Darcy

I have missed a few days and also been quiet on comments. Not functioning well at the moment so I may not be around much for a while. I will still be dropping in on everyone's journal each day but not sure I will be able to blip or have time to comment much. My apologies in advance.

I love being a coach. The rewards far outweigh the time & effort, study, responsibilities, workload, demands and stress. It is working with and helping young people like Darcy that makes it all worth while.
Darcy is part of the SA Para Cycling development squad. Tonight was his first time racing on the track. Darcy suffers from cerebral palsy (CP) which is an umbrella term denoting a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement. Scientific consensus says that CP is neither genetic nor a 'condition', and it is also understood that the vast majority of cases are congenital, coming at or about the time of birth, and/or are diagnosed at a very young age.
Cerebral palsy is caused by damage to the motor control centres of the developing brain and can occur during pregnancy, during childbirth or after birth up to about age three. This causes limits in movement and posture. These limitations in activity and are often accompanied by disturbances of sensation, depth perception, and other sight-based perceptual problems, the ability to communicate is also impaired. Impairments can also be found in cognition, and epilepsy is found in about one-third of cases. CP, no matter what the type, is often accompanied by secondary musculoskeletal problems that arise as a result of the underlying disorder. CP has no known cure.

Darcy needs assistance to get on and of the bike and after a race, the effort he puts in requires some assistance to walk. 3 months ago he could not ride more than 3 metres without someone holding the bike and walking with him. It was many weeks before he could ride a lap of the 250 metre track. He had many falls, often dozens within a single session. Now he is racing and competing on the very demanding high banked indoor velodrome. For the non cyclists out there and as an example of how far this young man has developed; it is necessary to ride at 30km per hour on the 43º banking to prevent sliding down on the bare wood collecting splinters in your friction burns. Darcy is also competing in road racing and has already claimed a State Road Time Trail Gold Medal for Para C5.
He has his sights and ambitions set on making it to the Paralympics. I think he can, but it will require some luck and also a great deal of hard work. He has made an excellent start.