against the odds

AGAINST THE ODDS
if your child was born without a hand or arm
what you do
would you overly protect them
would you try to keep them from doing things
like
riding a bike
swimming
playing sports like basketball soccer volleyball baseball
football gymnastics cheerleading
would you try to protect them

well
these three people were born that way
their parents didnt protect them
something we all probably do way too much
to our kids without any structural problems


wikipedia

the first was jim abbott
he was born without a right hand
he pitched left handed and yes batted left handed
he pitched for the university of michigan
he pitched 10 years in the major leagues for several teams
he pitched one no hitter
he pitched on the us olympic team

he was a successful athelete
against all the odds
some would say
but
not him and the other two below


another person was one i wrote about a few years ago
this little girl was born without a hand and lower arm
but
that didnt ever slow her down

click here to read my original blog on her story

she successfully played growing up
volleyball basketball track soccer softball
she was a fun to watch cheerleader at those
cheerleader contests

i have watched the videos of her tumbling over and over
again
amazed every time
like i was watching jim abbott pitching
how he could move that glove over to his pitching hand
in one fluid motion
i was amazed at abbie as he used her one hand and lower arm
to support and do those amazing flips that cheerleaders
do
you know the ones where they flip from one end of the basketball
court to the other
i always told my wife she
she
she is my hero

she when you see her you are struck by her beauty
and her intelligence
really not noticing anything else
her personality sort of shines through

she is nearing the end of her high school years
on to college soon
probably not as an athlete but as a student
a successful one im sure
maybe a writer or teacher or researcher or doctor or lawyer
whatever she does she will be good at it
its that drive that got her this far

then
now in the nfl
there is a player
a defensive one a successful one
that is now at the nfl combine
he has all the stats a player needs to be in the nfl
heck his twin brother is already there
the problem is
he was born with a damaged hand and fingers
that required amputation at 4 years old
like abbie and jim
he is without one of his hands now

sportingnews.com

his name is shaquem griffin
from central florida universtiy
he dominated their peach bowl on defense

like abbie and jim
he hasnt let it slow him down
like abbie and jim
he has that extra it
that special drive
to be successful
you cant teach that to someone
you cant make someone have it
they
sort of innately have it

he also has a personality that stands out in a room
he like on the football field
owns the room
he dominated the nfl combines

some lucky nfl team will get him
i look forward to watching him play on sunday

some lucky guy will find abbie
some lucky organization will hire her
some lucky kid will have her as a mother

what if we could get all our kids
to have that umf that it
that these three have

against the odds
they are making it
jim already did

the organicgreen doctor