Teak Ano of Hanapepe Heights was born with spinal bifida, a condition that prevented the full development of his legs and requires him to get around with leg braces.
As a child, Ano couldn’t run or jump, was ridiculed at times by youths and had to put aside one of his life’s dreams – playing for the Waimea High Menehune football team, a perennial powerhouse in the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation.
Ano felt his future was bleak.
But through the support of his mother and father, Linda Ruby and Jeff Ano, Waimea High School educators and others and his strong will, Ano said he has accepted his condition, makes the most of it and is ready to take on life.
To become more self-sufficient in life, Ano, a 17-year-old senior at Waimea High School, plans to attend the Sea of Dreams event scheduled in Anchorage, Alaska from March 12-22.
The event will bring together youths from throughout the nation who have disabilities, including a group from Hawai‘i.
The intent behind the event is to show the youths that there are others like them with physical limitations who can lead happy lives that can be as normal as possible, Ano said.
“It is almost like a cultural exchange thing,” Ano said. “We are going to do a lot of fun things. The reason for going is to get kids with disabilities to get out and learn how to handle themselves without their moms and dads.”
In the last three years, Ano has attended three conferences or camps the United Ostamy Association has held in California, Colorado and Minnesota.
The association is comprised of volunteers who are dedicated to providing education about and advocacy for people with intestinal or urinary diversons. The group’s headquarters is located in Irvine, Ca., and the organization boasts 25,000 members.
Meeting many different people at the United Ostamy events helped widen his understanding of the world and to be more accepting of different peoples and cultures, Ano said.
As a youngster growing up on Kaua‘i, he said sometimes came across island youths who lacked sensitivity and made crude remarks about his condition.
“I found in my life, that when kids don’t understand something, they destroy,” said Ano.
Ano said he could have become mean-spirited and angry about his life had it not been for his parents, his brother Chris, and sister, Savannah, and a few friends.
“My mom always talked to me. She would tell me to walk away (from them). She said I should be the better half,” Ano said.
Nowadays, Ano said he stays away from people with negative thoughts.
Ano said his mother has been a key source of inspiration in his life. Ano went through nine surgeries at the Shriner’s Hospital on O‘ahu, and each time, his mother, was there for him, Ano said.
“She was the last person I saw before I underwent anesthesia for a surgery, and she was the very first person there for me when I woke up.”
Linda Ruby works as manager at the Poipu Grill & Bar Restaurant, and took off work for each surgery, Ano said.
Ano said his father taught him to tackle the challenges of life. “He instilled in me no fear. He always told me that God has bless me with other things,” Ano said.
His father works privately for Ian Kagimoto, owner of Aqua Engineers, a Lawa‘i firm that last year won a $435-million, 50-year federal contract to operate and expand the Schofield Barracks Wastewater Treatment Plant in Central O‘ahu.
Ano’s father, a weightlifter when he was younger, got Ano interested in lifting weights.
Ano, who stands 6 feet, 2 inches and weighs 305 pounds, can bench press 335 pounds, and hopes to bench press up to 800 pounds one day, and possibly set a world record, he said.
To round out his weight training, he goes body boarding.
Ano said it was his boyhood dream to play for the Waimea High School Menehune football team, because of its winning traditions. Because of his size, he felt he could help the team and possibly become one of the best football players to come out of Hawai‘i.
But Ano said that dream came to an end after a doctor told him he could become paralyzed if tackled from the back in a game.
Still, his dream of being a part of the team became a reality with the help of Waimea High school football coach Liko Perreira.
This past season, coach Perreira assigned Ano as the manager of the team. As result, “I was able to run out to the field for every game and to stand with the teammates on the sidelines, cheer them on, keep them pumped up, even though I could not play. But it is something I will never forget.”
Ano also said he wouldn’t be the person he is today without the support of school Vice Principal Patrick Perreira, the father of Liko Perreira, and Arthur Oshima, a health and guidance teacher at the Waimea school.
Ano said he has had other teachers who have helped him meet his academic requirements.
But he said Perreira and Oshima stand out because they helped him to find alternate solutions, to persevere and strive for success in spite of his condition.
“He (Patrick Perreira) has the biggest heart,” Ano said. And Mr. Oshima is “a man of many philosophies,” Ano added.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
The support has enabled him to reach a level of confidence that allows him to take on new challenges that are put before him, Ano said.
Ano said he loves cooking, and, upon graduation from Waimea High School, he plans to take up culinary courses at the Kaua‘i Community College.
“I am ready, ” Ano said of his future.
