, Nick, Andrea, Gee,  and Evan.  Nick was sort of leading the group today!  We did swimming warmps and got used to being in the pool again.  We practised Kicking  There were Relays going on, going with only using legs, or only using arms.  Near the end we played Marco Polo.   Everyone had fun!  Brion got right back into the swing of things with his buddy Evan.  They were kicking and having fun.  Brion joined the group whenever he felt comfortable. Aaliyah had a friend with her today, Cassidy.  That was nice to have a visitor to our group.  Cassidy does a great dolphin flip!  Bradon was with Nicole.  They swam around the pool and joined in with the games.  You could tell Bradon was learning new stuff.  Marlow was doing great kicking and doing all the strokes.  Trish and Kate were practising kicking again, and getting all the coordination down!  It was a great first start to the swim program.  Thanks to all the volunteers who made it out for the first day!  Everyone loves to swim on Sundays!  Hopefully we can have another great season, with lots of kids coming on Sundays.  Thanks to all the volunteers who helped, and Andrea who got everything organized.   It was a great day!  Its great to be back at the pools!  Thanks for coming everyone and we hope to see you next week!

Terry Fox Run

Yesterday was the annual Terry Fox run at my towns middle school, J.A. Laird.  I'm sure most of you know who Terry Fox was, but for those of you don't, Terry was a man who had Bone Cancer. He knew that people from all over were suffering from all sorts of horrible cancers, so he wanted to raise money to find the cure.   Just when he got his leg amputated on, Terry decided to raise money for cancer by running across Canada, collecting donations from everyone that cheered him on.   Unfortunately, Terry's cancer got the best of him, and when he got just outside of Thunder Bay, he got very sick, and he had to stop the run, and stay at a hospital.   With family around him, Terry lost his battle to cancer.   Just before Terry passed, he announced that the run must go on.  So many people are affected by this disease and we need to find a cure.  Thirty years later, the Terry Fox Walk for Hope run continues.  Yesterday at Laird, there was a huge turnout for the run.  It was awesome!  It made me very happy!  I always love walking in the terry fox run.  I have Cerebral Palsy and am not exactly a jogger, but there is no way I would sit and drive that dinky little knob on my wheelchair and call that running for terry Fox.   I can walk perfectly fine.  Well.. almost.  But, if terry can walk all across Canada with that much pain, I can walk a few kilometers.   I wouldn't wheel the run for anything!  I'm not the most stubborn person in the world, but when it comes to the terry fox run, I will say anything to have things my way in the run.  I'm so proud of what he has done, and a lot of people are.  Hes given lots of people hope and tons of inspiration.  The run went very well.  I got further than last year, which was my goal.  I got to walk with my mom, as I always do, which is very special.  My aunt Jo, and Bella came with us!  This was her first terry fox run!  She did good!  Everyone did awesome!    I look forward to this run all year long!   I hate to think that a person can be in such pain.  If there is a chance that we can help people beat cancer, than everyone should participate!  A job well done to those who did  Terry fox is a true hero, and he is a great role model for all!  Terry Fox, we salute you!

Vroom vroom vroom

Every year there is a car show in downtown Invermere.  I don't remember the last time Ive missed one.   There are hundreds of antique cars that come down from Radium, a town near by, and drive right by down town.  Its always a big turn out.   Lots of people show up.  The cars are really cool!  They are all sorts of different colours and shapes and sizes.  Some of them are really old fashioned, and you can really tell they were fancy cars in their days.  Everyone loves it when the cars do really big spins and their wheels spin out.  They have police down there so it doesn't get out of hand too too much.  Its great!   I went down with my aunt this time, and her dog Bella.  Everyone had to stop and say hi and pet Bella.  It was funny.  Sometimes, being in a wheelchair, you get a lot of people coming up and wanting to say hi to you.  This time it was because  there was a dog beside me.  It was awesome!   It must be fun to just drive your car all through town.  I love car rides, so maybe I should catch a ride with someone one day!  Just kidding. This is a big entertainment day for the whole town.  Everybody, kids, dogs and adults  come down to watch.  You feel like your being taken back into the past with all the antique stuff you see.    It was a fun day.  It was nice to get some fresh air and see some cars rippin down the road.  It was a nice day for it!  Lookin good out their all you car drivers!  It all stops at the Radium baseball  diamond.  All the cars are parked all over the place and people admire them!  So if you missed the car show, you could always go and see them all their.  I didnt get to Radium today, but I hope everyone got down their and see them because its a really fun party.  I hope lots of peaple got downtown to see the show and had fun because I always do!

New computer!

In school, I use a computer a lot for writing assignments.  It was given to me by an organization called SET B.C..   They give disabled kids technology to make their life a little easier.   I love to write using a pen and paper, but it takes me longer than everyone else, so my computer helps me keep up with the class, and getting my assignments in on time.  A few years ago, I started using a program called five finger typist   I can only use my right hand, because my left hand doesn't have the best coordination skills.  Its quite spastic so my fingers have trouble  pressing a  computer key.  I type so fast now with one hand!  I've had lots of practise. Anyway, over the summer, I have been testing out a computer SET BC gave me.  Ive had my computer for four years, so its time I get a new one .  Also, my old computer  was really heavy and it was hard for me to carry it on my own.  The new one is a lot lighter.  The keys are raised, so I don't lean over to far  to see the screen or to be close to the keys.     My SET B.C. helper Kathy MCcaulay came to my school yesterday and brought a computer with a bigger screen.  I really like this one.  I have to learn to stay organized on my computer, so yesterday I  made folders for every subject, and I always save my work  to the folder with the subject that it is for.     I need to get a few things figured out about printing and getting hooked up to the Internet, but as soon as I get that stuff done, I will be good to go! I have a feeling I will be using my new computer for quite a while, maybe even when I get to university.  I think this computer will be great!  I cant wait to start using it.  Thank you Kathy for giving me all these new things that make my life easier.  You rock!

Kate the cook!

Today was the first day in Chef Training that we got to try out cooking.  We made pizza.  We got divided into groups and did a section of  the pizza.  I had a group of really nice girls.  There are a few kids in the class who have been in Cook Training for a couple of years and have lots of experience so they can kind of take over the kitchen, just like the teacher.  The girl who was with my group was a great help.  Her name is Sarah.  So, since today was the first cooking day, I got to get used to the kitchen and how to get around  and how it all runs.  My physio therapist ordered me a walker with a seat on it for class.  The kitchen is very busy and it would be difficult for me to bring my wheelchair in there  because of the crowd.  My walker has a seat on it.  There is a lot of standing in the class, preparing the food, and my legs get tired of standing for a long period of time.  I  try to stand as much as possible.  I only use the seat for having little breaks.  my goal is to stand for as long as i can for one block of cooking.  Anyway, all the groups got divided into doing different parts of the pizza.  Our job was to get all the toppings ready.  I have special equipment that i use to help me.  I have a cutting board with nails in it that helps hold food down so i can cut it.  Were practising the proper way to hold a chefs knife.  You hold the knife at the very end of the blade, put the tip of the knife on the cutting board.  I like cutting with the big knife.  It makes me feel powerful.  At the end everyone in class pulled the whole meal together, and we had lunch together as a class.  The tables were set like a restaurant, table cloths and everything.  It was very nice.  We had the pizza and salad and a peach pastry type thing for dessert.  It was a very nice day!  Everyone worked together as a great team. I get to work with my friend Paige!  She helps me with moving around the kitchen and fine motor stuff.  Its great learning everything I love Cook training!  Everything is going to be great!  Just like my motto says, I will just have to take it one day at a time.

Back to Work!

Today is the first day back at school!  Ive had a great summer with all my adventures, but I'm ready to get back to a  schedule, I think.  I cant believe I'm in grade 11!  I feel so old!    It was pretty hard to get up this morning!  Today school was just a short day.  We went to our home room and got time tables sorted out and everything.  This year, we got to go to a few of our classes and see what there going to be like.  That was nice!  I'm taking a class called Cook Training this year so I went in there after school was over to see how that would work for me.  There is a lot of standing in that class, and it is quite fast paced , which for me, with my mobility issues that might be a bit hard, but we sorted everything out, and it looks like its going to be great!  The teacher is really nice and helpful.  Ill work with a partner so I can have some extra help with grabbing things.  There is a lot of carrying stuff back and forth so that will be nice to share the work.  I will also have an aid in there with me.  Its a very fun class and I'm excited for it!    It looks like its going to be a great year.  Ive got some great courses.  I'm glad to be home early so I can rest up for tomorrow.  Ready or not Grade eleven, here I come!