Karen & Haggarty
Karen Nelson is one busy young woman. She has a Gateway service dog— Haggarty— and she's a promising athlete. Because of Special Olympics, Karen has a wall full of medals for sports like bowling, basketball, t-ball, track, gymnastics, swimming and bocce.
(Bocce? What's that, you say? Well, it's a game dating back thousands of years to ancient cultures including the Greco-Roman empire. Requiring finesse and athleticism, the game is named for the bocce ball that is rolled down the alley toward the pallina ball. Whoever gets the bocce closest to the pallina scores a point, and the first 4-player team to 16 points wins.)
Currently, Karen is involved in Special Olympics' Spring Sports Classic, and her sport of choice this season is developmental bowling. She's on the South Davis Warriors team, and Haggarty, her Gateway service dog, has become the team mascot. He and Karen both have burgundy and gold team jerseys.
Haggarty has been with Karen for 4 years, and they are best friends. They love to go on long walks together and attend a weekly training session at Gateway.
Karen's favorite sport is by far swimming, and the best part about being involved in Special Olympics for Karen is the socializing. While she enjoys individual sports more than team sports because she is able to do her own thing, making friends and receiving special attention because of Haggarty is nice too.
Karen's parents, Lamont and Ronda, are very active in the training with Gateway. More than that, Lamont actually has a year-round commitment as a Head of Delegation for the Special Olympics and serves as the coach of the South Davis Warriors. The best part about being the coach is having the opportunity to work with his own child.
Ronda Nelson goes to all the meets and practices with Karen too as her daughter's cheerleader and to be there when Karen gets too tired. Ronda feels that the Special Olympics' oath— "Let me win. If I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt"—is "essential [because] not all of them are going to win. They have good days and bad days. Because of Special Olympics, they can feel good about themselves. It's a self-esteem builder."
When Karen first told us at Gateway that she was looking forward to her bowling competition this spring that would decide whether or not she could continue on to the big North Area competition held in Salt Lake City, we crossed our collective fingers for her. Since then, Karen won a gold medal—bowling a 133 point game!
During her last visit to Gateway, Karen showed us her new medal before it was added to her wall of medals. We are very proud of her accomplishments, and we know she'll do well this April in the big, North Area competition.
