"A Child Blessed In Adversity"
Such a sweet baby, always smiling, and everyone loved him when they came in contact with him. But when he was 2-years old he contacted meningitis through one of the day care attendants, and in spite of all the diversity, he was blessed.
In Kindergarten he was having difficulty grasping onto the basic skills. It was found out that he had a 35% hearing loss in both ears. He was later fitted for a hearing aid and in a quiet voice he said, "What will the kids say?" But to his surprise they gathered around him, gave him some hugs, and showed true compassion.
When he advanced to Junior High, he was mingled with children that were not familiar with his dilemma. He would keep his hearing aid in his pocket, and when it would make a "squeal" sound, some would laugh, and make fun. So he decided to hide the hearing aid, or when possible not wear it at all.
He was small in stature, but because he did have some height, his father decided that he should get him involved in sports. His first involvement was in baseball, and he excelled naturally. He was responsible for his team winning the championship, but when it came to choosing the all-star team, the coaches chose their own sons, rather than the best player.
Then came midget football, he took a special liking to that, to his father's pleasure, and was cast as a wide-receiver and kick returner. He was naturally blessed with agility and speed.
In his sophomore year, he was added to the football "specials team," unit and scored his first touchdown on a punt return. In track he ranked high enough to go to "states" but a hip pointer llimited him from participating in the events; however, in his junior year he placed third in "states."
In his senior year he took the basketball team to the playoffs, passed his SAT's, excelled in football enough to be given a full-scholarship to a division 1 school, and won a gold medal in the 400-meter dash, a silver medal in the 100-meter dash, and named the school's "athlete of the year."
While in college he was a wide-receiver, and got some playing time. However, he begged the coach to use him as a kick-returner. So to keep him quiet, the coach gave in. To everyones surprise, he ran his first kick-off and scored a touchdown against a top college team. Thereafter, that position was his and he got an opportunity to score more touchdowns. He was the only sophomore named to the Big-East Team as a kick-returner, finishing 3rd in the nation.
He graduated from college, and has come to know that he was truly blessed in spite of adversity.
