— Blog

Round-Up Wednesday (July 29, 2015)

I love this quote from Walt Disney that says, “There were so many things that inspired me this week. I felt like this week that no matter where I look, I saw proof of ordinary people doing the incredible. In a world where so much of it’s focused on the bad—shootings, ISIS, racism—it’s nice to have these moments to remind us to dream more and to be better.

IRON COWBOY

Image from toughasia.com

Have you heard of James Lawrence, AKA the Iron Cowboy? If not, his story will inspire you to push your body and your mind beyond what you think is humanly possible. James Lawrence just competed the 50-50-50 challenge. 50 full Ironmans Triatholons in 50 states in 50 days! That translates into 120 miles of swimming, 5,600 miles of biking and 1,300 miles running. Impressed yet? You should be. That feat is a world Ironman record!

I did my first sprint triathlon the other day and thought that was hard enough—though I loved the rush I got from completing it and can’t wait to do my next one.

Why did he do it? He wanted to inspire children and adults to be more active and challenge themselves while raising money for the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation to help fight obesity. While I will never do a full Ironman, James’ journey has inspired me to be more active and to figure out the amazing things my body CAN do. Because I know that my body can do some amazing things!

You can watch his interview with FoxNews HERE.

ZION HARVEY AND DOUBLE-HAND TRANSPLANT

Image Matt Rourke/AP

Science blows me away sometime. Our great-grandparents could have never dreamed a time would come when limbs could be reattached—they were just worried about surviving childhood illness.

This week, 8-year-old Zion Harvey was introduced as the youngest double-hand transplant! A team of 40 doctors, nurse and surgeons spent 10 hours reconnecting blood vessels, muscles,nerves, tendons, and skin. Talk about the truly impossible. Just think of the hope it will give to all of us! That we can be fixed when we’re broken. Before his surgery, Zion uttered words wise beyond his years, “When I get those hands, I would be proud of what hands I get.” I’m pretty sure he’s going to make good on that.

BOOKS AND THE GOODNESS OF STRANGERS As an avid reader, this story tugged at my heart string. Recently 12-year-old Mathew Flores asked mailman Ron Lynch if he had any extra junkmail. When Lynch asked why, he was told that Mathew loved to read but couldn’t afford the bus fare to the library and so junkmail was all he had left to read. Lynch reached out to his Facebook friends asking for extra books and expected to get 50 or 60. The goodness of strangers had other ideas. His post went viral and Mathew has received hundreds of books from all over the world with more on it’s way.