The Tomaszewski brothers: John Christopher, Adam, Alex and Nicolai might not have the fastest times in the the six mile Beach to Beacon race. In fact, with the exception of Nicolai, who is holding the finish line for his older brothers, the three teenagers are just hoping to finish in the middle of the pack. But make no mistake about it: the Tomaszewskis are determined, and each has had to overcome a physical challenge that makes him unique.
John Christopher or JC, gets around on crutches or in a wheelchair. He's a recent graduate of Wells High School who dreams of being a police officer or a firefighter. "I'm originally from Paraguay. I got adopted when I was two. I was born with spina bifada. That is a birth defect that paralyzes you at birth. I have a hand cycle. I water ski, and this is my first time doing the Beach to Beacon on a recumbant bike. They're willing to go out of their way to like save somebody and they're just heroic. They're just awesome."
For JC to have this dream says alot about his parents: John and Chris who have adopted 12 children, eight boys and four girls and who have one biological daughter of their own. And it also says something about the human spirit. Most of the kids have some kind of disability. John Tomaszewski has spent most of his career in the Coast Guard where the motto is semper paratus, Latin for 'always ready'. Sitting at his large picnic style kitchen table, John says he's tried to show his kids that being ready means taking chances, no matter who you are.
At home in their driveway, the eight brothers say they enjoy games of capture the flag, pickup basketball and just riding their bikes around. They swim, kayak and downhill ski. Chris Tomaszewski credits Maine Handicapped Skiing with showing her sons how all these things were possible. "I don't think the boys every thought they could ski," she says. "I don't think they ever thought about it. But when we presented it to them I saw they said: Oh, maybe I can and I'll try. And they can! I'll never forget the first morning after they went skiing and it was time to get up for school and I said, ok get up and Alex sat up and said: I can't move my neck. And Adam said: Oh, my stomach hurts. And I realized, oh my gosh, they used muscles they never used. But I also saw like a light go on inside of them that they can be a part of something and maybe they were looking at their other friends playing baseball or football and questioning, you know."
Eighteen-year-old Adam Tomaszewski is entering 12th grade at Portland High School. Deaf since birth, Adam runs cross country, good training for his run in the Beach to Beacon and he has also discovered the thrill of downhill skiing.
John Tomaszewski remembers when Adam started skiing. "Everybody was always nervous when he first learned to ski because they thought he was going to be a cannon ball and knocking people over, no control. He's got very good control. He loves the glades."
"He likes the feelings," adds Chris, "the wind touching him and the leaves and the woods. He likes those kinds of things. Maybe it's another sense."
"We're so honored and delighted to be a part of this year's Beach to Beacon," says Peter Adams, executive director of Maine Handicapped Skiing, this year's beneficiary of the race. The program began 27 years ago with eight participants and two volunteers at Sunday River in Bethel. Today there are more than 400 volunteers and 400 participants doing everything from sking and snowshoeing to paddling, cycling and golf. "It's really about setting goals and pushing yourself, having a dream and achieving it and then doing that much more."
One of the biggest achievers of the program is 15-year-old Alex Tomaszewski. Alex, who will also be running the Beach to Beacon, is the Junior National Adaptive Alpine champion. He was born missing a lower right leg and part of a hand. He started skiing with MHS when he was seven years old.
"People at MHS started telling me I was good," says Alex, "and I started skiing better than some of the volunteers at MHS and then I started going into bigger and better races so I figured there might be a chance of me going somewhere with skiing someday."
Alex has set his sights on making the 2014 paralympic ski team and competing in his native Russia. Using a prosthetic ski foot, Alex uses two skis and poles to race. He's so good and so fast that he hopes someday to compete against able-bodied skiers at the national level. But first he has to compete in the six mile Beach to Beacon. His goal is to finish the race without walking. His younger brother, Nicolai, also an adaptive skier will be waiting at the finish line for him - holding the tape.