The Rest of the Story

I grew up listening to Paul Harvey on the radio, often waiting in the farm truck to hear "The Rest of the Story" before heading into my grandparents' house for lunch. If you're not familiar with Paul Harvey, this was a segment where he would tell, in his gravely voice, some unknown details that really made something special.

With that preface, read the rest of this blog post in a gravely voice.

I shared earlier this week how a stranger stopped in his tracks to let Teddy cross the finish line ahead of him at the Oshkosh 5k. It was incredibly touching because this person was about to be the second place winner of the entire race, and he gave up that moment to help Teddy celebrate his finish.

Well, last night was a celebration dinner at a local restaurant for the myTEAM Triumph captains, angels and volunteers to share our stories and experiences from the race and build upon those relationships. The person from MTT who coordinates everything in our area said she hoped we could make it because she had a surprise for us.

It turns out she was able to locate the man who let Teddy cross first, stalked him a bit as she said, and invited him to come meet with the group. So we were able to meet Andy and thank him in person for his act of selflessness. The folks from MTT gave him pictures from the finish as mementos of his race day.

Meeting Andy showed what a remarkable person he was. First, I can't imagine being invited by a group of strangers to come meet them at a restaurant and actually showing up. Second, he treated both captains who were there as individuals, interacting positively with both of them. Third, he wanted absolutely no recognition and didn't think what he did was a big deal at all. He was amazed by how many views the video had received online.

In fact, he thanked us for letting him meet Teddy. He said that when he saw Teddy about to cross the finish line, he didn't want to take away from that moment. His direct quote was, "You could just see the joy in his face when he crossed the finish line."
 

Thanks to Christina from MTT for capturing the meeting of a true angel and Captain Teddy.

It was an incredible evening that left my heart so full. Not only did Teddy get to meet Andy, but we also got to spend a bit more time with two of his angels and others who fully embrace Teddy and our family. 

So there you have ... the rest of the story.

At least until we convince Andy to run as an angel for MTT and get him to be on Captain Teddy's team for an event. Then I'll write another post with the same title.

(And Dave called me weird for quoting Paul Harvey. I think he's the weird one. Who wouldn't quote Paul Harvey?)