| Welcome to Team Cody 2008 ~ Our 5th Anniversary! We are setting out to raise funds for Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children (TSRHC) by running in the Dallas White Rock Marathon.
Over the past four years we have supported TSRHC by raising over $80,300! That is amazing!!! This year we have over 35 family and friends running with Team Cody. KPMG has two teams running the relay for our team, Mike's soccer team has approximately ten runners, and then we have our usual family and friends running in various relays, half and full marathons. It should prove to be a very exciting year for us all. To top it off, we have Rudy Garcia-Tolson, two-time Paralympic Gold Medalist in swimming and triathlete running the final leg of one of our Team Cody relays. CODY WILL BE RUNNING THE LAST HALF MILE, (Possibly more) OF THE MARATHON WITH RUDY & AARON GILL!!! We truly appreciate our supporters as we could not do this without all of you!
For those of you that are unfamiliar with our cause, we have set out to assist TSRHC in providing the best services possible for children with orthopedic conditions, as a small way of saying “Thank You” for all they have done to help our son, Cody. Cody is 6 years old, and a double through the knee amputee. He was born with a rare birth defect called Sacral Agenesis that caused his legs to form missing both the tibias and knees. He has been receiving care at TSRHC since he was just two months old. After numerous consultations with Dr. Tony Herring, Cody’s Orthopedic Surgeon and the Chief of Staff at TSRHC, we decided it was in Cody’s best interest to amputate his legs through the knee to give him a chance at mobility. This surgery was completed when Cody was just 15 months old, and he received his first set of prostheses when he was just 17 months old.
Over the past year Cody has continued to challenge himself physically. He wears either his walking prostheses, running legs or stubbies, depending upon the situation and activity. Cody again ran at the University of Central Oklahoma Endeavor Games and won two gold medals in the 60 m and 100 m races. He also ran in a 1 mile fun run this year to support Grapevine High School's dance team, the Fillies, and a two-mile fun run to support his school, GlenHope Elementary. He is currently sponsored by the Challenged Athletes Foundation and AT&T The Real YellowPages for some of his races and training costs. Cody also played on a City of Colleyville Soccer Team ~ The Rockets this past year, but has decided that is not his passion. Cody continues to swim and is now on a competitive swim team ~ Texas RiverSharks. He swam his first races this year at the UCO Endeavor Games and won a gold medal in both the 25 m freestyle and backstroke for his class and age. He will be having more swim meets in the next few months with his swim team. Finally, Cody is playing sled hockey with the Dallas Sled Hawks.
Cody has been very expressive about his dreams of going to the olympics. He would like to compete in the area of running and swimming. He also hopes to one day run the full Dallas White Rock Marathon and to complete a triathlon. With the support of family, friends, TSRHC, Challenged Athletes and other sponsors, we hope to help him make these dreams a reality!
That is where you all come in. Your kindness of a donation will help us to re-pay TSRHC for all they continue to do for Cody. With your help, not only will Cody be able to participate in events that require specialized prostheses, but other children will continue to be able to receive the care they need as well, free of charge. That’s right…TSRHC never charges any patient families for the care their child receives, and has not for over 85 years! All the money they receive to treat children is from donations. As you can see, every little bit counts, so please donate what you can. Without the services of TSRHC, our family would not be able to afford all the wonderful treatment that is provided for Cody ~ especially the numerous sets of prostheses that he continually receives. Please, join us in helping TSRHC. If you would like to join TEAM CODY and run with us, please contact Tina and Mike at mtcazy@verizon.net.
If you would like to learn more about Cody, please visit his website at www.teamcody.com (powered by AT&T YellowPages.com).
Thank you once again for taking the time to read about our mission. Please, consider a donation. |
