He came around the corner from the elevator just as I
expected him to come - smiling. His face was red, from exertion, but he was not
breathing particularly hard. He had just finished the Firefighters Portland
Stair Climb for Cystic Fibrosis and we had come to cheer him on.
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| Done! |
The stair climbs are common throughout the nation to earn
money for certain charities. In Portland, the firefighters climb for Cystic
Fibrosis. They climb 40 flights of stairs (800 steps) in full turn out gear
with their SCBA masks using their oxygen. The climbers are timed, start to finish,
to encourage a spirit of competitiveness. They have already garnered financial support
from friends and family who in their generosity are the ones that make this
event possible.
This was Matt’s first stair climb, so none of us knew fully
what to expect. He thought that we would be able to be on the stairs at certain
levels to watch the firefighters as they climbed. We thought that we would at
least be able to be on the final stair level as the climbers finished.
“There isn’t enough room up there”, the man had kindly told
me, when I had asked. He had paused before he answered my question - like he
didn’t want to disappoint me. I guessed what he was going to say before he said
it.
“Or is there even a place for us to watch up there?” I
helped him out with the words with which he didn’t want to disappoint. That’s
when he gave us our solution and instead took me to the place where it would be
best to watch as the climbers finished.
“They will finish their climb and there will be EMT’s to
check them out to be sure they are ok and allow them to rest a bit before they
take the elevator back down.” He was showing us a roped off area that I had seen
earlier and now I understood why. "This is where they will come out of the elevator."
He continued, “They will come out here then go
back through those outside doors that the ropes lead to; they will walk
along the street which enables them to come back through the front doors where
the crowd will be waiting for them. But if you wait here, this is where you can
see him first.”
Kind man, indeed. I knew I had liked him when we first
arrived and he had greeted Matt with a friendly hello and some light-hearted
jokes to make Matt feel more comfortable with the whole situation that was obviously
new to him.
He showed Matt where to get signed in and gave him a bit of
the information he needed to know. In the hall, there were several tables set
up with sponsors and information about the event. I noticed a couple tables of
t-shirts and water bottles. Turns out all the participants earned a t-shirt for
their efforts, and those that were in the top tier for donations, also earned a
sweat shirt. Matt got both.
We hadn’t thought in a million years Matt would be among the
top donors. It had been a struggle initially to even meet his goal. But towards
the end of the period, donations came from the most heart-warming, but
unexpected places, which helped him surpass his goal putting him at number 15.
This gave him another incredible advantage. It placed him in "Battalion 1" - those
honored to make the first climb. There were 7 battalions in all of
30 firefighters each. Being in the first battalion, allowed Matt to get his
climb over early and simply be able to relax and enjoy the rest of the event.
We had arrived early that morning because we simply did not know
what to expect. They opened the doors at 7:00 am with the first climb scheduled
for 9:00 am. As we waited, we learned a little of what would take place. The
battalions would be lined up only as it was their time to climb. A bagpiper
would begin playing and lead them down the long hall in a procession where
guests and supporters would be lined up watching them to encourage and cheer
them on. The procession would go out the front doors and along the side walk to
the parking garage, where they would enter to get to the basement of the
building. There they would wait in line until those timing the event were ready
to begin. Each climber was given a stopwatch to wear on their wrist to tap on a
cushioned wall at the beginning of their climb and again to shut it off at the
end of their climb.
It was so organized and well-planned that we never saw a
glitch throughout the entire day. It was simply a wonderful event. I couldn’t
have been more pleased at the smoothness of the entire operation. I had worried
for nothing. But I worried again, when we watched as EMT’s headed toward the
elevators with their equipment.
“What’s that they are carrying?” I had asked Matt.
“That’s in case anyone vomits from exertion and their
airwaves become clogged.”
My eyes got huge. Didn’t need to hear that.
Finally they were ready to begin the opening ceremony. They
began with The Star-Spangled Banner sung by a firefighter quartet, who gave
probably the most beautiful rendition I have ever heard. Next Amazing Grace was
played on the bagpipes. “Excuse me, ma’am” the bagpiper had softly said to me as
he made his way to the front of the crowd to take his place where he would
play. He certainly is calm, I thought to myself when he passed me on his way.
He must have arrived just fine, because the beautiful hymn began right on cue.
Next, there were a couple speakers. The first I believe was
a fire chief in charge of the event. And the other, was a woman that spoke to
us about the difficulties of this disease. I looked at all those standing in
front of me that were about to make the climb. I could only see their backs,
but it seemed like I could feel their hearts. “Climbing for Keri” some of
their t-shirts read. "Bay City, Fire" “Silverton Fire”, “Portland Fire”. “Breathe” was on the
back of Matt’s shirt and it had much more meaning after hearing the woman
speak. She told them that when they got to the 10th floor and they
were wondering if they would ever even make it to the 40th that they
should think of those that suffer with this disease and remind themselves that
this is how those with CF feel every day of their life.
The ceremony was heart-warming and heartbreaking at the same
time.
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| Cameras just seem to find him |
“Gear up”, the instructions came when the ceremony was over.
And I could feel the excitement and anticipation. A news camera caught Matt as
he put on his gear. They stopped him for an interview and seemed to talk with
him at length. I wanted to hear what was being said, but I could only watch.
As they lined up, the firefighter in front of him told him
he didn’t need to wear his gloves if he didn’t want to. Matt appreciated any
helpful info he could get and handed me his gloves. I could tell this fighter
had done this a time or two. It didn’t surprise me when he was first at the end
of the climb for Battalion 1.
As they began the procession, and the bagpipes played and
the crowd cheered, of course I cried. It was so doggone meaningful and that was
my boy! I watched as each firefighter passed me, some trying to look stoic; others with
grins from ear to ear; some had a serious look on their face initially, but at
the cheers of the crowd, couldn’t help but break into a smile. Because he was toward
the front of the line, I forgot to look at Matt’s face. I only watched his back
as he headed on his way, then I directed my attention to the others that
followed. Watching the faces of each individual as they marched was, for me, the
best moment of the entire event.
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| Top Fundraisers |
“Come on”, my husband nudged me. “Let’s go follow them to
the basement.” He led me to another door that allowed us to catch up with those
who were first in the procession. There, a woman asked them if they would stand
for a picture. She told them they were the top 30 fundraisers out of 210 or so,
and she wanted a photo of them. Of course, I grabbed the opportunity and took
a picture too.
They then lined up again, and from here we were able to wait
until Matt tapped his wrist and began his race to the top. Once he tapped, my
husband also set his watch. We headed to the spot where the kind man told us
they would finish. Matt told me it would probably be about 10 minutes. This helpful man had told Matt that he could wait at the top and
rest up before coming down. “But!” he had warned him, “If you don’t take that
elevator when it gets to the top, it is a long wait before it comes around
again.” I knew then, Matthew wouldn’t wait.
As we waited at our spot at the ropes, Rick got a text on
his phone. “Done” it had simply said. Rick figured Matt's time to be about 12
minutes. He knew it would only be an estimate. I was simply relieved to know he
had finished and wasn’t puking on the stairs and choking.
We watched and waited. There came the first two finishers. A few
minutes later, there was Matthew, smiling from ear to ear and posing for my
camera, at my request.
After our welcome, and our photo op, Matt had to continue
out the doors for his walk outside to come back through the front doors where
the crowd would be waiting. We rushed over where we would greet him officially.
My husband could not have been more proud and hugged both Matt and the other
climber that came through the front door with him. I stood out of the way.
There would be snacks and an award ceremony at 1:00 pm at a
local pub called Kell’s which was a land mark of the city, – a nice Irish place
which was in a beautiful old building. This time frame gave us plenty of time
to have a nice brunch at the restaurant on the 30th floor while we waited for
the rest of the climbers. We were able to enjoy a leisurely meal and the magnificent
view. We got to talk about the times and the climb and all the details we
wanted to know. Matt said no one was passing each other on the stairs - at
least in his group. They were spaced evenly between climbs which left them on
the stairs to set their own pace. Now, there actually were times a climber would get
passed, but it was not something he had to deal with. Everything went as
smooth as glass, he told us. He was encouraged and he wanted to do it again improving his time next year.
It turned out his time was 9:51. “What was the discrepancy
between your time and Dad’s time of 12 minutes?” I had asked.
“Oh,” he had replied, “I had to help someone get his coat
off. He was heating up too much and they couldn’t seem to get it off to help
cool him down. I texted Dad after that.”
Firefighter/EMT first. That's who these people are!
And that’s my boy.”
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| The National Anthem |
