2023/2024
Collection 19

Never Lose Faith

1974–present; Chicago, Illinois, USA

In 1974 my uncle Damian was born. The doctor told his mother and father that their baby was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. That scared the mother and the father. They didn’t know what disabilities he might have, if any. Eventually they learned that he had epilepsy and cerebral palsy. Despite having these disabilities, Damian developed normally except for his ability to walk. It took him five years to walk independently. Even after he was walking, he would fall down a lot. Therefore, in elementary school he had to take extra safety precautions by wearing a helmet in gym class.

When high school rolled around, Damian wanted to play a sport. He had always loved sports, but he had been told by his doctor that he could not play contact sports like baseball, football, or even soccer. My grandma told him that he should swim, but he didn’t want to. Damian wanted to run. When he learned about cross-country,(1) he decided to join the team.

Damian was the slowest runner at every cross-country meet, but he had faith that he could continue to succeed. At the end of every race, his team would cheer him on at the finish line as he crossed. He never gave up. Damian kept running and began to race against his own time. This clearly worked for him, as he started to get faster and faster. His team loved him; they always cheered him on at the end of a race, because they also had faith that he could succeed.

Damian went on to run 5K races(2) in college and into adulthood. My grandparents were so proud of him, and they had faith in him. They knew he could succeed — not only at running, but also in life. Damian earned his master’s degree, but he never stopped running! He still ran, and he still kept trying to beat his old time. Damian still falls from time to time due to his disability, but he does not let that stop him.

Uncle Damian is currently training for a half marathon, and a main reason is that he has faith. My grandma said she always had faith in Damian and had so much joy raising him. She never ever lost faith, and neither did he.

Garrett Hardy; Missouri, USA

1. In cross-country, runners run in open country rather than on tracks or roads.

2. A 5K race is a distance of 5 kilometers (3.107 miles).

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