Most recently, NJCTS enriched our lives through the win of a raffle trip to visit Tim Howard in Liverpool, England, and to see him play. We feel blessed and lucky to have received such an extraordinary gift. It was a trip of a lifetime and an experience that we will never forget.
We had a wonderful, amazing time in the UK. Our whole trip (which included going to Liverpool, Stratford, London and Paris) was fantastic, but there is no doubt in any of our minds that our time with Tim Howard and his wonderful mom (Esther) was among the highest of the high points in our vacation.
Our lunch with Tim Howard was fun and inspirational. He and his mom were easy to be with, and they were genuinely interested in being with us and finding out what TS is like for our kids. Even though Tim is a busy guy, he was in no rush to leave (and the Thai food was delicious!!!).
He wanted to know all about us, our daughters (Tess, 12, and Paige, 8), their experiences with their tics, playing soccer and life in general. He was warm and genuine and thoughtful.
For example, Tess told him about her idea to run a TS walk and he remembered the next day to let her know that he was going to make sure to get a signed shirt from his team to raffle at the walk. It was clear to us that Tess and Paige were inspired by Tim Howard and really looked up to him (as well as just enjoyed being with him).
Another really interesting aspect was when he talked about his own experience with his tics. He said it in a way I have never heard anyone express. I often hear people say that they grow out of their tics, but he said it in a slightly different way.
I don’t think I can say it as eloquently as he phrased it, but the gist of it was that he feels like his sensations to tic are the same — but that his life experience, maturity and lack of feeling the need to hide them all add up to them being less overwhelming.
So his tics still occur happen, but they do not take him over like they did when he was a kid. Because of that, it seems like they are lower in comparison on the outside, but he thinks the original sensation to tic is pretty much the same.
We will write more about our trip very soon!!
Good for you! What a great experience! I know nothing of sports, but Tim seems like a great guy.