Y2COLIN

 Back when my son was around six years old, one of his former little league coaches was Colin Healy.  In our town, the Healys are a large, well-liked, respected, kind and generous family.  Colin and his wife Kathy have two sons, one of them is younger than my son and one is a little bit older.  In 1999, without any warning, Colin contracted bacterial Meningitis and within a few days received Last Rites in anticipation of his impending death.  Miraculously, Colin survived, but he was completely blind. 

 Life had proven once again, that what happened to Colin could happen to anyone at any time.  His tragedy reminds us how fragile life is, how much we take for granted, and how vulnerable a creature we are.  This vulnerability ties us together because it is something that all of us share.  It is in this sharing that we realize the responsibility to help our friends and relatives when tragedy strikes.  Kathy Healy was the first to coin the phrase, Y2Colin, partly to satirize the then Y2K crisis that many anticipated at the turn of the century, and partly as play on words to describe Colin’s crisis at hand.   

 On January 29, 2000 at the Catonsville Community College, there was an incredible outpouring of community support for Colin and his family.  The theme of the event was Y2Colin because of the question it asks: “Why To Colin?”

 Since that time, a lot has happened.  Colin still attends practically all of his boys’ sports events with faith, pride, and enthusiasm.  Often one can observe his wife, one of his sons, or another family member or friend providing Colin second by second, minute by minute, blow by blow descriptions of his son’s participation in sporting events.  Often, while one son plays, the other experiences the event to and with their father.  For those who do not know Colin’s story, one would never know that he cannot see when he attends either of his son’s games.  Colin cheers encouragement and praise not only to his sons, but to all of his sons’ teammates. It is something that you would have to see to fully appreciate. The truth of the matter is that Colin still appreciates without seeing.

 While the answer to “Why to Colin?” we may never know, Colin Healy has touched the lives of hundreds of people.  His experience has touched thousands more.  When it comes to watching our children play sports or do anything for that matter, look closely because they are the things from which memories are made.

 “No man is a failure who has friends.”
      – Clarence Oddbody, Angel Second Class

Filed under: Quotes and Inspiration, Uncategorized