My Greatest Inspiration, My Son

I have the greatest young man in my oldest son. I have seen him grow for a frightened little boy with a bruised face and broken limbs to a fantastic teenager. I am the proudest of parents to know that after all the pain he has lived through, that he can stand before me and be an inspiration to his little brother and myself. When he was about two his stepfather broke his leg, right femur. The doctors said it was a spiral fracture and was either twisted or hit bluntly.

The following year his stepfather snapped both bones in his right wrist. When his leg was broke he spent three weeks in traction and then almost three months in a cast from his armpits down. I still can see hism in that cast and trying to walk. He was an awesome kid in he never felt defeated. When the cast came off his body he had to adjust and learn to walk. It took some time but he did alright. I remeber being in the doctor’s office when the cast came off his wrist. The doctor cut it off and told him not to use it until they got an x-ray. I looked over at him and he was already coloring a picture. I told him he had to wait but it did not faze him.

As he grew a little older, he developed juvenile arthritis in his right hip. His right wrist was also weak. I was really concerned about him not being able to be a little boy. I was a normal mom and worried, but he showed me I had nothing to fear. He played baseball, football, and did all the things a little boy should do. He complained about the pain and then realized it was not going away and learned to just fight through it.

He now is a junior in high school and currently runs cross-country. He is an awesome athlete. He runs anywhere from three to five miles after school and also works a part-time job. His work ethic is unbelievable and he strives to do his best. I am very proud of him that he works so hard and shows that regardless of the pain and fears he may have, he has over-come them. He has told me he wants to be a Navy Seal and I really see him succeeding in that.