I have very exciting news this week!
My younger brother Andrew and I are teaming up to participate in the Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR) in the Mixed Inclusion Doubles event on October 21st! You can read more about the event in this article.
If you have followed my blog for a while then you probably know that I am very close with my family and am continuously impressed by all of them, in different ways. My brother Andrew especially has been a huge inspiration for me. Andrew broke his neck during his junior year of high school and was immediately paralyzed from his shoulders down, but through relentless hard work, a steadfast positive attitude, and the help of our entire family and amazing community, he has had an unbelievable recovery. He chronicled the first six months of his rehab in these youtube videos part 1, part 2, part 3, that still bring tears to my eyes every time I watch them.
Andrew has continued on his recovery over the last five years, while also helping support others that have had similar injuries by connecting the spinal chord community and sharing knowledge through his website and podcast Connecting The Resilient. I could go on and on about Andrew’s accomplishments, but the thing I am continually the most impressed by is his ability to stay positive and present and take each obstacle he’s faced with one step at a time with a smile. I’m especially inspired by this, because it is something I am constantly working at when facing my own obstacles - and I haven’t had to go through anything even close to as challenging as Andrew has!
Andrew is now chasing Paralympic qualification in the PR1 Single event and recently finished 14th at World Championships. I am so excited to race with Andrew this weekend. We have been training in our garage gym for the past couple years, whenever we are home together, and it will be so fun to get to compete with each other. Andrew and my younger sister Mary (who will be rowing in the Harvard Radcliffe Lightweight 8 at the Head of the Charles) raced together and won the event last year, so I have some big shoes to fill! The event starts at 4:02 pm on Saturday and will be live-streamed here for those interested in watching.
I have only rowed the HOCR course once before when all 8 of my family rowed an 8 in the Directors Challenge Event in 2017 to celebrate Andrew’s recovery
P.S. Andrew also writes a substack if you are interested in following his journey!
Fabulous!