Book Review "It's Only A Mountain" and "Devoted"
I have recently been reading a couple of books "It's Only A Mountain," and "Devoted". They are both true accounts of the late phenomenal running team of Rick and Dick Hoyt. It incorporates the struggles they went through as a family, fighting for awareness for disabilities, as well as their fight for access in the community. They also share their journey as a running team, and becoming triathletes. Rick Hoyt is one of the main characters and it follows his life being born with cerebral palsy and having quadriplegia. From the moment he was born it was clear he was going to have many challenges in life. He faced the challenges with determination and a positive attitude. I read these two different books, because they both have different perspectives. I have found that perspective is important. One was written mainly by Dick Hoyt "Devoted"and offers more of his personal perspective. "Its Only A Mountain" was written by Sam Nall a writer and triathlete. They were both excellent books, but I really enjoyed reading the different perspectives in each and being able to compare them.
Dick Hoyt saw Rick as both his son and the very intelligent person he knew and loved. Though Rick could not use his voice to speak, he knew how to deliver a punch line and laugh. Throughout both books it tells a lot about the Tic Device (Tufts Interactive Communicator) that was invented and allowed Rick Hoyt to communicate, and share his thoughts and prespectives with the world. It is like what we now consider a AAC (Augmentative and alternative communication device) or speech generator. Judy Hoyt is Ricks mother and she fought many battles to get Rick access to the community. Every time they had an obstacle arise she went to work to help Rick be able to use his mind and achieve his goals. She was a strong advocate and I admire that.
One of my favorite parts of the book was when Rick first got to use his speaking device. His first words he spelled out one at a time were -G-O- B-R-U-I-N-S-. With his sense of humor and love of sports he wanted to share "Go Bruins" as that was his favorite sports team, and to show his wonderful sense of humor. His parents fought for years knowing his intelligence, and what he could say and be in the community. He finally could communicate, go to school, and learn in the community after years of fighting for access.
When he was an infant the doctors told him he was a "vegetable" and their was nothing they could do. His parents were advised to put him in an institution and forget about him. They were not going to have any of that. Dick and Judy could see both his intelligence and understanding. They fought for him to be included like any other child. They continued to prove how smart Rick was throughout his life. He not only graduated high school, but after years of hard work and time he was one of the first non-verbal quadriplegics to graduate college. He was able to graduate with a degree in Special Education and help other individuals with disabilities. Using his voice to help others was very important to him, though it looks different when aided with a computer and his TIC device it still has a big impact when he was able to share his perspective and voice.
Throughout the years Rick found a way to participate in sports. Sports were one of his biggest passions, while also bringing awareness to disabilities and inclusion. He and his father became a team in running events, marathons, and triathlons. Just as his way of speaking looked different their way of completing these races also looked different. They used a specialized running chair, specialized bike, and a boat pulled by a harness. They were able to accomplish great races across the World. They were also able to complete several Iornman Hawaii races, as well as traveling for many races and triathlons around the world.
Rick was born in 1962 and the challenges of living with a disability were very monumental. Due to awareness of disabilities that was fought for by individuals like Rick, Dick and Judy Hoyt we have had positive improvements on inclusion and access. Living with a disability may be challenging, but with much hard work you can overcome barriers and achieve greatness. Reading these books has been an inspiration to use my voice more.
I have linked a video of team Hoyt I found below.
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