Willie
Glinsey was charged up following weeks of preparation with plans to
win first place
for Dawson Nursing Center at Heritage Games 2001. That is until something
in his heart told him, NO… The sporting event, sponsored by Illinois
Council on Long Term Care, was a series of "Olympic-style"
games adapted for nursing home residents.
Mr. Glinsey was
accustomed to the discipline required to be successful in athletic competitions
having been a semi-professional football player years ago. Charles Drew, Activity
Director served as head coach to him and other Dawson residents participating
in the games. Mr. Drew trained them at least one month before the games and
he wanted everyone to do their best. The residents' excitement grew along
with their anticipation of victory as they rode to the competitions the rainy
morning of the games. Family, staff members, and friends gathered together
to witness the activities of the day.
Game participants
were supposed to be divided into groups according to their age and physical
abilities. But, Willie Glinsey was paired with a frail elderly man nearly
twice his age for the arm wrestling competition. At age 49 with a 250-pound
husky build, Mr. Glinsey didn't fit the profile of a typical nursing home
resident. Yet he and his competitor shared similar characteristics…they
both sat in wheelchairs…they both had endured illnesses…they were
both men. As they rode up to the table and locked hands to begin the match,
something happened in a split second which marks a real hero…a willingness
to follow your heart. Was Mr. Glinsey moved by the bruises on his competitor's
thin, frail arm or by the "against all odds" look of determination
in his competitor's eyes?
The thin
elderly man rode away victor of the competition and won the first prize
medal, but Mr. Glinsey rode away with a prize as well. Karma Webber,
physical therapist at Dawson who has worked with Mr. Glinsey was "surprised
but not shocked" when she heard about the match "because that's
his character". Karma states that "if his goal was to feel
good about himself, Mr. Glinsey achieved that…After all, our ultimate
goal is not only to try our hardest but to feel good about what we do."
Next
