After I was born it didn't take me long to get sick. Firstborn are often sickly. I was no exception. Little did I know what I was going to have to overcome.
I was born in Kaiser Hospital in Los Angeles where at 8 months old they diagnosed me with...spinal meningitis. My aunt had spinal meningitis when she was young and the only thing that saved her life was an intensive penicillin therapy.
But she was older than I was when she was stricken which really worried my parents. They decided to cross town to USC Medical for a second opinion. Luckily the doctors said 'no" meningitis 'yes' measles. I had a 104 degree temperature.
Not long after this first scare my parents kept noticing that I continued to be sicker than usual. Every couple of days I'd have a rash, a fever or some reaction to some unknown substance. Later they found out I was allergic to commercial baby food. My father bought a mixer and started making natural juices and food substances for me. Fruit juices, carrot juice, beet, spinach and that awful cabbage juice were the only substances my baby body didn't react to negatively. They said I ate that stuff like a football player but never gained weight.
At 10 months I started walking. Normally that's premature and a cause for celebration, but for me it was only another one of life's challenges. We found out how severely bowlegged I was which had something to do with the high fever. My legs and feet were completely turned inward.
At night, I had to start sleeping with a metal contraption consisting of two lateral bars with clasps that my feet were inserted in. Periodically the doctor or my Mom would adjust a knob which would force my legs and feet to turn outward while I slept. And yes, I was completely immobile in bed. I couldn't turn and couldn't turn over. Think "torture chamber".
Now if that was all then this would be a short story. But it wasn't.
During the day I had to wear a pair of huge iron braces that were attached to these special shoes and were connected along the sides of my legs all the way up to my waist. Imagine Forrest Gump with his braces...on skates, and you've almost got the picture.
At age 2, I graduated to these huge weighted metal shoes that my Mom said were painful just to see never mind have to wear.
In addition to everything, that "spinal meningitis" fever left me with little to no hair for a long time. Adults thought I was a skinny little boy as a kid. Kids teased me A LOT.
For some reason, as a kid I'd never really focused on my physical aspect. I didn't focus on "Oh man I wish I had this or had that" nor did I feel sorry for myself. I'm not sure why. I do attribute a lot of this to my father.
My parents had long discussions on what to do with me so I'd have a normal childhood. They discussed whether I should wear a wig or not. My father refused. He was totally against it. He didn't want me to hide behind anything I wasn't born with.
I'd say my father's take was " If God didn't give it to you then either you work for it or you didn't need to have it". My Father taught me that the only love I actually needed in life was that of God, that of myself, and that of my parents. His lessons always entailed loving God, loving my parents and loving myself no matter what.
That is just how I grew up. I was constantly teased at school and on the street. They talked about my leg braces, my hair and lack of it and/or how skinny I was. I should have grown up with issues.
But in kindergarten I was reading second and third grade educational material. I was smarter than the majority of the kids in my class. In second grade I had a teacher accuse me of cheating because she said my penmanship was too perfect. She insisted my Mom was doing my homework. A little drama in life is expected but this wasn't a fun situation having to prove my intelligence.
My parents put me in ballet class so that the exercises would strengthen my legs. I loved to dance and didn't really feel like physical therapy. With their encouragement I started taking all sorts of classes that were physically challenging. Swimming, tumbling and gymnastics, tap and modern dance....as my confidence grew so did my leg strength.
By this time I developed a new strategy for when kids teased me. I started to ask them if they wanted to read with me. Nine times out of ten they stopped teasing but they wouldn't read with me since I was reading material that they couldn't read.
Starting kindergarten so early made me the youngest in everything I did through life. In junior high and high school I was younger than everybody in my classes. The same thing occurred on the Varsity Volleyball team and other teams I played on.
When people thought I was too young and said I didn't belong...I wouldn't focus on the hurt. I just became super-determined to improve my skills. Luckily you can make things in life change for yourself just by working hard, often that means harder than everybody else.
By the time I was in high school...when I asked anyone to play with me, nine times out of ten...they said "Yes!".
Life Lesson: Don't focus on yourself and what you believe are your shortcomings. Focus on your natural abilities and work to develop and enhance skills you do well while constantly improving your weaker ones. This will pay off in life both on the court and off.
Go to Volleyballvoices.com to read the personal stories of America's greatest female volleyball players who write their personal stories about the obstacles they had to overcome in order to become the best in their sport.
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