My son Joey was born with club feet. The doctors said that with treatment he would be able to walk normally, but would never run very well. He had to1his first three years of life in hospital. By the time he was eight, you wouldn't know he had a problem when you saw him2.
Children in our neighbourhood always ran around during their3, and Joey would jump and run and play, too. We never told him that he probably wouldn't be4to run like the other children. So he didn't know. In the seventh grade he decided to go out for the cross- country5. Every day he trained with the team. He worked harder and ran more than any of the other members. Although the whole team runs, only the top seven6would be chosen to run for the school. We didn't tell him he probably would never make the team, so he didn't know.
He continued to run four to five miles a day, every day- even when he had a fever. I was7so I went to look for him after school. I8him running all alone. I asked him how he felt. "Okay," he said. He had two more miles to go. Yet he looked straight ahead and kept9We never told him he couldn't run four miles with a high fever. So he didn't know.
Two weeks later, the names of the team runners were called. Joey was number six on the list. Joey had made t team. He was in seventh grade - the other six team members were all eighth graders. We never told him he couldn't do it… so he didn't know. He just10it.
