Health & Wellness Magazine Community Of Caring - Summer 2019 | Page 25

LET ME BE
LE T ME BE
BRAVE
BY: BOB DEWLING
HAVING A son who has Down Syndrome
has been the biggest blessing of my life,
although it took me a couple of years to
realize that. At first, I was caught up thinking
about what he may not be or experience in
his life, and it was hard watching him work
so hard to learn and do the things we take
for granted. Everything took longer, required
therapy, and was a challenge for him.
But my son has taught me to believe—to
believe in love, kindness, positivity, and that
anything is possible. Even to believe that
the Loch Ness Monster may exist, because
it hasn’t been proven that it doesn’t.
Through our involvement in Special
Olympics—him as an athlete and me as
a coach—we have met so many friends.
To see the athletes celebrate each other’s
accomplishments is so heartwarming. They
are just as happy to see a friend bowl a strike
as they are when they bowl one themselves.
The Special Olympics
oath reads: “Let me win,
but if I cannot win, let me
be brave in the attempt.”
The athletes live this oath, and because of
them, I have learned a great life lesson: we
may not be able to succeed at everything
we try in life, but we can try our best,
be proud of our efforts, and be happy
for the efforts and success of others.
My son was recently having some pain
in his feet, and after a visit to the doctor,
he was given a prescription for orthotics.
BRAVE
Knowing HealthQuest specialises
in personalised wellness solutions,
we went there to get him fitted.
We met with Brendan Walsh, a Pedorthist
with the HealthQuest team. He was very
thorough in the assessment and patient
while moulding for the custom orthotics.
While we had been waiting for
our appointment, we looked at the
footwear and selected some favourites.
After the fitting for the orthotics was
complete, Brendan helped choose
the best sneaker based on my son’s
activities and walking pattern.
As we were preparing to leave, I happened
to mention that my son really liked his
Blundstone boots because the loops on
them made them easier to put on. Brendan
told us that if we left the sneakers with
him for a couple of days, he could have a
similar loop put on the back of the sneakers.
When we returned a few days later, the
loops were attached and the sneakers
looked as if they had been made that way.
That little modification made putting
on his new sneakers easier for my son.
Brendan was listening to us and offered
a solution we didn’t even think of asking
for. I was really impressed!
HealthQuest's professional team is ready to serve you from locations in
St. John's and Grand Falls - Windsor.
Learn more and book an appointment at HealthQuestNL.ca
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