Believe in Yourself

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Duringharsh winter, the little country school-house was heated by an old-fashioned,pot- bellied coal stove. A little boy had the job of coming to school earlyeach day to start the fire and warm the room before his teacher and hisclassmates arrived.

Onemorning they arrived to find the schoolhouse engulfed in flames.

Theydragged the unconscious little boy out of the flaming building more dead thanalive. He had major burns over the lower half of his body and was taken to anearby county hospital.

Fromhis bed the dreadfully burned, semi-conscious little boy faintly heard thedoctor talking to his mother.  The doctor told his mother that her sonwould surely die since the fire had devastated the lower half of his body. Evenhe doesn’t, he will cripple his lifetime with no use of his lower limbs.

Butthe brave boy neither wanted to die nor to cripple. He made up his mindthat he would survive & Thrive, despite from the waist down, he had nomotor ability.  He was released from the hospital. Every day his motherwould massage his little legs, but there was no feeling, no control, nothing.

Yethis determination that he would walk was as strong as ever.

Everyday his mother wheeled him out into the yard to get some fresh air. Instead ofsitting there ideally, he threw himself from the chair. He pulled himselfacross the grass, dragging his legs behind him. He worked his way to the whitepicket fence bordering their lot. With great effort, he raised himself upon the fence.

Then,stake by stake, he began dragging himself along the fence, resolved that hewould walk. He started to do every day until he wore a smooth path all aroundthe yard beside the fence. Through his iron persistence and his resolutedetermination, he did develop the ability to stand up, then to walk haltingly,then to walk by himself – and then – to run.

Laterin Madison Square Garden this young man who was not expected to survive, whowould surely never walk, who could never hope to run – this determined youngman, Dr Glenn Cunningham, ran the world’s fastest mile!

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A horrifying beginning, but a refreshing end.

May we all have the perseverance, patience, resilience and determination of the little boy.