Alex, our Hero!
Alex and our family at the finish line!
By Lucia A.
When Alex was diagnosed with autism back in March of 2009, our whole world came crashing down on us. With his diagnosis came a lot of no’s, closed doors, never’s and many people walked away. But regardless of who was by our side, we always had thing for sure, our will to keep fighting for our son. We knew we couldn’t give up, we kept knocking on doors until one opened. Alex has so much potential, we just needed to find people who believed in him as much as we did. FACT Oregon did just that, last summer we attended their triathlon (the All Ability Tri4Youth) and one of our biggest dreams for Alex came true.
Alex was so happy and excited to be a part of it, he had it saved in his calendar for months since he found out about it. He counted down the days until it was time to be part of the big event. As his mother I truly didn’t know what to expect, all I knew was that I was immensely happy and grateful that we were part of such a beautiful event who welcomed our son and saw him as the amazing soul that he is. Our best friends and immediate family were there to cheer Alex on, which meant the world to me. Alex and his sister were both participating, our daughter was so proud to be running along side her brother. Seeing her supporting him in such a way warmed our hearts and reminded us that all of the pain we have been through has made us that much closer.
We swam, we biked and ran as a family, we supported each other along the way and at each end point, we knew we were that much closer to the finish line. As we moved along in the race, seeing so many volunteers cheering us on gave us such an amazing feeling, we felt we were accepted and supported. Which in our world, means more than anything money could buy. The FACT Oregon All Ability Tri4Youth gave us a day to remember, gave us hope, gave us a day to celebrate our son. It reminded us that he is so worthy and capable of so much if given the chance to prove his skills. We are so grateful to FACT Oregon for hosting such a beautiful, inspiring event, we can not wait for the 2019 All Ability Tri4Youth where we will make more unforgettable memories.