I KEEP RUNNING

A runner is not somebody who runs fast. It’s somebody who keeps fighting, says Marc Buhl. Twenty-year-old Adrian Ojdana, a patient of the Institute and a member of the Polish Team of the Deaf in Athletics, understands perfectly what this German writer means. With a serious hearing disorder, he fought to win sporting trophies, his dream job of a computer scientist and a place among normally-hearing people. Both in sport and in life Adrian adheres to the principle: it takes work to achieve successes.

He has been into sport since he can remember. In primary school, he played basketball, volleyball and football. Next, he started to practise swimming. – I tried various disciplines to find the one that suited me best – says Adrian. In Staszów, his home town, not all teachers supported his sports passion. – When my son received a cochlea implant at the age of 9, some suggested that we should arrange for him to be exempted from PE lessons – says Robert Ojdana, Adrian’s father. – We didn’t agree. We signed statements saying that under our responsibility he can participate in sports classes. We even bought him a special head guard. We wanted Adrian to be able to do what he loved – adds Adrian’s mother, Monika.

Adrian’s story