Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Team Spina Bifida: Entire family to run the Los Angeles Marathon - including their two kids 9 and 15 who are confined to wheelchairs...




Even their own son thinks they're crazy.
Parents Jesse and Jennifer Jimenez of Stockton, Calif. just made the spur-of-the-moment decision to run the entire Los Angeles marathon (that's 26.2 miles, for you non-runners) as a family. With less than two months to train, it's a stretch. Factor in the wheelchairs of their children Enrique and Jiya, and the goal becomes downright Herculean.
"I think they're crazy," said a smiling Enrique Jimenez, 15, to KCRA-TV in the video above. Both he and sister Jiya, 9, were born with spina bifida and use wheelchairs to get around. This will be their very first marathon.
That doesn't matter, contends Jennifer Jimenez. When she saw a note on Team Spina Bifida's Facebook page last month searching for more people to race and raise funds for the cause, she knew it was the perfect way to teach her children "nothing is off-limits."
"They can do anything they put their mind to," said Jennifer Jimenez. "Just because you're in a chair, doesn't mean anything. The world is still out there -- you can go do whatever you want." Dad Jesse Jimenez made special wheelchair handles out that he and his wife will use to push their children across Los Angeles.
Team Spina Bifida announced the Jimenez's news on their Facebook page Feb. 5 with this photo (story continues below):
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"They have endured countless hospital stays & survived many close calls," writes Jennifer Jimenez on the family's fundraising page. "Yet, they continue to live their lives with ambition & drive!" Combined, the children have had over 40 surgeries related to spina bifida, according to the site.
The family originally set out to raise $3,000, but as of this story's publish date, have already raised $3,165. Learn more about spina bifida and their story here.

The 2013 Los Angeles marathon takes place March 17. The route brings runners from Dodger Stadium all the way to the Santa Monica Pier.



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