By María Travaglio
Special to the CS&T
PHILADELPHIA — Linda Rose is a special woman. She’s had some
tough things to overcome in life, and she’s been smart and humble
enough to learn from them.
As a result, Rose does not let petty things worry her — a perspective
that has helped her raise four caring, affectionate and funny children,
John, 28, Michael, 27, Jesse, 26, and Jamie, 22.
Each child has been special in his or her own way, of course. But
Jesse is a particular inspiration. Jesse has Down syndrome.
“When Jesse was born, I wondered what kind of life he was going
to have — what would happen to him,” said Rose, financial
system administrator for the Financial Affairs Division of Catholic Social
Services, and a member of St. Matthew Parish. “I also wondered how
his siblings’ lives would change, and what my life would be like
raising a child with special needs.”
She and her husband, John, agreed they would raise all their children,
including Jesse, exactly the same way — he would not get any “special”
treatment — and they soon realized their special child had some
very special gifts.
Jesse took part in every family activity; he was expected, as were his
two older brothers and younger sister, to become involved in some sport
or activity he liked.
As that concept of commitment, which was almost a rule in the Rose household,
introduced Jesse to various sports, it gave him an opportunity to discover
some personal gifts that he could really make shine.
Jesse attended Our Lady of Confidence, a special education school at Cardinal
Dougherty High School. He graduated in 2002.
Last year, Jesse was chosen to represent the United States in the aquatics
division of the Special Olympic World Games in Shanghai, China, from Sept.
28 through Oct. 12. It was the first time the event — which was
founded decades ago by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who had an mentally challenged
sister — was held in Asia.
“The Games have given the world the opportunity to recognize the
unique abilities of the mentally challenged population,” Rose said.
“It started as a dream, and one person touching another [and] this
dream got to touch the world.”
When Rose learned Jesse would be going to China, she said,“I was
thrilled that my son would be part of this wonderful event — but
I was also very nervous about letting him go.
“He would be traveling with the U.S.A. team around the world, with
people I had never met,” she said. Later, Rose found that her son
could not have been in better company: “Everyone on the team —
coaches, auxiliaries — were just wonderful [and] supportive, taking
care of somebody else’s disabled child with so much love.
“Jesse trained very hard during the last year,” Rose said.
“There were many road blocks, but he never allowed anything to get
in his way of achieving his goals.” In the end, all that training
paid off.
“He finished in fourth place in 800-meter freestyle — and
won a bronze medal in the 400-meter and a silver medal in 200-meter,”
Rose said.
Through his efforts and talent, Jesse introduced his mother to what was
an unforgettable and unique competition.
“I was fortunate enough to attend the world games with three of
my sisters — also known as ‘Jesse’s cheerleaders,’”
Rose said. “What an incredible experience — to be able to
cheer on your son to victory, and watch as he receives his medals at the
world games.”
There were 160 countries represented in Shanghai. More than 6,000 athletics
competed in 17 different sports over the course of 10 days. Then, too,
there were the elaborate ceremonies that China put together for its international
guests.
“They rolled out the red carpet for the athletes, coaches, volunteers
and families. The Chinese volunteers could not do enough to make sure
that we all felt comfortable in their country,” Rose said.
“But what I will never forget is the closing ceremony,” she
added. “Many of the athletes walked into the stadium hand-in-hand
with a Chinese volunteer that they had befriended. Many hugs and tears
where shared as they said good-bye. I watched as the Special Olympics
forever touched the lives of many people ….
“I had the opportunity to meet and talk with other parents from
around the world,” Rose said. “Amazingly, we all share the
same thoughts and concern for our children.”
After the games, Jesse was invited to join the Down Syndrome International
Swimming Organization (DSISC). Participation gives him an opportunity
to compete and to strive to meet new goals, as well as modeling what people
with disabilities can do with encouragement and hard work.
Feeling immensely proud and touched, Rose reflected on her “special”
son’s infancy: “During those early years, I had no idea what
a wonderful gift my family had received. Jesse brings so much joy, happiness
and love into our lives. … He has the ability to light up a room,
and bring a smile to everyone’s face, just by his presence.”
In fact, Jesse Rose has the power to change lives, his mother said: “He
has the ability to influence everyone around him to be a better person
through his unconditional love of others.” What gift, for anyone,
is better than that?
María Travaglio is from Argentina, and works for Catholic Social
Services - Financial Affairs in Philadelphia. She is a freelance writer,
and a parishioner of Ephiphany of Our Lord Parish.
In
hoops action, O’Hara is no longer an underdog
Sports
Columnist
John Knebels
Whoever coined the phrase “a win is a win” might get some
flack from Cardinal O’Hara’s boys basketball players.
On Monday night, Jan. 7, O’Hara shocked visiting Neumann-Goretti,
65-56, in a Catholic League Southern Division contest. And that win was
a lot more than just a win for the Lions, who entered the game winless
in three previous division games, and had lost a heart-breaking 58-57
overtime decision to St. Joseph’s Prep three nights earlier.
“It’s great for the kids,” said O’Hara coach Bud
Gardler. “They played hard. As the game went on, their confidence
grew. And our assistant coaches deserve a lot of the credit. They went
out and saw them play and put together a good game plan.”
From a global sense, the Lions’ victory provided hope for all teams
that enter games as huge underdogs. Very few figured that O’Hara
would have much of a chance against the Saints, who were hungry after
recently losing a hard-fought, 65-62 decision to defending champion Roman
Catholic.
But instead of falling prey to a ravenous opponent, it was O’Hara
who appeared to be the more aggressive squad, forging a surprising 15-9
advantage in the first quarter.
No one was more aggressive than O’Hara’s Mark Wedderburn.
After not scoring in the first half, the 6-foot-7, 238-pound Wedderburn
came out of nowhere to tally 14 points over the next two quarters, helping
the Lions outscore the Saints by 42-33 during that time span.
When combining Wedderburn’s 15 rebounds, there would be an easy
argument for choosing Wedderburn as the unofficial Most Valuable Player
of the victory.
“We needed a win like that, and I’m glad I was able to help,”
said Wedderburn, who will play football at Penn State University next
fall. “Everything started falling into place in the second half.”
However, it wasn’t only Wedderburn who frustrated the Saints. O’Hara
senior Zach Tansey scored a game-high 19 points, and junior Jim Kelleher
was right behind him with 17. When three players combine for 50 points,
it makes things pretty tough on the challenger.
Kelleher frustrated the Saints from long range by draining three three-point
shots.
“An inside-outside game always helps,” said Kelleher. “The
guys were scoring from inside, but we couldn’t rely on just that.”
Defensively, O’Hara held the high-scoring Saints to almost 10 points
fewer than their season average.
“You can’t win basketball games without good defense,”
said Wedderburn. “That was really the key.”
Although football is obviously his top sport (he starred at tight end,
catching 50 passes for 740 yards and six touchdowns over the past two
seasons),Wedderburn said that basketball is important to him.
Beating Neumann-Goretti, he said, was “definitely” a highlight,
particularly because the Lions were such heavy underdogs.
“I like situations where people don’t think you can do something,”
he said. “It gives you a lot of incentive.”
Josh Showers added nine points for the Lions. The Saints were led by Tony
Chennault’s 18 points and Jamal Wilson’s 10.
John Knebels can be reached at jknebs@aol.com.