Under normal circumstances, one of my favorite items on my To Do list is working on my blog post with our friend, Todd Civin. Normally when we talk, we sort of wing it. We bring up a topic and write about whatever comes to mind. This week is a bit different under the circumstances we all find ourselves living with. Todd asked me a question earlier in the week that made this blog very personal to me when he asked me how the pandemic impacted myself and all my other disabled peers. This really hit home because I’m going to admit that it has knocked me for a bit of a loop.
I’ve been vigilant enough to remain healthy to this point and am trying to be confident that I’ll remain healthy for the weeks to come. But part of what I thrive on is my ability to be independent and to travel the city on my own. It helps define who I am. To find myself cooped up in my apartment and unable to travel around the city has attempted to strip me of a piece of who I am and that is a terribly scary feeling.
I had been doing little more than taking short walks around my neighborhood and haven’t been on MARTA in almost two months. For those who know me, MARTA is my main means for traversing the city. I began feeling hopeless and isolated and for the first time in my life. I was had an angry feeling like I was trapped in a body that doesn’t work. Normally I may have that feeling on a very occasional basis, but the virus magnifies that feeling even more. I have to assume many of my less able bodied friends may be feeling the same way.
So, I’ve decided to do what KPeasey does best and that is to find the soft spot in every problem. To recreate the wheel and to stay positive and focus on life experiences I have overcome in the past. Like many of you, we have overcome bigger challenges than this and will overcome this as well.
I’m now focusing on the moment and focusing on being hopeful. I encourage everyone able bodied and not to take this time to better ourselves and to continue to make a difference to other people in our lives through social media or by reaching out to people we haven't spoken to in a long time.
Of late, I’ve reached out to a lot of people in the Foundation to remind them that we may not be here for races for the foreseeable future, but we're a FAMILY, and we will do whatever we need to do as a foundation to ensure that our family survives. During this COVID-19, although we are not together physically, we are connected as a family. And at the core, that is what The Kyle Pease Foundation is all about. That we are a FAMILY and that together we wheel and that we will focus on the yeses in our lives. We will focus on every success that we have overcome together, remembering that a family sticks together during the challenges. And I can't wait to see all your faces and race again very soon.
I encourage all of you to think of a moment you may have felt trapped or were feeling down. Think of a moment you have persevered and have overcome things you never dreamed possible. Focus on those moments of resilience and continue to give it your all every day. You never know the positive impact you are going to have on somebody and that impact may have the biggest difference on their lives and on your life as well.
Before leaving you with those thoughts, I want to bring to light the amazing results of our Virtual Boston Pease Party held on Virtual Marathon Monday 4.20. Followers and supporters from around the country dawned their KPeasey blue and participated on behalf of the athletes of the Kyle Pease Foundation. These 210 people represented 19 states and 74 cities. For those who view KPF as a regional foundation representing the Atlanta area, think again….We had participation from Andover to Anaheim and from Fairbanks to Florida….Far reaching and nationwide!! Because Together We Wheel!!