Published 2008-10-30 03:20
Brave paralympian helps others sail away
It was a dream Maureen McKinnon-Tucker couldn’t give up on.
This summer, the 43-year-old Marblehead woman was preparing for the 2008 Paralympic Games to race in the two-person SKUD18 event. But during training, she found out her son, Trent, was diagnosed with cancer.
\With her teammate, Nick, suffering from Lou Gehrig’s Disease, she decided she couldn’t drop out and deprive him of the opportunity. So with help from her family and friends, she cared for her son through his treatments and eventually went on to Beijing, where she ultimately won gold.
Medal in hand and her 3-year-old now cancer-free, McKinnon-Tucker has brought back that same determination to the Piers Park Sailing Center in East Boston, which offers recreational sailing on Boston Harbor, sailing courses for adults and free programs for kids.
In the last year-and-a-half, McKinnon-Tucker — the center’s adaptive coordinator who herself has been in a wheelchair for years — has helped expand the center’s services that provide adaptive equipment for people with disabilities, such as hearing impairments, cerebral palsy and autism. The center also offers boat rides for people with significant cognitive challenges.
“I get a chance every day to pass on the freedoms sailboats can [give] to people with disabilities,” she said. “I feel pretty lucky to do this job.”
