Anthony

Meet Anthony.

Anthony is my nephew and godson. He's almost all grown up now, 18 and living at Northern Kentucky University.

Anthony was born a bit early and suffered some complications. He needed brain surgery and spent a month in the hospital. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy early on. His left side was the affected side. His left arm and left leg were very weak. His arm hung limply by his side and his leg stretched out with no muscle tone.

But he was loved.

I like to think of Anth as Clifford. The song in the introduction of Clifford says, "Clifford needed Emily, so she chose him for her own. And the love made Clifford grow so big..."

Anthony grew. His parents took him to therapy constantly and tried all kinds of exercises and treatments. He learned to walk just after his second birthday. He started to talk. And his laugh...he always had a great laugh.

I started babysitting him just before his first birthday. I was in love with him. I think I spent all of my $10 weekly babysitting money on clothes and toys for him. We spent hours walking up and down his street and playing. Eventually, I met Jon (who was Anthony's uncle), so then I was even more attached to Anth.

As he grew, his personality began to shine. He was tough, tough enough to rise above being the underdog. He loved sports, but no one was sure how he would play with only one good arm and leg. Somehow he did it. In baseball, he would catch the ball in the glove with his right hand, put the glove under his left arm, pull it off, and then take the ball out of the glove and throw it with his right hand. It was prime. He played football and soccer too. Amazing.

As the years passed, I marveled at the things that Anthony would do. He had to play an instrument in junior high, so he chose the trombone. With the trombone, he could support it with his shoulder and use his one strong hand to play. And then he joined the marching band, go figure. He learned to type, he started bikeriding, and he started swordfighting. He plays ping pong, pool, and foosball AND pinball. PINBALL. Tough, but not too tough for Anthony.

In high school, sports became more intense and competitive, so Anthony turned to being the sports manager. He managed many teams and took his job seriously. He was the one who would scream the loudest and paint his face with school colors. He was proud of 'his' teams.

He's very opinionated, like his father. It is impossible to debate him because he is positively unbending in his thoughts. He was voted 'most opinionated' in his senior year. This drives me crazy, but he's so loveable, I think I can get past this.

Now that he is in college, he is doing more serious things like training for his first marathon.

Anthony is amazing. He is unstoppable. His body is not perfect, but his spirit is unbreakable.

Anthony is my oldest nephew, my first godson, and one of my boys' favorite cousins. And he's my hero.