While siblings often squabble over the smallest things, your brother or your sister is one of the people who will always have your back in any situation. A high school runner certainly proves how much a person will do for their sibling, because she recently decided to include her differently-abled brother in her running practice. Her love for him and willingness to work harder to include him in activities shows just how much people will do for the ones they care about.
Susan Bergman loves running cross-country.
The 14 year old participates with her high school’s cross-country racing team. She loves the sport and given that her parents are also distance runners, it’s become a family affair.
That shared family passion also extends to her brother, who Susan pushes while she runs.
Susan’s brother Jeffrey was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy when they were very young.
Jeffrey is about a year older than Susan, and when he was 22 months old he suffered severe medical complications. Cardiac arrest and the resulting brain damage lead to him being diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, according to KARE 11. Susan was one year old when this happened.
Despite that event, Susan was determined to have Jeffrey participate in as many activities with her as he could.
Being a year apart, it was easy for Susan and Jeffrey to become close. They’ve always had a great relationship and it was important for Susan that her brother share with her in her life. Because of Jeffrey’s medical diagnosis, he couldn’t participate in school sports in the same way as Susan, but it was still important to her that they try to find a way to make it happen.
She decided that if she was going to take up running, Jeffrey was going to join her.
So, when she started running in high school, she decided that she would push Jeffrey in his wheelchair during her runs. That way, they could be doing the same activity at the same time, just in different ways. Her parents had pushed Jeffrey on their own runs, but they had had years of experience running before starting to do that.
It was entirely her own idea, and she committed to pushing his wheelchair all over the difficult cross-country terrain. Because cross-country doesn’t happen on a traditional track, that meant taking Jeffrey through grass and over hills.
Her parents tried to caution her that this might be a more difficult task than she realized, but Susan’s mind was made up.
Susan’s mother, who is also a runner, knows how challenging running can be. So she had a feeling that running while pushing a person in a wheelchair might be biting off more than her daughter could chew. But Susan wasn’t listening. Her mother says that that determination makes their whole family proud.
She told KARE 11:
“She looked at me as if I had grown two heads. She’s like, ‘This is not an option, we’re doing it. I was so proud of her.”
But on this difficult terrain, Susan finds strength in having her brother with her.
Turns out, Jeffrey loves running as much as Susan does.
“He loves running. I think it helps me get even closer to my brother…Mentally I just push away the pain and focus on him enjoying it.”
Even though Jeffrey is unable to say anything encouraging, Susan feels his presence and knows that this experience is meaningful for the both of them. That assurance is enough to keep her going even when it gets hard.
Susan and Jeffrey’s experience is also inspiring people to make some changes in running culture.
Currently, because of Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association rules, Susan and Jeffrey are allowed to run together, but their races are not allowed to be logged or catalogued in an official way.
Susan and Jeffrey’s coaches and parents believe that all runners should be allowed to compete in whatever capacity they can, and that this sibling pair should not be discounted. They are currently lobbying with Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association to try to change the organization’s rules so that Susan and Jeffery can be recognized and celebrated like all the other runners. But, in many ways, this pair already won.
Watch the video below to learn more about these siblings’ incredible bond!
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