THIS concludes my story about Ernie Gawilan’s journey from near-tragedy to fame.
It began with my being in the audience of 400 or so journalists from some 50 countries invited by Toyota, watching the heart-rending grand presentation of Gawilan and three other Paralympians from Pakistan, Singapore and Malaysia by Toyota Motors Asia Pacific (TMAP).
The event unfurled TMAP’s riveting embrace of the world’s disabled thoroughly immersed in sports—its mission aptly called “Start Your Impossible.”
Our very own Gawilan is a bemedaled Paralympian whose life story wrings the heart with his pulse-pounding, improbable, triumphs in his event, swimming.
Born feetless and with legs as tiny as virtual toothpicks at birth, Gawilan’s left hand has only four fingers, and with only a thumb to show.
Abortion pills did this to him, said Ernie—quoting his grandfather who adopted him when he was orphaned.
Ernie was five months old when his mother died of cholera, and he was barely five years old when his father succumbed to tuberculosis.
But his tribulations did not deter him to dream dreams.
He started his “impossible” when his grandpa taught him how to swim—at sea at age 12 in Samal, Davao,
After placing second in his debut at the Philippine Olympic Festival, Ernie went on to win three bronze medals in the 2014 Asian Para Games in the 100 butterfly, 200 medley and 400 freestyle.
“It’s been my dream to transform my disabilities into something positive to inspire those with similar conditions,” Ernie said to me during the Lexus dinner here.
With his three gold and three silver medals in the 2015 Asean Para Games and 2018 Asian Para Games, Ernie, 28, needs one more victory in April to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
His Toyota-backed determination and Spartan regimen—he trains five hours a day without fail, 2-1/2 hours each in the morning starting at 4:30 a.m., and afternoon beginning at 4:30 p.m.—will no doubt propel Ernie to more heights of grandeur. And, in so doing, he becomes the first Filipino Paralympian ever.
This early, I can feel it.