By R.D. Saunders, Chief Significance Officer, Network of Caring

Lunch with Eddie and Taiwan.  Sounds pretty common right…just lunch with a couple of guys?  It was except, of all the lunches I have had with a couple of guys, I will never forget this one.  Eddie and Tai are like most guys in their 20s…they like sports, think about girls, and enjoy good food.  But Eddie and Tai are also disabled–Eddie with Cerebral Palsy and Taiwan with Muscular Dystrophy.  Eddie and Taiwan also share a love for power soccer and are star players on their teams sponsored by our Fernando Foundation. 

They arrived at Great Harvest Bread Co. for lunch in Eddie’s big Ford van.  I noticed that parking required some forethought.  Would there be room to exit the van?  How close were they to the sidewalk ramp?  And while I parked and entered the restaurant in seconds, it took them several minutes to get in. 

When we saw each other I found that saying hello like guys do–handshakes or fist pops–required some extra thought.  Do I grab their hand?  Do I do nothing?  What will they think either way?  I finally decided to shake their hand and I discovered they welcome the connections able bodied people take for granted.  I think we worry too much about our interaction with the disabled; warmth and friendship work with everyone.

My first real challenge came when Eddie tried to tell me something.  Cerebral Palsy is a nerve and brain disorder affecting motor skills.  Eddie is highly intelligent but speech is a big challenge for him.  Luckily, Taiwan is bilingual: he speaks English and Eddie.  I listened intently as Eddie spoke, but with each completed sentence I looked at Tai for the translation.  In our 60 minutes together I don’t think Taiwan ever failed to understand what Eddie was saying.

We ordered our lunches…chicken salad sandwiches for Eddie and Taiwan, a BLT for me.   Taiwan informed me that I would need to help Eddie with his sandwich.  Eddie’s hand cannot grip too well and picking up something like a sandwich is extremely challenging.  They both showed me exactly where the quarter-cut sandwich needed to be placed in his hand…more than a few times I got it wrong but Eddie was understanding. 

As we talked, power soccer continually came up; in fact, both Eddie and Tai lit up when it was mentioned.  It was clear that power soccer was more than just a hobby for them and as I interacted with them I began to see why.  You see power soccer helped them overcome many of the barriers of their disability.  Power soccer rescued them from a lonely life spent, as many quadriplegics often do,  almost entirely in front of a TV screen.  Power soccer gave them the confidence to be independent and attempt more than they ever thought they could do.  Interaction with players and coaches not to mention Fernando Foundation founders, Jim and Nancy Dornan, helped them grow socially and morally.  Power soccer has given them a circle of friends with a common interest.  And maybe most importantly, power soccer has given Eddie and Taiwan at least one lifelong friend…each other. 

The more I talk to players like Eddie and Tai, the more I see that their experience is typical for most power soccer athletes.   Many players have a “before-and-after-power-soccer” perspective on their lives.  Its as if  power soccer–and not their disability–has been the dominant theme (and most wonderful part) of their lives. 

As lunch ended and I watched Eddie and Taiwan laugh as they raced each other back to Eddie’s van, I was so grateful for my new friends and the lessons they both gave me.   I walked back in to the restaurant thinking I was so glad there was a Fernando Foundation in the world that brought Eddie and Taiwan together through power soccer.  I was also thinking that I have just got to do more to help the disabled know about power soccer and have the opportunity to play it.  I have to raise more money, I have to find more players, and I absolutely have to have more lunches with guys like Eddie and Taiwan.