“He woke up, looked at his wife, Mary
Kate, took his oxygen mask off, gave her a kiss and told her that he
loved her. He put the oxygen mask back on and passed away.” From Sailworld – Sharing the Good.
Sadly, Paralympic Gold medalist, Nick Scandone passed away yesterday. Nick suffered from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Nick was determined to compete in the Beijing Olympics. It took a superhuman effort to keep going as he got progressively worse over the last year. He and his partner Maureen McKinnon-Tucker won gold.
With all the excitement about Ben Ainslie, Zach Railey and Anna Tunnicliffe, for me Nick’s story was the most inspiring. I found this excerpt from an article about Nick in NY Times, especially moving:
Mary-Kate Scandone has supported her husband every step of his Olympic and
Paralympic journey, through the accomplishments and the adversity and
through the enthusiasm and exhaustion. This is a bittersweet moment for the
couple. “It’s everything we’ve been fighting for,” said Mary-Kate. “Sailing
and his [Paralympic] goal has kept him alive.” In an emotional moment,
Mary-Kate thanked the designer of Nick’s boat “because he gave me four more years with my husband,” she said
Paralympic journey, through the accomplishments and the adversity and
through the enthusiasm and exhaustion. This is a bittersweet moment for the
couple. “It’s everything we’ve been fighting for,” said Mary-Kate. “Sailing
and his [Paralympic] goal has kept him alive.” In an emotional moment,
Mary-Kate thanked the designer of Nick’s boat “because he gave me four more years with my husband,” she said
Sail on Nick.
A life well lived, and an inspiration to us all. I liked the metaphor that Sail West used too…. “There’s a saying in aviation, a code of honor: Fly it all the way to the scene of the crash.”
May we all have the guts to fly it all the way to the crash as well as Nick did when our time comes.
Ah, bummer. Great inspiring story. Makes me want to spend less time on the couch.
Thanks for drawing Nick’s achievements to my attention. What an inspiring story and with a beautiful though sad ending. But what memories for his loved ones.