Months ago, I heard a wonderful story about an Atlanta family with a child who has cerebral palsy. The father, Pascal Gouteix, likes to run triathlons and wanted to take his three-year-old, Julia, with him. They had just moved into a new home, and the equipment was expensive. Their story has not one but two happy endings. Here, Pascal and his wife, Kelly—who blogs at Where There’s A Wheel, There’s A Way—share what happened.
So, I know there’s a special story behind how you first got the equipment—please share!
Pascal: For a while now, I was thinking about doing triathlons with Julia but did not know the right people nor had enough knowledge about what type of equipment to get. I found someone in Colorado with whom I connected. He does triathlons with special needs kids as well. He made some recommendations but this was all rather expensive. My wife is great at listening and remembering what I say. She answered an invitation to submit my story to a radio show named The Bert Show. When she found out we were going to be invited and was asked info about the equipment, she somehow found the contact info for the person in CO to get the info about the equipment. And that is exactly what The Bert Show/Fragile Kids Foundation provided us with. Such a blessing.
Kelly: I’m never the kind of person that randomly calls radio shows, so when I sent the email late on the Tuesday before Father’s Day, I was not expecting to hear from them. You could have knocked me over with a feather when their producer called me the next afternoon. Their host, Bert Weiss, has a nonprofit that takes chronic and terminally ill kids to Disney World every year, and I think this was just another way to show how these families are close to their hearts.
How did you train for the triathlon?
Pascal: While at The Bert Show, a gentleman by the name of Brent Pease was invited to speak to me on the phone. He works for a company that provides equipment to triathletes and is one of them himself. He created a foundation in the name of his brother named Kyle (The Kyle Pease Foundation) that raises awareness of cerebral palsy and helps families like ours to help our members with CP to enjoy life through sport. He provided me with a lot of useful tips on how to train and use the equipment. I live in a neighborhood where there is a large swimming pool. I trained early mornings there, along with a good friend of mine who ended up doing the triathlon with us. For the bike and the run, I would do that in the evenings and weekends at the Silver Comet trail not far from our house.
What was Julia’s reaction to the training?
Pascal: She loved it. We found out that being outside, the wind and sun on her face, calms her down and makes her feel happy. We both laughed a lot.
Kelly: It was so neat to see how much they enjoyed their training together. Julia would immediately start smiling as soon as she was situated, because she knew she was in for some quality outdoor time. Pascal tells me that she giggles a lot when he starts huffing and puffing.
What most surprised you about doing the triathlon with Julia?
Pascal: Not necessarily the event itself. But feeling like I was part of a family. The Kyle Pease foundation is composed of families like ours, with special needs children. The wonderful feeling of being understood and cheered on made all of us feel very good that day.
Kelly: By far, the connections we have made with like-minded families in the Atlanta area has been the best part of all of this. It’s so nice to meet other families living with hope instead of fear, and it has been amazing for us to get to spend lots of time with adults who have CP and are living happy, productive lives.
What were you hoping to achieve in doing the triathlon?
Pascal: Make my daughter happy. Also, show our other two children (Emilie, 11, and Jeremy, 9) that doing a sport activity can only be beneficial, and that we are not the only ones living with someone with needs like Julia. These past years have been difficult especially for them since my wife and I have been so focused on Julia. It was good to see them smile, and engage with the other families, creating ties. This was my first triathlon with Julia of a long list, I hope.
What was the most challenging part of the triathlon?
Kelly: As a mother, I was terrified when he took her out for the swim. I was convinced the boat was going to tip over or something. Kyle Pease told me his mom had an identical reaction the first time he raced with his brother.
Pascal: People were very encouraging, congratulating me for what I was doing. I was particularly touched by a woman who had a beautiful smile and tears while looking at us before we started the swim portion of the event.
Kelly: We had quite a few random strangers take pictures of our family or of Pascal and Julia. There were multiple families from the Kyle Pease Foundation competing that day, and it was fun to see how everyone encouraged each other!
What is your greatest hope for Julia?
Pascal: That someday she can see us, what we look like, our smiles. In addition to CP, she has cortical visual impairment. Mostly I hope that she has a happy and rich life, no matter how physically challenged she may be.
