Health & Fitness
True Champions
We all want to be champions on the court or field, but it's more important to be champions in life. Read about two local students who are truly champions in this week's post.
I am extremely fortunate to work with some amazing students as a teacher and coach. I am lucky enough to help serve as one of our school’s FCA Huddle Coaches. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences being a teacher. For the past four years, our Huddle has partnered with DASA (Disabled Athlete Sports Association) to put on an event called “Day of Champions.” It’s an event where disabled and non-disabled athletes come together for a day of fellowship and fun. The focus of the day is teaching the non-disabled student athletes how challenging and competitive the DASA athletic events are, and how talented the disabled athletes are. This year we were fortunate to have two student speakers from DASA. They were absolutely amazing and their stories touched me. They are true champions and are the focus on this week’s post.
Our first speaker was a 9th grade student from Troy, Missouri named Katie Ladlie. Two years ago, Katie had to make the unbelievably tough decision to have her leg amputated. Katie was born with a condition that caused her to have too many blood vessels in her leg, leading to muscle atrophy and eventually to a state in which the bones of her knee were rubbing against one another. Katie’s strength and toughness were something that stood out to me. Most people would not be able to handle a difficult situation and decision such as this. Katie told us how she found the strength and courage through God to turn her “why me” moment into a “why not me” moment.