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A Celebration of the Beauty of Difference

June 15, 2015

Jun 22, 2015 | Jennifer Gonzalez

Team Achilles CT has a new mascot…an amputee dog named Maggie May!  Maggie, like the
members of Achilles, knows the challenges that come from living with a disability.  Her owner Mary O’Connell, an Achilles CT guide and volunteer, tells Maggie’s incredible story of triumph over adversity!
Maggie was rescued from a kill shelter by an organization called Sunshine Golden Retriever Rescue.  Her leg was broken in six places.  She was taken to a veterinary hospital, where staff there arranged to pay for the amputation of her leg.  While it’s not clear what the cause was, abuse does not seem to be the case.  Maggie has always been, and continues to be, friendly to both people and other animals.
Mary officially adopted her May 24th, 2014 following a stay with a foster owner.  Mary credits Maggie’s foster “mother” Cheryl with further instilling love and care to Maggie.  While Maggie’s true age is not known, Mary has decided to celebrate her birthday on May 24th, and predicts she is 7.
Mary’s love for her dog Maggie is matched by the love Maggie demonstrates toward Mary!  They seem to celebrate each other’s strengths.  Furthermore, Mary doesn’t let Maggie- an admitted “spoiled princess”, fall victim to her limb-limited status.   Instead, Mary shares a brief story:
“….. I bought Maggie a little ramp so she could get on the couch herself instead of expecting me to pick her up all the time.  No matter what I tried, she wouldn’t use it.  Well, finally, I placed a bit of cheese- her favorite- on the couch and walked out the door.  Looking in through the window, I saw that Maggie immediately scampered up the ramp to get her cheese.  Now, she uses the ramp all the time.”  It seems, we all benefit from “tough love” at times!
Maggie May loves squirrels, walks with her owner (on a leash or in her stroller), sitting on the deck watching sea birds, toast, Mary’s neighbor’s bunny Beanie, hanging out on the couch, attending doggie daycare a couple days a week, and people.  And people (me included), love her!
Welcome, Maggie May, to Team Achilles CT.  Thank you, Mary, for sharing her story and her celebration of difference with all of us in Achilles CT.

Mystic Half Marathon

June 8, 2015

Jun 8, 2015

Achilles Connecticut members were out for the Mystic Half Marathon!  Read a report from The ​​
Westerly Sun at this link.
See some incredible race photos as well including one of Achilles CT team members!

Chapter 126 Sports and Fitness

May 19, 2015

May 19, 2015

Read about the incredible Harry Mckinstry!
Meet Harry, Chapter 126’s Member of the Month

Harry is a life long resident of Bristol, CT and has been playing sports since he was born. He grew up playing football, baseball, wrestling, rock climbing, and skiing. He was even the Captain of the 1984 wrestling team at Bristol Central High school. As soon as he graduated high school he signed up for the Navy and spent three years serving in San Diego California.

After finishing his service with the Navy, Harry returned to Bristol, Connecticut and continued his career working as a welder and steelworker. Then on April 11, 1990, when he was just 24 years old, Harry was working with his boss to unload steal beams. The next thing he knew he was hit in the head by a two ton beam and then pinned underneath another one. The rest was history. He spent the next three months on life support in a coma with a severe brain injury. As he started to come out of the coma he learned he wasn’t able to talk or move anything from the neck down. However, he knew he could get better. Harry worked hard and after three years of work at a variety of rehabilitation facilities he was able to finally return home.

After his injury Harry was forced to take a new look at his life. He knew he wanted to be active and play sports but he didn’t know what he would be able to do or how he would be able to do it. A few years later he joined the Connecticut Chargers, an indoor wheelchair soccer team and has been playing with them for the past 14 years. He loved being back on a team, getting to travel and competing against other teams. However he has always been looking to do more. He hated how much time he was spending on the computer or watching TV. Then one day he saw a news report on Chapter 126 and couldn’t believe it was coming to his hometown. He joined Chapter 126 in December and has been working out regularly ever since. Today Harry has regained his speech and significant function throughout his lower and upper body. He even has been able to train and compete in his first competitive road race and took first place in the men’s wheelchair division at the Cheshire 5K.

We are inspired by Harry every time he comes in to Chapter 126 and we asked if he could share a few details about his workout routine:

Q:How do you find/ make time to get your workouts in?
Harry: I just make it a priority. Getting stronger and making moving through daily life easier is my number one goal. Without working out I wouldn’t be able to accomplish my goals. Now its part of my routine: eat, sleep and workout and the I just fit all the rest of the stuff I need to do everyday around that.

Q: What tips would you offer to someone who is just starting to workout?
Harry: I hate to give advice because I don’t think I am doing anything special. I just say to myself, “Just keep going” and that has helped me. I think if everyday if you just keep going, set new goals and keep going you will love how you start to feel and then you will want to “keep going.”

Q: What is your current workout routine like?
Harry: I like to change things up and do a variety of things. I lift weights, work on balance, and do lots of cardio. I also play soccer, train for road races and bowl. My workouts involve lots of hanging out too. I keep it fun that way its not all work.

Q: How has working out at Chapter 126 helped you on your fitness journey?
Harry: Chapter 126 really got me moving again. I would still be sitting in front of the computer if it wasn’t for Chapter 126. They met with me one-on-one and listened to my goals and are really helping me get stronger.

Q: What changes have you noticed since working out at Chapter 126?
Harry: I feel happier and I am stronger. I have lost 20 pounds, made friends and get out of the house a lot more.

Q: What is your favorite thing about Chapter 126?
Harry: I like all the equipment but I really like the staff and members. Everyone is great and really help to keep me motivated. My life has changed a lot in just a few months. They even helped get me connected to the Connecticut Chapter of Achilles and I have been training to run (well, push backwards in my wheelchair) and I completed my first 5k road race. I am now training to do a 1/2 marathon and my ultimate goal is to do a  full marathon by next year.  I just feel so much more connected since joining Chapter 126.

Traumatic brain injury won’t curb Middletown runner’s ambition

April 21, 2015

April 21, 2015  |  By Kathleen Schassler, The Middletown Press

MIDDLETOWN >> Five years and more than 100 road races have gone by since Julie Cesare suffered a traumatic brain injury at work. Once a nurse, Cesare has been unable to work since that time.

After her 48-year-old brother asked her to stop smoking, Cesare listened. That was three years ago while he was being treated for the lung cancer that killed him and also threatened her sister’s life. They all were smokers. It’s why Cesare started running, she said.

She quit smoking cold turkey, trading in Newport 100s for a pair of sneakers. Without ever training a day, Cesare signed up for a local fun run.

“I was not a runner, not an athlete. I was a smoker,” said Cesare, who since has become a member of an unusual running club in the state.

As a member of Run 169 Towns Society, Cesare has joined a network of several hundred runners with a shared goal of running a race in each and every town in the state. So far, Cesare has collected 103 and counting.

“I’m just getting out there to have fun,” said Cesare, who creates and wears one of her signature tutus in every race. “I want to inspire others.”

Cesare enjoys all the positive energy she gets from the running community, and knows that no matter where she runs a race, Run 169 members will be there.

Last year, she ran more than 80 races, and although the majority are 5Ks, a good portion of the others are 10K and half-marathons. She was training for her first half-marathon when her son, Travis Rock, 24, suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident about three years ago.

He has since recovered.

“I ran that year for him,” said Cesare, who already learned that “you come back different,” from a brain injury. “We each struggle from the same issues. I have to learn to accept it to go forward.”

The running goals bring Cesare to towns, “I’d never ordinarily go to,” she said. “In running with these people, you learn everybody has a story, a struggle, a hurdle.”

This year, among many other races, Cesare will run the Cheshire half-marathon on April 26 for Achilles Connecticut.

Achilles International is a not-for-profit organization that partners able-bodied runners with disabled athletes. Rock is also a member and the two often run together.

“Talk about awe inspiring,” said Cesare, of her son who’s teasing “keeps me going.”

The pair ran a 5K to top of Castle Craig in Meriden in January, no easy feat even for the fittest. It’s where they plan to do a majority of training for a June race at Mount Washington, an ultra-steep 7.6-mile race.

Cesare won a lottery spot and plans on “power hiking” it.

“I’ve definitely had my struggles,” said Cesare. “When someone tells me I inspire them, its amazing.”

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