Proving Them Wrong

The bullet ripped through the toddler’s temple and split in two, with half exiting from the back of his skull and half through the side. Doctors told Sandy Porter that her son, Ronnie Harris, would die. Ronnie Harris was determined to play football. He proved them wrong. The same doctors told her that Ronnie would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, that he would never walk or talk again. That her 2-year-old son was doomed to a life as a vegetable. He proved them wrong again. Ronnie made it out of that wheelchair. He started over, learning to walk and talk and even eat again. He had no use of his right hand and walked with a limp, but his mom became convinced that he could do anything that the other kids could do. And then, when he was fourth grade, he asked the question that stunned her: “Can I play football?” She worried. But how could she say no?