Using his Words+ communication system outfitted with a Micro CommPac voice synthesizer, Rick painted a vivid picture for Rosie and the audience of the challenges he’s faced and the support and love he’s received from his family.

As a baby, Rick was diagnosed as a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. Doctors recommended institutionalizing him, but Rick’s parents wanted their son to remain at home with them, leading a normal life. To help Rick communicate, they acquired a computer.

"He had all these things inside of him, but he had no way of getting them out to tell us about it," said Dick.

The computer opened up a whole new world for Rick. His first words were "Go Bruins." The Boston Bruins were competing in the Stanley Cup that year.

Rick’s interest in racing began when he was just 13 years old. He was attending a basketball game, where he heard about a charity race for a paralyzed athlete. Dick agreed to partner with his young son and run in the five-mile race. Much to the surprise of spectators, Dick pushed Rick in his wheelchair the entire five miles.

Father and son, (left) Dick Hoyt and (right) Rick Hoyt, as Rick tells his dad "I love you" with the use of his Freedom 2000 which was donated by Words+ and Panasonic at the end of the show.

When they arrived home after the race, Rick wrote on his computer: "Dad, when I’m running, it feels like I’m not even handicapped." Eight hundred races later, neither father nor son has looked back.

In 1999 Rick and Dick completed one of the most grueling tests of endurance in the world of sports—the Ironman Triathlon. In 1999 they returned to Hawaii to compete again. Along with 1,500 athletes, Rick and his father set out to complete the 2.4-mile swim, the 112-mile bike ride, and the 26.2-mile run.

The first leg of the competition went without a hitch as Dick swam the course, towing Rick behind him in a raft. Fifty miles into the bike race, however, island tradewinds hampered their efforts, and their 15-year-old bicycle broke down. Rick was determined to finish the race. After a costly delay, the two athletes arrived at the bike-to-run transition 90 minutes past the cut-off time. Dick buckled Rick in the bicycle seat and they were off again. Undeterred by exhaustion and the torturous up-hill course, father and son pressed on and crossed over the final finish line 45 minutes under the 17-hour limit.

"He really wants to win," said Dick of his son. "He’s a fighter and he’s never going to give up."

Rick’s father acknowledged that there’s a special bond between the two of them, and it’s only getting stronger. "There isn’t anything in the world we can’t do together."

Team Hoyt takes their motivational message around the world at speaking engagements to corporate meetings, workshops and seminars. To contact the Hoyts, write: Team Hoyt, 241 Mashapaug Road, Holland, MA 01521, fax (413) 245-9554. Their e-mail addres is teamhoyt@samnet.net, and their Website is located at: www.teamhoyt.com

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