Little Superhero Girl

“Triathlon for Tetra” charity challenge (read about it here) came about because I wanted to say thank you to all those who have helped me along in my athletic pursuits. This is my way of paying it forward. And what better way then to be able to do something I love (triathlons) and help others at the same time!

The Tetraplegia Workgroup (TW) became my charity of choice naturally, because the tetraplegics (”tetras” for short) are a living inspiration. Their spirit, tenacity and will to live despite the odds motivate me to live mine with the same amount of zest.

Formed in 1999, TW had a good head start when adventurer Khoo Swee Chiow’s fund-raising effort in 2001 (read about it here) directed about $20,000 to the TW fund. With that money, TW was able to organise outings for the tetras and subsidise their transport costs, among other things.

Apart from the obvious disability and medical needs, the biggest problem tetras face is one of isolation. Most of them remain “trapped” within their own house because of high transport costs, and their dependence on a caregiver 24/7. Depending on the severity of spinal cord injury, some tetras cannot take normal cabs as they need to be moved together with their wheelchair in its entirety. At present, only London cabs, ambulances and handicap vans can accommodate such a move. And it comes at a cost! A round trip in a London cab can cost anywhere between $60-$90!

For the lucky few who stay near a disabled-friendly MRT or along a route where disabled-friendly buses ply, public transportation can sometimes be an option. But not every MRT is equipped with disabled-friendly facilities.

This is where TW comes in. TW helps to offset part of the burden of the high transportation costs so that the tetras can go for their doctor’s visits and therapy sessions, which are essential to their recovery and rehabilitation.

In addition, TW also helps to provide peer support through organised activities/outings and shared resources. Some of the older tetras act as peer support to help the younger and newly injured tetras along, by sharing their mouth painting experiences, transport woes and solutions, and daily struggles. This is especially beneficial for those tetras who are too afraid to venture outside.

And for those tetras clinging onto the hope for a stem cell cure, these activities and outings help them pass their time more meaningfully while they “wait” for a cure.

TW depends solely on the generosity of donors to fund these outings. Each outing costs between $2000-$3000, and the bulk of the money goes to covering transport costs! There are about 20-30 tetras at each outing. And given that each tetra needs between $60-$90 for cab fare, it can add up to quite a bit!

In the past years, about 1-3 outings were organised each year depending on the funds available. With a drought of funds last year, only one outing to Changi Airport Terminal 3 was organised. And, with some help from the Khoo Foundation, they managed to stay out of the red.

The “Triathlon for Tetra” charity challenge couldn’t have happened at a better time. Since the last outing organised in February 2009, TW is now in the red again, and needs the funds more than ever.

Support the “Triathlon for Tetra” cause! Drop me an email at kianyan@gmail.com with the title “Triathlon for Tetra” to let me know the amount per kilometer that you wish to donate. It will be a total of 113.1km of swim, bike and run. Read more about it here.

All donations are tax-deductible and cheques are to be issued to the “TTSH Community Charity Fund” under Tetraplegia Workgroup. A receipt will be issue if required.

Remember… no amount is too small!

Charity Charity, Tetra, Triathlon

Remember the story of the hare and the tortoise? The moral of that story being “the slow and steady wins the race”.

Well, I sure hope that will hold true for me at the Aviva Ironman 70.3 race next Sunday!

Judging from my performance at this morning’s sea swim… I really need to keep my fingers crossed for the waters to be nice and calm on race day.

Swimming is not my forte. And, not my favourite either. (Read previous post.) I’ve told the coach before: I am not aiming to be very fast in the water… I just want to finish the 1.9km swim comfortably, and within the cut-off time.

Yes, there is a time limit for each leg of the race:

Swim – 1.9kms - Cut off is 1:10 after your wave start in the swim.
Bike – 90.1kms - Cut off is 5:30 after your original wave start.
Run – 21.1kms - Cut off at the finish is 8:30 after your original wave start.

*This is to ensure that it adheres to the same time limits held by the Ford Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Florida USA.

This morning, we were supposed to swim 2km within 1hr. The timing was for practical reasons as we only had the safety boat for a limited time!

Each loop, marked by red buoys in the water, was estimated to be about 430m. We had to swim four loops… plus an on-shore turn-around after two loops… which brings the total to roughly 1.8km (methinks). And my time: 57 mins.

That will only give me a 13-min buffer to finish the remaining 100m… which is sufficient, if the water conditions are as calm as it was today!

The swim leg is my biggest hurdle. In order to finish the rest of the race (ALL 113.1km of it), I need to clear the swim segment within the qualifying time. Remember, the more distance I cover, the more money I will raise for the Tetraplegia Workgroup.

If you wish to donate to my cause, it’s not too late! Do drop me an email at kianyan@gmail.com with the title “Triathlon for Tetra” to let me know the amount per kilometer that you wish to contribute. It will be a total of 113.1km of swim, bike and run.

No amount is too small : )

Wish me luck!

Charity, Race, Training Charity, Swimming, Tetra, Training

First published April 30, 2001 in the now-defunct Project Eyeball.  (Photos & text by Law Kian Yan)

 

Lending tetraplegics a helping hand

Charity drive aims to raise $200,000 for those disabled by spinal injuries

 

Eighteen years ago, his doctor gave him five years to live.

Today, Gilbert Tan is a living inspiration to fellow tetraplegics.

 

“I thought I was going to die,” said Tan, now 39.  ”But now, my doctor is dead.  And I’m still alive.”

 

Tan became a tetraplegic in 1983 following a jump into a swimming pool that fractured his neck.

Tetraplegics - also known as quadriplegics - are people weak in, or unable to move, all four limbs, as a result of spinal cord injuries. This leads to a loss of sensation and movement in the arms, legs and trunk, as well as the loss of bladder and bowel functions. But the functional abilities of tetraplegics vary according to the degree of cervival (neck) spinal cord injuries.

 

 

 

 

After his accident in 1983, Tan did not give up.  He struggled to overcome his disability and adapt new life skills.

Today, thanks to his hard work and patience, Tan is an established mouth painter and an associate member of the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists. In addition, he has cut four music albums.

So what’s the secret?

Tan attributed it to his resolute will.

“I guess stubbornness also helped,” he laughed.

Add to that a generous dose of optimism.

But not every tetraplegic is as fortunate as Tan.

Without proper care, tetraplegics can succumb to urinary tract infections, pressure sores and organ failures. They are also susceptible to falls and fractures. Many lapse into depression and lose the will to live.

It is with this realisation that Dr Wee Teck Young, together with a group of other doctors and volunteers, set up the Tetraplegia Workgroup in 1999 to meet their medical, social, emotional, intellectual and physical needs.

Through peer support and by helping them to link up with the existing services available, the group aims to help tetraplegics re-integrate into society.

 

 

 

The charity drive, which goes on until May 6, aims to raise $200,000 to subsidise - among other things - transport and medical expenses for the tetraplegics. The drive has so far collected $80,000 and donations are accepted at the Marine Parade Community Development Council.

Inspired by the tetraplegics’ survival instincts, Singapore’s ace adventurer Khoo Swee Chiow had named the Tetraplegia Workgroup as one of the beneficiaries of his Extreme North Charity Mission. Although his recent North Pole expedition had to be called off, the charity drive - which started in March - is still on.

“My wanting to help these people hasn’t changed just because I aborted my North Pole expedition,” said Khoo.

“Their needs haven’t changed.  They still need our help.”

During the North Pole expedition, Khoo himself suffered from frostbite-related injuries and blurred vision.  He also risked losing parts of his fingers.  Yet, he feels his suffering is nothing compared to that of the tetraplegics.

 

“What I went through was very small compared to what they go through every day.  Mine is just an expedition.  It was 60 days, and it’s over.  For them, they have to face it day in, day out.  They are living it.”

 

The charity drive, which goes on until May 6, aims to raise $200,000 to subsidise - among other things - transport and medical expenses for the tetraplegics.

Charity Charity, Photo, Tetra

 

 

“Tetraplegics are a very forgotten bunch of people.”

This is what I remembered most vividly from the conversation I had with Dr Wee Teck Young some 8 years ago.

And it was this very reason that he started the Tetraplegia Workgroup in 1999 as a non-profit voluntary group of doctors, nurses and helpers in 1999, under the umbrella of Friends of Tan Tock Seng Hospital (Singapore). This was to help meet the medical, social, vocational and physical needs of tetraplegics as most of these persons are home-bound.

Tetraplegics (also commonly known as quadriplegics) are a very special group of handicapped people. They are paralysed/weak in ALL four limbs as a result of spinal cord injury, and are dependent on a care-giver almost 24/7. Going out was a logistical nightmare because of their immobility, and as such, they are kept very much away from the public’s eye. It was also very costly to go out - a visit to the doctor, for example, will cost them $50 to book a taxi for a round trip!

Paraplegics, on the other hand, are paralysed in two limbs but are more mobile as they can still steer a wheelchair independently.

And as the saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind”. So, needless to say, there is very little public awareness of the tetraplegics’ existence… and their needs.

At that time of the conversation with Dr Wee, I was working as a photojournalist with SPH. And I volunteered to do a photo-essay on the life of the tetraplegics to create greater public awareness. In my spare time, I visited and befriended a few tetraplegics with Dr Wee and was privileged enough to have a glimpse into their life - to see the challenges & struggles they face each day, their dogged determination to survive and their humour to help carry them through. Read about their story above.

Charity Charity, Tetra

 

I do not consider myself a particularly “charitable” kind of person. Even though I would be willing to help out in any way I can, when the opportunity arises.

I believe that different people contribute in different ways - some give effort, some give time, some give money. And each part is equally important as they come together to make up a greater whole of “doing good”.

This year, I decided that there was something that I can do. To take something I like to do… give myself a challenge… and raise some money for charity in the process. To “give back” to the less fortunate all the kindness I have received from both friends and strangers alike. That this can be my way of paying it forward.

The Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore triathlon race is the chosen challenge for my mini charity fund-raiser!

Why? Because this will be the longest triathlon distance I’ll be attempting so far. And thus, would be appropriate to be called a “challenge”.

I started doing triathlons in 2007, starting with the sprint distance (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run) and progressing to the olympic distance (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run) in 2008.

The Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore race is a half-ironman triathlon distance of a 1.9km/1.2 mile swim, a 90.1km/56 mile bike and a 21.1km/13.1 mile run… adding up to a total of 70.3 miles of racing distance, which explains the name “Ironman 70.3″.

Through this triathlon race, I hope to raise some money for the Tetraplegia Workgroup (more about it in another post!).

If you would like to support my cause, you can choose to donate $xx for every kilometer that I will complete in the Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore race. It will be a total of 113.1km of swim, bike and run.

Any amount is welcomed!

All donations are tax-deductible. A receipt will be issued if required.

Do drop me an email at kianyan@gmail.com with the title “Triathlon for Tetra” to let me know the amount/km that you wish to contribute.

Remember… no amount is too small!

Charity, Race Charity, Tetra, Triathlon

As much as I am grateful for all the help I get on the rides, I often feel embarrassed that they sometimes have to interrupt their own ride in order to do so.

There is no such thing as an easy ride. And for the formula (of improvement) to work, the rest of the equation needs to be filled by one’s own determination, effort and hardwork. There is only so much that other people can help me with.

And on those days when I find it hard to shrug off the sluggishness to drag myself out of the house for a workout… I feel extremely guilty.

Guilty.

Because there are people making the effort to help me… and just what am I making out of it???

Because I am able-bodied and in relatively good health, with no major ailments other than the possession of a rather ill-disciplined mind… and have no excuses for being lazy.

I am reminded that there are others who are far worse-off than me… people who were handed out the shorter end of the stick. Like the tetraplegics… who are so alive, yet sadly trapped in a body that can’t do much.

I have options.  I HAVE A CHOICE.  But sometimes, my will is weak.

They, on the other hand, do not have many options. And most times, they do not have a choice.  Yet, their will to live is strong.

They are a living inspiration.  Making my paltry and miserable excuses seem suddenly so insignificant.

In that moment, I made a decision to dedicate the 2009 Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore race to the Tetraplegia Workgroup. They will be my motivation to get out there to train.

Better still, I can use this race to help raise money for them. And for all those people who have helped me, and are still helping me, along the way… This will be my way of PAYING IT FORWARD.

Charity, Thoughts, Training Charity, Cycling, Me, Tetra, Training, Triathlon