You may have heard of Dick Hoyt, whose son Rick was born with Cerebral Palsy, leaving him a complete quadriplegic. Doctor’s told Dick that he should not hold out any hopes for his son to lead anything but a uninspiring life in a near vegetative state. Dick wouldn’t accept that and worked with his son to mainstream him and give him all the tools to relish life. As Rick got older, Dick had the idea to push Rick in a small local 10k race.
Rick loved it so much that the two entered over 1,000 races in their lifetimes, including The Boston Marathon, triathlons, duathlons and even a 3735 mile trip across the US in 45 days.
Both have recently passed away but today there is a statue of the father and son near the starting line of the Boston Marathon. They personified the “Yes You Can” mentality.
They both were faced with adversity – a father with an invalid son; and a son with a debilitating illness. Yet they persevered and inspired millions of people throughout their life’s journey.
Yes, You Can
