Extra attention from a color avalanche gave my daughter a reason to smile
The 2016 Color Run was particularly memorable for Abby
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Herewith another installment of the T-Shirt Chronicles, in which I relate episodes from our family’s life with Rett syndrome as represented by garments in our ridiculously outsized collection of T-shirts.
Some of those T-shirts are mine. Some belong to my wife, Donna, or my daughter Abby, who has Rett syndrome. Most of them tell a story of one sort or another, which is why we hang on to them for years longer than a T-shirt should exist. The shirt in this tale recalls a day 10 years ago this month that was drenched in color.
An avalanche of color
Emily, Neil, and Abby Genzlinger attend the 2016 Color Run in New Jersey. (Photo by Emily Genzlinger)
The shirt is from a Color Run, those events where you run, jog, or walk 3.1 miles while people throw colored powder at you. The Color Run organization calls these things “the happiest 5K on the planet,” not without reason. By the time participants reach the finish line, they are speckled with bright colors and almost certainly smiling.
For the run 10 years ago, which was held at Raceway Park in Middlesex County, New Jersey, not far from where we live, I had the assistance of Abby’s older sister, Emily. Abby can walk, unlike many with Rett syndrome, but 3.1 miles — the distance of a 5K — is beyond her comfort zone, so Emily and I took turns pushing her in a stroller.
We had done a Color Run the previous year, one that had a fundraising component for Rett syndrome, but it wasn’t much fun because the weather was nasty. Also, that event was held at night, and because it was dark and I had not yet mastered the intricacies of cellphone photography, none of our photos came out. So we signed up for another Color Run the next year, hoping for a fuller experience.
This one was held in the daytime, which made it far more photogenic than the one in the rainy darkness. And it was made even more so by the fact that the color-throwers paid a delightfully excessive amount of attention to Abby. Most runners had to settle for jogging through a mist of blue or red or green; when Abby came along, the color-throwers would run up to her and sprinkle the powders directly on her as if she were a doughnut in need of a sugar coating.
Abby loved the attention and her tie-dyed transformation. In photos from that event, she’s beaming.
The powder rinsed off pretty easily once we got her home, and her smile turned out not to be permanent either. As I’ve written in previous columns, Abby, now 29, hasn’t laughed much in recent years. In fact, she can be downright mean. Sprinkle her with colored powders at your own risk.
Note: Rett Syndrome News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Rett Syndrome News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Rett syndrome.
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