The Healing Power of Cycling
My brother suffers from multiple brain injuries and was never expected to run or ride a bike.
Owen was stricken with an illness when he was only four years old that caused his bowels to twist and lose function. In a complicated turn of events, his body went into shock, he arrested, and almost died. After the surgeon refused to resuscitate him, my Dad did CPR to save his life. He woke up a different person; a “vegetable” to use the doctor’s terms. Over the next few months, Owen took every opportunity to amaze everyone by slowly learning to breathe without a tube, smile, and speak. Over the years he shocked everyone by getting out of his wheelchair and starting to walk, with leg braces. It would be many years before he could learn to read and write. One thing that even the most hopeful of us never expected Owen to do was run or ride a bike.
Biking came before running for Owen. He was the only 12-year-old I knew still riding with training wheels but for him it was a miracle. The task was maybe even harder for my mom, who had to watch him crash several times and risk re-injuring his brain. It was all worth it for Owen, who never considered the risks but only wanted to go fast, be normal, and prove his haters wrong.
Next came running, which was really a sight for sore eyes. He loved to “run” which, in its early stages, resembled a wobbly camel crossed with Phoebe from Friends (if you’ve seen that episode, you have a great visual). It was frightening to watch, because while he was great at accelerating he had no brakes whatsoever. The only way to stop was to crash, and I’m not making this up. Owen didn’t care what other people thought of his running, he just kept his head up and continued to practice. By his freshman year of high school, he was trying out for the track team. His running still needed practice but by senior year he was a valuable member of the cross country team and able to beat me by a long shot.
Where Owen’s proudest accomplishments came were with cycling. My Dad has been an avid cyclist for years and encouraged my brother to start. Owen still has sub-par balance and can’t ride a normal bike but he rides a three wheel bike. He began training for The Children’s Hospital Courage Classic three years ago. Each year he put in hours of practice over hundreds of miles, only to be hospitalized the week of the race for complications with his condition. This year, Owen trained as usual and never got sick. He successfully completed the 200 mile race with a smile on his face. Owen is a person that never takes “no” for an answer and will be the first person to say “If I can cycle, you can too.”
