Heroes

Karen Gaffney is a remarkable athlete and public speaker who also happens to have Down syndrome.  Gaffney, 37 years old, has swum across Lake Champlain and the San Francisco Bay, as well as nine miles across Lake Tahoe.  In 2001, Gaffney became the first person with Down syndrome to swim with a team across the English Channel. Take a few minutes and watch Karen speak at this past summer’s TEDx conference in Portland, OR.  You will never forget it!

(Go here to get the behind-the-scenes view of what it takes to prepare a TED talk.)

In the spring of 2014, Eleanor and I went to hear Ms. Gaffney speak at an education conference in Denver.  On the second day, before we heard Karen’s keynote address, Eleanor and I went to the hotel’s fitness center for a morning workout.  I got on the treadmill for a run, and Eleanor went to the pool to swim laps.  A few minutes later, Karen also got in the pool and began her lap swimming.  Eleanor maintained her cool but I was dying.

Later that day we heard Karen speak, and then she and her mother did another break-out session where they answered questions and shared more perspective on Karen’s education and experiences.  After the workshop, I was able to visit with Karen’s mother, Barb, who told me the following story.

When Karen swam the English Channel with her team, the Oregonian newspaper sent a reporter to Europe to follow the story.  The reporter’s name was Katy Muldoon, and she was in Calais, France, when Team Gaffney reached the shores of France just after midnight.  The story made the front page of the Sunday edition of the Oregonian.  That same Sunday morning, a baby girl with Down syndrome was born in a Portland hospital.  The family received the news, and began to process it as best they could.  Later that day, their doctor walked in with the paper folded under his arm.  He quietly handed them the newspaper, which they read with amazement and joy.  In gratitude for the good news that day, these new parents named their daughter after the reporter – their little Katy.

In 2001, Karen graduated from Portland Community College with an Associates of Science degree and a teacher’s aide certificate.  In 2013, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Portland .  I am grateful every day for young adults like Karen who, through determination and incredible work ethic, show what can be done.  And I am grateful to journalists like Katy Muldoon, and the people at TED who are spreading the good news.