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| Shad Ireland
Triathlete 2005 |
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Sixteen
hours, twenty-five minutes, ten seconds. It was
grueling. It was tiring. It was draining. It was
the Lake Placid, New York 2004 Ironman Triathlon
that for Shad Ireland, the first kidney dialysis
patient ever to compete in and complete an Ironman
Triathlon, was the realization and mere beginning
of “a promise made”.
It was 1983 when Shad was first diagnosed with kidney
disease. Twenty-two years later you could look at
him sitting across from you at a table, or walking
down the street, going for a run, a swim, a bike
ride, or competing at an elite level of sport, and
not have a clue that he is a dialysis patient. To
look at him now, you would never believe that at
one point in 1993 he was lying in a hospital bed
in Minneapolis, Minnesota, diagnosed with a pseudo
tumor (brain) ARDS (Associated Respiratory Distress
Syndrome) and was in the process of a full blown
rejection from a recently performed kidney transplant.
At that time, Shad had gone from 145 pounds down
to a mere 75 pounds, and his doctors had taken his
family aside preparing them for the worst. He had
fallen into a coma as a result of the rejection
and their expectations were not only grim, but of
the utmost certainty that he would not make it through
the next twenty-four hours. To everyone’s
shock, amazement and pleasure, those next twenty-four
hours passed and not only did he make it, he came
out of the coma and a mere two weeks later was discharged
from the hospital and sent home to his mother’s
to begin a very long recovery process.
During that time, Shad could do little but lie on
his mother’s sofa and try to gain as much
of his strength back as he could. Slowly it was
happening and then suddenly one day, there it was.
In reading about Shad, he states that he can’t
quite recall whether he was watching an actual race,
or if it was simply a journalism piece about triathletes,
but he certainly does recall what caught his attention.
“I can’t remember if I was watching
the race itself or a story about these amazing athletes,
triathletes they were called, but I do remember
they were competing in an event called The Ironman,
located in Hawaii. I was mesmerized by, and in awe
of these athletes; the impossibility of the race
itself seemed to draw me in. It consisted of a 2.4
mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run
which needed to be completed consecutively. As I
watched, transfixed by what I was seeing, I began
to ask myself as these amazing athletes crossed
the finish line, “How can they do that?”
“ (Excerpt from the upcoming book by Shad
entitled “A Promise Made”). It was that
event, that day, that moment, that Shad Ireland
made a promise to himself, to one day compete as
an elite level athlete in not just an Ironman Triathlon,
but the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. He
began to think about being the kind of dialysis
patient that could make a difference by doing something
like this. He was sure that this decision could
not only affect himself and his setting of goals
and dreams, but also many other kidney dialysis
patients, their family, and family members and even
those who are healthy and do not have kidney dialysis
at all. He knew he wanted to be an example, and
now all he had to do was get himself back into physical
shape and he could get there.
Eventually, he did recover from that life threatening
experience, but by now years had passed and the
promise made had almost become a promise forgotten.
Yet again however, an event occurred in Shad’s
life that set the ball rolling, this time for good.
It was now 2003 and Shad was having a conversation
with friends when something came up that triggered
his mind suddenly back to all of the memories of
1993. As everything came flowing back, so did the
promise he had made to himself those many years
before. Slowly a smile crept to his face, the same
way it had back then, and he knew it was time. He
announced to his friends that very moment that he
was going to compete in the Ironman World Championship.
Not unlike many people he has crossed paths with
since, Shad’s friends were skeptical to say
the least, and suggested he was crazy for thinking
he could compete in an event like the Ironman World
Championships. After all, he is on kidney dialysis……..
Since that conversation with his friends in 2003,
Shad has gone full force toward making his dreams
a reality. No matter what obstacles have gotten
in his way, he has done everything he could to overcome
them and earn his place at the World’s, while
trying to make a difference to other kidney dialysis
patients. Of late he has developed and launched
The Shad Ireland Foundation, an organization dedicated
to showing kidney dialysis patients the importance
of fitness to their well being, and how it can contribute
to giving them a more “normal” life.
This foundation is a non-profit organization, with
90% of funds raised, used to create fitness grants
for those dialysis patients who need assistance
to become more physically active. On the Welcome
page of his website, www.shadirelandfoundation.org , Shad states “I believe that physical fitness
and exercise is the key which will unlock the door
that provides a better quality of life for dialysis
patients and those who suffer from chronic illness.”
He has developed a process whereby each patient
would be able to learn through discussion, how valuable
fitness is to their well being, have financial support
provided to them to assist in achieving their fitness
goals, be placed in an environment that helps them
develop those goals, and provide them the opportunity
to engage in conversation with athletes, either
professional or amateur, who can help to motivate
them and never feel like they can’t reach
for and achieve what they want to achieve.
For the Lake Placid Ironman race, Shad gained weight,
put on muscle, increased his cardio vascular fitness,
and trained his mind. He became a man who refused
to accept failure, a man who did not believe in
giving up, nor one who would concede to the connotations
that there was simply no way he could achieve what
he had set out to. That is the mentality Shad wants
to develop for every kidney dialysis patient who
comes to him for assistance. He wants to create
and nurture that attitude and bring to their lives,
the opportunity for each patient to feel like they
are doing something for themselves that will truly
make a difference not only in the quality of their
life, but also in who they are as individuals.
In true Shad Ireland fashion, he has set the types
of goals for himself for 2005 that most people would
simply shake their heads at and tell him he’s
crazy, and yet you almost have to ask yourself if
he does it that way on purpose to motivate himself
even more and drive him to reach those “impossible”
goals. Shad plans on doing the entire 2005 Ironman
circuit, raising awareness about kidney dialysis,
promoting his foundation to people through the United
States and also in Canada, and developing fundraising
efforts with his team to bring the foundation to
the lofty goal of one million dollars in its first
year. He has planned that his first grant recipients
will be presented in January of 2005, growing consistently
as the word gets out and support grows.
As if Shad’s current goals weren’t enough,
he has recently begun writing a book about his life,
his struggles, his successes, his past, his present,
and what to look for in his future. As mentioned
earlier this book is entitled “A Promise Made”
and his goal is to have it ready for publication
after the World Championships in Hawaii, October
2005. It’s bound to be a fascinating and motivating
read, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for that
one.
I fully expect Shad Ireland to be present at the
World Championships next year. I have never met
a man so committed, dedicated and certain that he
will achieve the goals he has set out for himself.
His success does rely partially at least, on donations
from individuals or corporate sponsors and fundraising
efforts carried out by his team. If you would like
to learn more about Shad Ireland or the Shad Ireland
Foundation, visit www.ironshad.com or www.shadirelandfoundation.org for details.
“Realize that you are more than your diagnosis
and your perception will begin to change. Realize
your goals and dreams, ask questions, seek answers,
and strive to achieve; your world will transform
right before your eyes.” And with that, the
journey continues. |
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