Perseverance and Adversity of a monther recognized by adidas

Without Mothers, there would be no athletes in the world. Think about that for a second… Today is a celebration of motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. We see the praise of athletes and entertainers on a daily basis for being so skilled and talented, but when you go deeper into their stories, it all boils down to what Moms go through to help their child become successful in life. In honor of Mother’s Day, S partnered with adidas Women to recognize all the perseverance and adversity of Moms worldwide.

Meet Gracie Lachowecki, graduate – Soccer player – Nursing major at the University of Miami, and her Mother Kay Lachowecki. Their relationship is exemplary of what today’s holiday is all about and a story worth celebrating. In doing so, adidas Women surprised Gracie with an opportunity to help show her Mom how much she is loved. What awaited was a once in a lifetime all expenses paid weekend getaway trip to Chicago packed with shopping sprees, tickets to Hamilton, Wanderlust, gifts, dinners at top restaurants in the city, all to be capped off by a special gift presented by Nice Kicks. Additionally, adidas Women created the Marian Kay Lachowecki Scholarship Fund to honor her courage in the fight against Breast Cancer. Two students in the School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Miami who demonstrate finanacial need will each be awarded $5,000 to help cover the cost of their tuition. Read ahead as I recap the weekend in photos and sit down with both Gracie & Kay Lachowecki to hear their incredible story of perseverance, adversity, and triumph.

strong>RAY P.: It’s an absolute honor to sit here with you both. Whenever I hear your story of perseverance and facing adversity from people at adidas, they always cry. What happened this weekend has never been done by the brand, so I really just wanted to have a conversation with you, hear your story, and join in on the celebration. Let’s start with you, Gracie. Talk to me about how a girl from Evansville, Indiana ended up at the University of Miami playing Soccer.

GRACIE: We were looking at Universities during my Sophomore year of High School and even though I had no intentions of going to Miami because it was so far from our home in Evansville, Indiana, I figured it would be a mini vacation at the very least [laughs]. I went down there knowing I wanted to major in Nursing and play Soccer, which at the time every school I met with told me it’s impossible and that too many hours were involved to participate in both programs. My meeting with the President of the University of Miami was different. The moment I told her what I wanted to do, she took me to go see the Dean of the Nursing program and immediately offered to build a program around me that would allow for both Soccer and Nursing to be pursued. There was no way I could pass up that offer.

Ray P: Sorry to cut you off, but I can’t blame you for taking the offer. It sounds like they really cared about you.

GRACIE: I will admit it was stressful, but I stuck through it. Learning how to deal with Nursing school, missing practice four times a week, but meeting with my coach for two hours a day to individually work on my game was a struggle. Now I feel like it was all worth it. I developed such a strong bond with my coaches and them taking the extra time definitely improved my skills.

RAY P: I’m inspired already. That’s some serious dedication and I’m so glad you stuck through it.

MOM: She also scored a crazy amount of goals that year! She’s too humble to admit, but I’m proud of her [laughs]!

RAY P.: Haha, I can already tell you’re her biggest cheerleader.

GRACIE: Yeah I think I had around 12 goals that season. I had two really big games, but the one that’s really cool and sticks out the most is the Breast Cancer Awareness game. We were down 0 – 2 at half time. I scored two straight goals in the second half to get us to overtime and 30seconds in I ended the game with my third goal.

MOM: You had a hat trick! It was soooo awesome.

RAY P: What did that game mean to you, Gracie? Because I saw you had a special smile while looking at your Mom and telling the story. There’s a past history with Breast Cancer and your Mother, correct?

GRACIE: I’ve played in the Breast Cancer Awareness game before, but never knew someone with the condition until Mom was diagnosed almost three years ago. We were down two goals and I just knew the day wouldn’t be special if we lost. After that third goal, I just remembered thinking, “oh my God, did that really just happen?” I felt like it was a turning point in my athletic career and all the practicing alone with coaches paid off. My favorite picture ever was taken at that game while my teammates were hugging me because we just came back to win and they knew the game was important as I was dealing with Moms breast cancer.  Also, adidas gave us some amazing pink jerseys to wear.

RAY P: Mom, was that moment bigger than just a game for you?

MOM: It was Awesome! I’m really glad I was there. You can tell all of the girls were happy for Grace and I as well as the Coach whose Mother passed away from Cancer. It was a really emotional game for the whole team. It was a powerful moment. I saw Gracie with the biggest smile and it was just pure joy.

RAY P: Do you mind taking me through the process from diagnosis to when you beat Breast Cancer, Mom?

MOM: Thank goodness it was really short. When I first found out, I was shocked because you never think it would happen to you. Then I met with the Doctor and told him that it isn’t really a good time for me to have this because both my kids play Soccer and we have trips planned [laughs]! I was lucky I was able to do a partial radiation which is two weeks of intensive radiations twice a day as opposed to six weeks. So really I only missed one game.

GRACIE: What’s crazy is that one game she missed, coincidentally my Brother who plays at Notre Dame was playing at Virginia the same weekend as I and staying in the same hotel. It was perfect timing because we were there for each other and it happened right around the time of Mom’s diagnoses which neither of us were able to take time off of school to go back home. Having that support of my Brother really helped us lot. It was a perfect moment. We knew we’d be okay after that.

MOM: My Doctor said, “You seem like a lady who just wants to get over this, so you can continue living your life.” And he was right, that’s totally me. I think I was the cookiest Cancer patient they’ve ever had because I would reschedule appointments just so I wouldn’t miss Gracie nor her Brother’s games [laughs].

RAY P: Mom, you sound like the type of person who never let cancer define you or impede your life. You’re so strong and positive. I admire you a lot.

GRACIE: Yup that’s her. When she called me, I of course was balling my eyes out and she was calm and composed. It’s like it didn’t even phase her. She knew she would beat it, so it was just a matter of getting it over.

RAY P: What was the first thing you did to celebrate beating Cancer?

MOM: A group of friends took me out.

GRACIE: They took her to all of her favorite spots and all of her friends’ daughters played Soccer with me growing up so they even brought her to the Soccer field.