Two
great stories in the Olympics highlighted the benefit brought to the athletes
by siblings......... one Down's Syndrome and the other with cerebral
palsy...... especially in a society where pre natal testing suggest abortion
for such children.
If you have faithfully tuned into NBC’s primetime
broadcasts, you may have noticed featured bios about two athletes who have been
positively influenced by their handicapped siblings.
Freestyle moguls’ skier Alexandre Bilodeau became the first
Canadian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal on Canada’s home soil. And
Bilodeau dedicated his Olympic medal to the person he publicly refers to as his
hero and inspiration – his brother Frédéric. Frédéric has cerebral palsy, and
his speech and muscle control are affected by the disease, along with his
ability to walk.
The other athlete, snowboarder Kevin Pearce was not even a member of this
year’s U.S. Olympic team. He was a favorite to make the team, but in November
of 2009 he suffered a traumatic brain injury during practice. NBC’s coverage
documented Kevin’s injury and ongoing recovery, and included interviews with
his family, including Kevin’s brother David, who has Down Syndrome.
Kevin’s mother, Pia, talked positively about how the gift of David in their
lives has equipped them to deal with Kevin’s slow recovery. In closing, NBC’s
Tom Brokaw, who conducted the interview, remarked that while it may appear that
parents of special needs children do all the work, the child gives back so much
more.
