Summer Special Olympics

Courage. The quiet bravery that drives achievement, perhaps more than one could ever imagine possible, is the quality that each of the athletes who will compete in Special Olympics Southern California 2005 Summer Games shares.

These remarkable competitors will join in this world’s largest program of sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. California State University Long Beach will again host the games June 10-12. The athletes will compete in events such as aquatics, basketball, golf, tennis, bocce, and gymnastics.

The Special Olympics Southern California challengers are part of 1 million Special Olympics athletes in the U.S. and nearly 150 other nations who take part in year-round training and competition in 24 Olympic-type individual and team sports. They are trained and coached, encouraged and cheered by over half a million volunteers worldwide.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded Special Olympics in 1968 because of her passionate conviction that persons with disabilities, young and old, could take part in and benefit from competitive sports. Shriver believed these special athletes could experience — often for the first time in their lives — the liberation of training and learning, striving to test their skill and winning. Above all, she wanted the families and neighbors of persons with disabilities to see what these athletes could accomplish, to take pride in their efforts, and to rejoice in their victories.

Don’t miss sharing in their triumph this summer. (310/215-8380, x104) — Shana K. Wilson

Changing Lives: Everybody Loves Raymond
by Ingrid Hoffmeister

For ten years, 50-year-old LaVonne Gudmundson spent most of her waking hours lying in bed after a car accident and unsuccessful surgery left her with spinal chord damage and the frightening label quadriplegic. Her kitchen/dining room was adapted into her personal living space with a hospital bed, circular table, television, and bookshelves. Until two years ago, this tiny restricted area constituted her entire world of dependence on others. Her husband of 35 years, with the help of a nursing assistant, would lift her 260-pound diabetic frame from the bed to a wheelchair where a headrest and pillows supported her.

“The morning was my most difficult time because I would wake up in excruciating pain, paralyzed and unable to move anything but my mouth,” explains this one time teacher and mother of two. “The pain was so bad it made me cry and relief would come only after someone came and started massaging my limbs.”

Today, Gudmundson sits in her wheelchair 80 pounds lighter and with normal blood sugar levels. She can lift her head and neck, move her fingers and arms, slide herself from the bed to the wheelchair, lean forward, go into a store, and roll her wheelchair along a desert trail for a mile. She has achieved all this in two years because of, and with the support of, her beloved canine companion Raymond.

Raymond is a four-year-old Golden Retriever — lovable, cuddly, energetic, and amazingly helpful. His golden blonde fur and affectionate soulful eyes make everyone who meet him want to touch him. In fact, everybody loves Raymond. If he sounds a bit like an angel, his new owner Gudmundson would agree. The two inseparable companions are extremely dependent upon one another, a symbiosis that has created miracles.

Raymond is a special service dog trained by Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), a nonprofit organization that enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained assistance dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships. What emerges after talking to Gudmundson is that the partnership and bonding with the dog creates a relationship that stretches way beyond the original intent of the service training, which includes over 40 commands for such tasks as retrieving dropped items, opening and closing doors, pulling manual wheelchairs, and turning light switches on and off.

Training, love, and companionship bring immeasurable results. For Gudmundson, a natural and simple reflex like wanting to stroke her dog or follow it with her eyes, neck, and head required her to muster strength and mobility from some internal place she had not previously tapped into. The action began first in her mind, and then the constant, daily repetition of such thoughts led to involuntary action in her hands and neck as she began to stretch and strengthen her muscles.

“When Raymond first came home with me he would come to my bedside in the early morning when my pain was at its worst and my body stiff and paralyzed. He instinctively knew where to push his wet nose. He would rub against my pained arms and lick my contracted fingers, which were held tightly in a ball. His tongue worked each finger pushing and nuzzling my hand until it relaxed and my circulation improved. He would nudge my face and neck with his warm nose helping to release my stiffness. Over time Raymond has improved my health and given me practical and emotional support in ways I never considered possible,” says Gudmundson.

Gudmundson’s physical therapist suggested a canine companion, but when Lavonne rang the organization, they informed her of a two-year waiting list as the organization services seven states. Disappointed but undeterred, Gudmundson filled out the paperwork. “It felt like I was applying for college,” she laughs from the garden in her home. “I faxed them my application with a note saying I’d come at the last minute to any training if they had an opening.” The fax was sent on a Friday and on the following Monday Gudmundson received a phone call. “They told me that a gentleman couldn’t participate in the two-week intensive training, which had just commenced. They had a dog ready but no candidate to work with the dog. By chance, someone at CCI had seen my note and called me.”

During team training, Gudmundson joined a group of other disabled candidates to learn how to apply the skills of an assistance dog. The curriculum is comprehensive and included dog handling and care, training methods, commands, and field trips. “I was a teacher for 20 years and the training we received was the best I’ve ever experienced,” recalls Gudmundson, confiding that she had already set her heart on Raymond though the partnership between dog and client is not determined until the last day. “They have to figure out the right match between dog and individual,” Gudmundson explains. “When they told me I could take Raymond home, I was so emotional that I cried.”

Over the past 24 months, Gudmundson’s spirits, physical abilities, and joy of living have included 5,000-8,000 miles of travel with her husband and Raymond in their recreational vehicle. Horizons continue to expand in all directions and Gudmundson knows with certainty that without Raymond and CCI none of it would be possible.

Canine Companions for Independence celebrates 30 years of quality partnerships with its Independence Gala on June 25, 2005 at La Costa Resort & Spa with jazz performer Peter Sprague and an elegant sit-down dinner. (760/901-4300, www.cci.org)

Mission: Canine Companions for Independence is a non-profit organization that enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained assistance dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships.

Founded in 1975 with Linda Valliant as Southwest Regional Director. Administration cost as a percent of donated dollars: 3.8 percent; General Administrative Cost: 15.5 percent; Fund Development Cost: 80.7 percent; Program Services.

Current funding objectives: Southwest Region has a 2005 budget of $1.7 million. CCI is supported entirely by private donations from individuals, corporations and foundations; its biggest challenge is to raise sufficient funds to serve all those in need of assistance dogs.

Contact: Linda Valliant, Southwest Regional Director (760/901-4301, LValliant@cci.org)