TO DREAM BIG!: “If you can dream it, you can do it!”

Imagine This: You’re born with a medical condition known as Amelia* in which your right arm ends at the elbow. So how does this affect your life? Do you give up some of your aspirations because of your disability or do you rise above your disability and believe that “If you can dream it, you can do it?”

Who: You’re Coleman Shannon, a 14-year-old South Carolina boy.

What: A Little League baseball game

Where: Johnsonville, South Carolina

When: May 1, 2012

This is an inspiring story of determination and perseverance.

You’re born with your right arm ending at the elbow, but you’re determined not to let your disability deter you from setting and attaining your goals.

When your parents get you a prosthetic arm at age 2, you hide the limb and refuse to use it because you don’t think you need another arm.

You love baseball and you’re not about to let your physical impairment deter you from playing the game you love. You’re not only good on the mound, but you’re also good at the plate and you’ve been known to deliver some important hits right when they’re needed.

 You give the performance of your career, however, on May 1, 2012, when you pitch a no-hitter against the neighboring Timmonsville team, a feat rare in Little League and almost unthinkable for someone with your disability.

Thanks, Coleman, for your determination to follow your heart and focus on your ability rather than your disability!

*Amelia is an extremely rare birth defect marked by the absence of one or more limbs.

For More about Coleman Shannon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXFa0FXi5s0

 Something to Think about: Why do you think some people attain their goals in spite of obstacles while others give up without really ever trying?

                               “The time is always right to do what is right.”

                                                Martin Luther King, Jr.

 Willoughby and I hope you enjoyed this week’s true story and will be back next week for another story to inspire you to DARE TO DREAM BIG!

Reminder: To be eligible for the weekly drawing for an autographed copy of one of my books (your choice of book), please leave a comment here and also on my blog at http://www.kidscandoit.com/blog/

                          THIS WEEK’S WINNER IS PEGGY STRACK

                                     CONGRATULATIONS, PEGGY!