In April 2001 my father was rendered a quadriplegic following an injury to his spinal cord after he was shot during a robbery. There is no limit on the challenges that endured for him and his immediate family caregivers for the years that followed. And also for the potential for some things to happen that we never could have imagined.
In 2004 I started taking an interest in triathlons. One of the go-to resources for the sport is, of course, the bible: “The Triathlete’s Training Bible” by Joe Friel. In the introductory chapter Joe tells a story about how NASA scientists undertook a study of how a bumblebee flies. And through the time that they continued their research, the bumblebee, none-the-wiser of the interest in its supposed deficiency of wing span to body weight, carried on doing its thing, buzzing away.
While some comment this story is an urban legend, the principle stuck for me. When faced with a challenge, we can consider all the probabilities of why we should not endure. Or we can grind through (hopefully adding some thought to the process too) and defy the logic. And so the bumblebee has flown with me ever since.
In 2005 and 2006, my father took the challenge to “run” the New York Marathon with the Achilles club, aided on the road by my brothers and me. Ernie wrote it best:
“To now at the age of 70 being part of a team [of Achilles] is beyond what my mind could ever imagine; thrown into what should be bad luck but is really good luck after my trauma 4 years ago, means so much to me… This is an opportunity in a lifetime where a father [in my condition] can compete with his three sons in a marathon. That does not happen often.”
Although the marathon with my father was a unique experience, the reality of challenges endured by a family are not. Enough said. Time for us to be the bumblebee.
-Terry Brenner
PS: Fun fact - Did you know that bumblebees can fly higher than Mt Everest?