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 DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES |
| Rick Colella, right, is proud of how son Brian, left, is dealing with FSHD. |
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KIRKLAND — Brian
Colella had found his sport. Every morning, he was up at 7 and in a
shell on Lake Sammamish, a member of the Sammamish Rowing Association.
Three hours a day, he happily endured the punishment all rowers accept
as part of the game.
There really is no
other sport like rowing. It's a mixture of sweat and serenity; its
rewards are almost totally visceral. From 1 to 10 on the glamour scale,
crew rates a ½. For most rowers, there are no cheering crowds, no
television cameras and almost no media attention.
But a morning on the
water, searching with teammates for the perfect rhythm as you pull a
shell across still waters, is at once exhausting and invigorating.
And Colella — whose
father, Rick, swam in the 1972 and '76 Olympics, winning a bronze in
'76 — thought it was as close to perfect as sports can get.
"I really liked the people I rowed with and the coaches," Brian said. "I really liked being out in the boat in the water."
But at the end of
the 2003 school year, Brian, then 16, began experiencing stiffness in
his shoulders and back. He couldn't lift his arms parallel to his
shoulders....
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2001988369_kell26.html
Call it sole-ful fundraising.
Terry Colella of Kirkland cleaned her closet and raised money for her
favorite charity ...e Friends...
Seattle Times staff columnist
Call it sole-ful fundraising. Terry Colella of Kirkland cleaned her closet and raised money for her favorite charity — the Friends of FSH Research.
Terry and her husband, Rich Colella, founded the group in 2004. Their son, Brian,
had received a diagnosis of facioscapulohumeral disease (FSHD), a
nonfatal form of muscular dystrophy that affects the face, shoulders
and arm muscles.
Friends of FSH holds an annual auction, but that's not enough for this dynamo mom.
"Nike had donated a bunch of new shoes for our auction. We didn't
sell them all, so I listed a pair on eBay, included a blurb about FSH,
and they sold," Terry Colella said.
When the new shoes were gone, she listed shoes and purses she rarely
used. Friends have given her things to sell and with eBay, Amazon and
Craigslist, she's made $1,500.
"That's not a lot of money, but everyone who looks at an item learns
about FSH," she said. "When I sell something, I send a brochure in the
package. There's no other way to reach someone in Texas or New
Hampshire."
Brian, 20, attends the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Having FSH/MDA limits his physical activity.
"He just loves sports," Colella said. "He protects us sometimes but
recently he mentioned that he had trouble playing basketball because it
was too painful to hold his arms up long enough to rebound, and
baseball was a problem because holding the bat tires his shoulders.
"As a parent, I have to do something."
The "something" included raising $500,000 in three years of
auctions. The Friends of FSH Research has funded three studies at the
University of Washington, and helped with research in California and
Belgium. The group's next auction will be in January 2008. For more
information, go to www.fshfriends.org.