On Sept. 13th 1988, my son Trevor was born. He has been my hero and inspiration since he took his first breath. Trev was born missing tibia bones in both of his legs. No one knows why, "an act of God" they said. He received both surgery and magnificent care at Shriner's Hospital right here in St. Louis MO. At 13 months old he had an 8 hour surgery to amputate both of his legs above the knee. Since then, he has definitely endured his share of challenges, but nothing ever stopped him from trying new things. In high school he tried out for the wrestling team. He had a rough start with 8 straight losses in his sophomore year. He did not quit. He worked very hard in the off season to figure wrestling out.
His Junior year was quite successful, 28-15 and he took a trip to State. His senior year was off the charts. He broke Marquette high school's win record with 44 wins to 5 losses. He took 2nd in state, losing 1-0 on an escape point. He also earned a National Championship at Liberty. {Scroll to the third pic. He was also voted Most Valuable Wrestler at Liberty . (two absolutely massive trophies we had to tie down in the back of the truck on the way home from KC).{ He is in the second picture} } He also won a National Sportsmanship award in 2007.
Fast forward a few years...... Trevor continues to work out by going to the gym on a near-daily basis. As you can see his arms are amazing. He weighs about 125 while doing 215 lb lat pull-downs and bench-pressing 360lbs 5x
But, his legs are AWESOME. Trevor went to Oklahoma City to see what the Hanger Prosthetic and Orthotic's company could do for him. They taught him how to walk more efficiently, using less energy and causing less impact on his lower back. Also, he can now walk up and down stairs step-over-step without using a handrail. On his last day in OKC he signed a sponsorship contract to compete for Hanger. He was given a set of 'runners legs' while he was there and was trained on how to use them.
The past few nights he has gone on runs in the neighborhood and given the dreadmill a whirl. He ran an 8 minute mile last night. I could not do that even with something was chasing me. He has his first race in June and a 12 miler in Oct in California. I look forward to running with him, more than likely behind him, on the trails soon. Needless to say, It has been a great month at my house.