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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ001142A
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00:28 I'm standing at the starting line of the Boston Marathon. 00:31 Each year over 30,000 people set off from here on a grueling 00:37 42 km run. The marathon along with Iron Man are two of the 00:45 toughest athletic endeavors on the planet, the ultimate test of 00:49 strength and endurance. They're considered by most as barely 00:55 possible but not for the team Hoyt father/son duo. 00:59 What makes this duo so special is that Rick, the son, was born 01:04 with cerebral palsy and is quadriplegic. And so his father 01:09 Dick pushes and pulls him in specialized wheelchairs, bikes 01:13 and boats. They've completed over 1000 races and are as 01:18 devoted to each other as ever continuing to inspire millions 01:23 of people around the world with their trademark motto, Yes you 01:29 can. This is one of the greatest love stories of all time. 01:34 A father who climbs mountains, runs marathons, travels to the 01:40 ends of the earth to give his son a better life. A life that 01:45 transcends the limitations of his body. This story shows the 01:50 true perseverance and determination, love conquers all 01:55 ♪ ♪ 02:11 A 3.8 km swim, a 180 km bike ride, 42.2 km run, the Ironman 02:21 is arguably one of the world's most challenging one day 02:24 sporting events. It initially began as a contest in 1978 to 02:29 see which athletes between runners, swimmers or cyclists 02:34 were the most fit. The Iron Man triathlon has developed into a 02:37 worldwide competition of determination and awe inspiring 02:41 human fetes. To say an iron man takes a lot of energy is an 02:47 understatement. The average iron man athlete burns around 02:51 7000 to 10,000 calories during those grueling 226 km., four to 02:58 five times the average daily intake. To us, it would seem 03:03 barely possible to do one by ourselves. But imagine how 03:08 difficult it would be to push and carry someone else. Well 03:13 that is exactly what Dick Hoyt does. For 226 km he pulls, 03:20 pushes and carries his son Rick who was born with cerebral palsy 03:24 unable to walk or talk. Richard "Rick" Eugene Hoyt, Jr. was born 03:33 January 10, 1962 in Holland, Massachusetts, the first son of 03:38 Dick and Judy Hoyt. Due to an umbilical cord being wrapped 03:43 around his neck, Rick was oxygen deprived at birth and was 03:47 consequently born with cerebral palsy. 03:50 The first time that I saw 03:52 Rick he was in an incubator and he was doing pushups and I said 03:57 wow. Man my son, he's going to be an athlete. He's doing 04:00 pushups already and he's only two days old. Come to find out 04:05 he was having spasm and he ended up having severe brain 04:09 damage. 04:10 Doctors told the devastated parents that their son 04:13 would have minimal quality of life and recommended that he 04:17 should be institutionalized. His parents were told to forget him. 04:22 He's going to be nothing but a vegetable. 04:24 My wife and I, we 04:26 cried and we talked about it and we said No, we're not going to 04:29 put Rick away like the doctor suggested, put him in an 04:34 institution. He's going to be nothing but a vegetable for the 04:35 rest of his life. 04:37 We said we're going to bring him up just like any other child and 04:39 this is what we have done. 04:41 Determined to give him the best life possible regardless of his 04:45 medical diagnosis, Judy and Dick Hoyt, took Rick home. 04:50 Family life at first when we brought Rick home from the 04:53 hospital was very tough because we had all these problems and we 04:57 didn't know exactly what was going to happen with Rick and 05:00 actually my wife, she didn't want to go outside when she 05:03 first came home with Rick because of she thought what was 05:07 going to happen. 05:08 Rick's mother Judy spent hours each day teaching Rick the 05:11 alphabet with letters and posting signs on different 05:15 objects around the house and soon Rick had learned the 05:18 alphabet. We could tell by looking in Rick's eyes that he's 05:23 paying attention and he understood everything that we 05:26 were talking about. So we tried teaching his the alphabet, you 05:30 know, and we tried teaching him the numbers, and we did a lot of 05:35 reading with Rick and we could tell that he understood 05:37 everything we were saying because of the look in his eyes. 05:41 And what we used to do is have him shake his head yes or no 05:44 to all the question that we were asking him. And he was able to 05:48 do that and we were able to communicate. But we have such a 05:51 bond with Rick now that we know what each other is thinking. 05:55 It's unbelievable. 05:57 Growing up with two brothers Rick wasn't offered any special 06:03 treatment. He was included with his brothers and did everything 06:06 they did from building tree houses to sledding in the winter 06:10 and swimming in the summer. When playing baseball Rick was the 06:15 umpire. During hockey, Rick was a goalie. To his brothers he was 06:19 just one of them. 06:21 Rick's two brothers are just unbelievable the way they treat 06:27 Rick and handle Rick. They all loved Rick and they did things 06:30 for him. They built tree house outside and they'd carry him 06:33 up there. You know, they'd bury him in sand when we went to the 06:37 beaches. I mean we used to go do a lot of camping and we'd go 06:41 to camp grounds and they have these big swimming pools there 06:43 and they'd take Rick and they'd throw him in the pool and 06:46 everybody else that's looking and they're freaking out and 06:49 Rick's sinking down. He's looking up at us and he's 06:52 laughing and then they'd jump in and get him up, I would jump in 06:54 and get him. I mean, we were able to, we did everything as a 06:58 family and everything that we could do, we found a way to do 07:01 it with Rick. The boys were just unbelievable 07:05 However, life wasn't easy for Rick or his family. They faced 07:09 constant challenges at every turn with one constant battle 07:13 being the fact that Rick was unable to communicate verbally. 07:17 He'd wave his arms and try to do anything just to get our 07:22 attention, so he could communicate with us. 07:24 Although his family did their best to interpret what Rick was 07:29 communicating they could never be 100 percent sure. However all 07:34 this changed in 1974 when engineering students at Tufts 07:39 University in Medford, Massachusetts developed a 07:42 communication device for Rick that the family would eventually 07:45 dub the Hope Machine. The Hope Machine's probably one of the 07:50 most important devices that Rick ever had because we wanted to 07:53 get him in a public school and Rick couldn't talk. So we went 07:57 and met some engineers from Tufts University, Boston, and we 08:00 talked to them and they built what was called the TIC, Tufts 08:04 Interactive Communicator and Rick's mother named it the Hope 08:08 Machine. And so the engineers were coming to our house and 08:12 everybody's betting what were the first words Rick was ever 08:14 going to say. Well his mom's saying it's going to be Hi mom 08:17 and me the dad, no it's going to be Hi Dad. Well the Boston 08:20 Bruins were going for the Stanley cup and the very first 08:22 words he ever said was Go Bruins So we knew right then and there 08:27 that he understood everything that was going on and he loved 08:30 sports. 08:32 For 12 very long years all that I could do was cry, laugh and 08:36 move my head to answer questions the people asked. When I got my 08:43 first communication device the feeling was joyous. For the first 08:48 time I could tell Dad, Mom and the rest of the world exactly 08:53 how I felt. 08:55 Unable to talk and classified as disabled meant that up until now 09:01 Rick had not been entitled to the same schooling as other 09:04 students. However, Rick's parents, mostly his mother Judy 09:09 fought tirelessly for the passage of a Massachusetts 09:13 education reform law that forced public school districts to 09:18 accommodate individuals with disabilities and educate them 09:22 as they would any other student. 09:24 Mom fought for the rights of me and thousands of others to enter 09:29 public school. She pushed ahead even if it meant calling 09:33 senators from different states to make sure her point was heard 09:38 It was important to Mom that I be fully included. 09:43 The addition of this communication device proved that 09:48 Rick was capable of learning and with this Rick was able to 09:52 attend public schools for the first time. 09:54 I wanted to be treated like any other student as far as school 10:00 work and responsibilities. I also wanted to be treated like 10:05 any other student outside the classroom. You might be 10:09 wondering whether or not people stared at me or made fun of me. 10:14 The answer to that question is yes but in hoping they were 10:21 staring at me because of my stunning good looks. 10:24 Rick not only attended middle school but went on to graduate 10:29 from Westfield High School in 1984. 10:32 _ just unbelievable because that was our main goal 10:36 for Rick to be able to live a life like everybody else and one 10:40 of the most important things was for Rick to be able to go to 10:43 school and we were able to get Rick into school and then see 10:47 him to go to high school was unbelievable. 10:49 However someone who always pushed the limits, Rick didn't 10:54 stop there. He applied and was accepted to Boston University 10:58 where he studied special education. In 1993 at the age of 11:03 31 Rick became the first non speaking quadriplegic to ever 11:08 graduate from the School of Education at Boston University. 11:11 Rick later worked at Boston College in a computer lab 11:15 helping to develop systems to aid in communication and other 11:19 tasks for people with disabilities. Rick not only 11:23 broke down academic barriers but smashed athletic barriers as 11:29 well. In 1977 at age 15 Rick used his Hope Machine to ask his 11:35 father if they could run together in a five-mile road 11:38 race to support a La Crosse player from his school who had 11:42 recently been paralyzed. 11:43 I wanted to show this person that life goes on and he could 11:48 still live a productive life. That is why I turned to my dad 11:54 and said, Dad, we have to run in this race. 11:57 Well at the time I was 40 years old. I was not a runner. I used 12:02 to run maybe three times a week a mile each time to keep my 12:05 weight down. And all we had was a Mulhowel wheelchair which was 12:09 form fitted, prescription made for Rick's body. And we had a 12:13 hard time pushing him in it, never mind running with it. But 12:16 we went down to the race. It was a five-mile race. They gave Rick 12:19 and I the number double zero and the gun went off and Rick and I 12:22 took off with all the other runners. Well we thought that we 12:25 would go to the corner and turn around and come back. Well we 12:29 didn't. We finished the whole five miles coming in next to 12:32 last but not last. We have a picture of Rick coming across 12:36 the finish line and he's got the biggest smile you ever saw in 12:39 your life. When we got home that night, Rick wrote on his 12:43 computer, Dad when I'm running feels like my disability 12:47 disappears which was a very powerful message for me. You 12:50 think about it. Somebody's in a wheelchair, can't talk, use 12:53 their arms, their legs and now they're out there running, their 12:57 disability disappears. He called himself Free Bird because now 13:00 he was free and able to be out there competing and running with 13:03 everybody else. 13:05 Team Hoyt knew they just had to keep running. So they had a 13:10 special racing wheelchair made for Rick, a streamlined 13:13 three wheeler that 13:15 wouldn't keep veering off course Team Hoyt steadily began doing 13:19 longer and bigger races and eventually set their sights on 13:24 the Boston Marathon. Race organizers turned them down at 13:28 first, but finally relented although the Hoyts got no 13:32 special treatment. They would only be allowed to compete if 13:38 they qualified in Rick's age group. This was quite a 13:41 challenge as Rick was in his 20s while Dick, the one who was 13:45 doing the running, was in his 40s. Yet with determination and 13:50 perseverance they qualified and so began a father/son legacy. 13:56 The Boston Marathon became an annual event for them. Their 14:00 personal record for the Boston Marathon is 30 minutes shy of 14:05 the world record, a record set by a person running alone. 14:09 The message I am trying to tell everyone is that disabled people 14:15 are people too, and just love the opportunity to be included 14:21 in everyday life. 14:22 We've had more people that come up to us and they say we want to 14:27 thank you because we saw you out there competing and we were on 14:30 the sidelines and they said, If you can do it, we can do it. 14:34 Just as all people, people with disabilities and people that are 14:38 that don't have any disabilities 14:42 A few tears after their first Boston Marathon, someone 14:45 suggested why 14:46 not compete in triathlons and Iron Man. Now a triathlon 14:52 contains three elements, swim, ride, and run. For Dick who 14:56 who hadn't ridden a bike since he was six and who couldn't swim 14:59 one would think he was up against an insurmountable 15:04 challenge. But Dick attacked the idea with a fury that could only 15:09 be fueled by love, love for his son who couldn't be happier 15:13 competing. 15:14 Let me put it into perspective for you. The average triathlete 15:20 probably weighs about 150 pounds and their bike weighs about 17 15:27 pounds. This is a total of 167 pounds. Dad weighs about 180 15:36 pounds and our bike weighs about 70 pounds because it needs to be 15:42 heavier and stronger to hold both me and my seat. Dad isn't 15:46 very pleased about this but I now weight about 100 pounds 15:50 thanks in part to a regular diet of ice cream and chocolate cake. 15:56 This totals 350 pounds or almost 200 pounds more than the average 16:03 triathlete with his bike. The same math could be used to 16:08 figure out who heavy a load dad has to pull in the swim portion 16:13 as well. 16:15 From there it was on to the most challenging of all 16:17 sporting events. The Iron Man Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii. 16:25 This grueling event is comprised of a 3.8 km swim, a 180 km ride 16:33 and a 42.2 km marathon run. In January 1988 after a year of 16:41 racing that included one Iron Man, a half Iron Man, three 16:45 Olympic distance triathlons, five marathons, three half 16:50 marathons and 15 short road races, Dick wrote to the Hawaii 16:55 Iron Man officials to ask permission to compete in the 17:00 1988 event. However, concerned that the swim portion would be 17:02 too dangerous to compete in their application was rejected. 17:07 However, Dick was undeterred and he'd been rejected before. Dick 17:11 took it in his stride to make it happen. He immediately replied 17:17 detailing exactly how they would be able to complete the swim and 17:21 emphasizing that they had swum triathlon distances before in 17:25 all kinds of waters. But the answer was the same. The 17:30 Hawaiian Iron Man officials regretted but they couldn't 17:33 allow Team Hoyt to compete for safety reasons. However through 17:40 incredible perseverance Team Hoyt was invited to officially 17:42 invited to participate in the Iron Man World Championship, an 17:47 event which is really the ultimate test of strength and 17:52 endurance. In 1989, Rick became the first disabled person in the 17:58 world to ever compete in and complete the Iron Man in Hawaii 18:04 due in part to Team Hoyt's dedication and efforts Iron Man 18:08 now has a visiting challenge division. Nearly 24 years later 18:13 Rick became the first disabled person to be inducted into the 18:18 Iron Man Hall of Fame. 18:20 I was inducted as the 26th member and Dad, just behind me 18:27 the 27th, because as you know I always finish just ahead of Dad 18:33 first. This made me feel very happy being a part of such an 18:40 iconic accomplishment with my father. I was able to show the 18:46 world that my body does not define my spirit. Through this 18:52 experience of this athletic achievement my father and I have 18:56 a greater love for one another because we shared the same 19:01 dedication at this event. 19:02 Team Hoyt has competed in more than 1100 athletic events in the 19:09 last 35 years. They've run the Boston Marathon 32 times plus 19:15 39 other marathons and 252 triathlons including six Iron 19:19 Man distance events. They've run across the United States of 19:23 America, through 18 states, from Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles 19:28 to Marriot Long Warf in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. The whole 19:34 thing distancing 6011 km and lasting 47 consecutive days 19:41 averaging 127 km a day. In 2005, the Hoyts used their popularity 19:49 and fame to create a foundation, the Hoyt Foundation, to help 19:54 others with disability take part in athletic pursuits, promote 19:58 and foster inclusion in everyday life and raise 20:03 disability awareness. Their motto is "Yes You Can" to 20:07 promote the message that you can do anything you set your mine to 20:11 for individuals with or without disability. For the Hoyts, after 20:16 decades of being told, No you can't, they proclaim a 20:20 different message for others to hear. 20:23 To me finishing is so important. It is a representation of my 20:29 life. Mom and Dad could have quite when I was born, but they 20:35 did not. They could have given up trying to help me learn to 20:38 communicate or trying to get me into public school. They chose 20:43 to continue and because of that I have had one heck of a ride. 20:48 So many people race now because of me and my Dad. I love to 20:56 inspire everyone to be able to run or have someone push them 21:01 if they are unable to run themselves. 21:04 Today Rick is 53 years old. You know what they say, he's going 21:08 be nothing but a vegetable and we still can't figure out how a 21:12 vegetable is, but he's graduated from high school, graduated from 21:15 Boston University. He lives all by himself in his own apartment 21:18 and Rick and I competed around the world over 1100 athletic 21:23 events. And he's making himself well known throughout the world 21:28 and now we got a team Hoyt _. We got a team Hoyt 21:31 New England. We got a team Hoyt San Diego. We got team Hoyt 21:35 Arizona. We got a team Hoyt Canada and they actually want us 21:38 to start one over in Japan. So you can see that this person 21:41 they wanted to put away and see what he's doing to everybody all 21:46 over the world. 21:48 This father/son team have proved to everyone that anything 21:52 can be achieved with enough persistence, dedication and 21:56 ultimately the bottomless depths of love that can only be found 22:01 in the unique bond between the father and his son. 22:04 I have said this so many times, Dad is my hands and my feet. 22:10 He is the wind beneath my wings. There are many things I'd like 22:15 to do for my dad. I wish I could sit him down in a wheelchair and 22:20 I would push him, but obviously because of my ability, I 22:27 cannot. I have quite a list of things I would do with Dad. 22:33 Pull, pedal and push him in a triathlon. I would carry him on 22:39 my shoulders up a mountain. I would do anything for my Dad. 22:47 Dick, at age 75, still pushes his son in a wheelchair in races 22:53 across the country. Why? Because his son, who was diagnosed with 22:59 cerebral palsy at birth forgets his disability and never feels 23:05 better than he does during those races. And so Dick keeps going 23:09 despite warning from his doctors despite stents in his arteries, 23:14 despite surviving a heart attack This is what unconditional love 23:21 looks like. 23:22 ♪ ♪ 24:07 Fully devoted, 100 percent committed, unconditional love. 24:13 Wouldn't you like that kind of love and devotion to help you 24:18 through life's tough times. Well you can. Just ask for it and 24:24 begin to experience it right now as we pray. 24:28 Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for your unconditional love and 24:33 commitment to us. Thank you for being here in our time of need. 24:37 Thank you for your willingness to help us and carry us when we 24:41 feel unable to continue alone. We thank you that you are a God 24:46 of love who is completely devoted to us. 24:49 In Jesus' name, Amen. 24:55 ♪ ♪ 25:09 Stories don't come much more inspirational than this one 25:12 about Dick and Rick Hoyt. It's the story of a father, Dick Hoyt 25:17 who pushes his son Rick in a wheelchair in marathons and 25:22 triathlons across the country. In fact, in over 1100 grueling 25:28 events. Why because his son born with cerebral palsy and unable 25:34 to walk or talk forgets his disability and never feels 25:39 better than he does during those races. In fact, I've been so 25:45 inspired by Team Hoyt that I want to share their story and 25:49 inspiration wherever I can. So we have a special gift for all 25:54 our viewers today. It's the booklet The One and Only. This 25:59 book is our gift to you and is absolutely free. There are no 26:04 costs or obligations whatsoever. This book has inspired people 26:09 around the world and here's your opportunity to receive it free 26:14 of charge. Here's the information you need: 26:17 Phone or text us at 0436333555 or visit our website www.tij.tv 26:31 to request today's free offer and we'll send it to you totally 26:36 free of charge and with no obligation. So don't delay. Call 26:40 or text 0436333555 in Australia or 0204222042 in 26:51 New Zealand or visit our website www.tij.tv to request today's 27:00 offer. Write to us at: 27:20 Don't delay. Call or text us now If you've enjoyed today's 27:27 journey be sure to join us again next week when we will share 27:31 another of life's journey together and experience another 27:34 new and thought provoking perspective on the peace, 27:39 insight, understanding and hope that only the Bible can give us. 27:43 The Incredible Journey truly is television that changes lives. 27:49 Until next week remember the ultimate destination of life's 27:53 journey. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth. And God will 27:59 wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more 28:02 death nor sorrow nor crying. There shall be no more pain for 28:06 the former things have passed away. 28:11 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2020-11-05