By Jim Hunt for the News and Journal
In the movie “Rocky,” Sylvester Stallone gave an inspirational speech that went
something like this: “The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows, and I don’t care how
tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.
Nobody is going to hit as hard as life, and it ain’t about how hard you hit; it’s about how
hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”
I was reminded of that speech over the 4th of July weekend. I was invited to a family
reunion of one of my T-Ball players from years ago. The player’s name is Shawn Fultz,
and he was barely seven years old when he showed up to the VA park for the first
Cerebral Palsy T-Ball League season. He had a huge smile and was always one of the
first to take the field. He used wooden hand crutches to get around and ran harder than
anyone on the team. I remember one game where Shawn was on third base and the
game was tied. The ball was hit in the infield, and Shawn took off to score the winning
run. About halfway to home, his crutches slipped on the base path, and you could feel
the thud of him hitting the ground. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his mother running
toward him, but I pointed for her to go back to her seat. Shawn gathered himself up and
ran across home plate for the winning run. It was one of the greatest plays I have ever
seen.
Shawn played T-Ball through grade school, and I would see him occasionally after that
as he moved on to high school and college. I reconnected with Shawn through
Facebook, and we have kept up with each other over the past several years. Shawn
moved to Schenectady, New York, and met his partner, Mary, a wonderful lady who I
had the privilege of meeting at the reunion. I enjoyed seeing Shawn’s adventures and
was particularly proud of his participation in a sled hockey league. Shawn also trained
as a boxer and seeing him pounding a heavy bag revealed a toughness that he has
carried through his whole life.
About five years ago, Shawn’s toughness was tested when he suffered a stroke that left
him in a coma for several weeks and weakened his body. Mary told me that the doctors
were not giving her much hope and that Shawn was touch and go throughout his
recovery. When I saw Shawn at the reunion, his smile was as big as always, but he was
now in a wheelchair, with some paralysis of his right arm. He gave me a big hug and we
relived some of those days of T-Ball in the park. Under the sleeve of his t-shirt, I saw a
colorful tattoo and asked Shawn about it. He explained he had put the date of his stroke
on his arm with flames rising, much like a Phoenix.
Shawn has never been a quitter, and he has been hit as hard as anyone, but he
continues with a positive attitude. He works out daily with the goal to walk again. He told
me that as soon as the doctors clear him, he is going tandem skydiving. For many, this
might be an unrealistic dream, but Shawn has already been to the skydiving school and
spoken to the fellow who will be hooked to him on the way out of the airplane. I continue
to be inspired by these brave kids, who I was fortunate to meet over forty years ago and
honored to be remembered as “Coach.”