Basic HTML Version
Matthew and his brother
Christian celebrate after the
Kootenai Health Triathlon for
Kids in 2011.
“I hope I inspire
other kids to
work hard and
to do better.”
—Matthew
able-bodied and all participants receive a medal, many
of the children have overcome disabilities to be able to
compete. Their victories are the sweetest.
“I like swimming because it is easier on my legs,” Mat-
thew said. “Sometimes ridingmy bike hurts my back, but
I just got a new bike this year that doesn’t hurt so bad. I
hope I inspire other kids to work hard and to do better.”
The triathlon is designed to promote health and fitness.
The goal is to make every child a winner, with parents
and families watching, supporting and encouraging their
child to have a successful experience.
“This is a great event for both kids and parents,” said
Shawn Burke, physical therapy assistant and race coor-
dinator. “It’s a chance to teach kids the importance of
staying fit and eating right. It’s great to see the parents
and volunteers pull together for the kids.”
S E T T I N G H I S G O A L S H I G H
Matthew is active outside sports as well. He enjoys robot-
ics and competes inMath Olympics and SpeechMeets at
school. He made it to regionals for both events, receiving
third place for math and a superior ribbon for his speech,
“Ants and the Grasshopper.”
“You’ve got to try your best and put all your effort into
doing things,” Matthew said. “I want to help others and
make a difference.”
Spoken like a true athlete, Matthew!
B U D D I N G A T H L E T E S
For more information about the Kootenai Health
Triathlon for Kids, visit
KootenaiHealth.org
.
S W I M , B I K E , R U N
Matthew Can Do It All
By Andrea Kalas-Nagel
MATTHEW LIKES TO SWIM, RUN, BIKE, PLAY
baseball and compete for belts in taekwondo. As far as
he’s concerned, he can do it all—he just has to work a
little harder than most of his competitors.
At the age of 6 months, Matthew’s family discovered
he had a medical condition marked by lowmuscle tone
and spasticity. Because of this, he has a hard time moving
like other 10-year-old boys. But with the help of ankle
braces and physical therapy, Matthew is able to maintain
a lifestyle that allows him to enjoy all these activities.
“He has daily stretches and exercises we work on,” said
his father, John. “He walks on the treadmill and elliptical,
we do stretches, and he goes to physical therapy once a
month. Whenwe first took him to the doctor, we were told
that they weren’t sure if he would ever be able to walk.”
“We let him know that he can do everything everyone
else does—he may just need to do them a little different,”
said Matthew’s mother, Karin.
A V E R S A T I L E A T H L E T E
While talking toMatthew, you’d never knowhe has a hard
timewith sports. He is a recipient of the Presidential Physi-
cal FitnessAward, enjoys playing baseball, rock climbing,
break dancing—and of course there are the triathlons.
Matthew’s favorite triathlon event is swimming. He
participated in the Kootenai Health Triathlon for Kids in
2010 and 2011. Although he doesn’t recall exactly what
drew him to this sport of elite athletes, he has found
himself in good company. Last year just over 200 chil-
dren ages 4 to 11 participated in Kootenai’s third annual
kid-sized event. Although most of the participants are
KOO T E NA I
H E A L T H
. OR G
5