There are a lot of sporting events happening tonight — the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers battling for the final wild card spot in the American League, for example — but nothing is as important as a 5K race happening at Oklahoma City’s John Marshall Mid-High School, run by a 10-year old boy and his brother.
Tobias Bass, 10, reached out to OK’s News 9 not for money, fame or a hand-out, but because he wanted them to ask their viewers if anybody had a jogger pusher he could borrow … because he wants his big brother, suffering from Cerebral Palsy, to run the race with him. He told the news about how sad it makes him when he sees his brother staring out through the window at kids running and laughing and having fun, and how he just wants him to experience what everyone else can.
This kid is amazing and you can see every piece of his heart in the News 9 interview — hell, he wants to be an army pastor when he grows up so he can comfort men dying on the front lines — and I, like the news team and everyone else who hears his story, want him to have everything he needs. Check it out:
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Here’s the scan of his letter, which should break your heart into about a hundred pieces.
The good news? The story already has a happy ending, whether they make it to an ironman competition or not.
And we’re so happy to tell you that we contacted Oklahoma Able Tech, and we were there when they delivered a jogging stroller to Tobias and Titus Thursday afternoon, not a loaner, a keeper.
They’ve been practicing with it and will be at the starting line for their first race Friday night at John Marshall. And you know our cameras will be there too.
Good luck, Tobias and Titus. We’re behind you.
UPDATE: Tobias and Titus ran their 5K on Friday night and finished strong.
