A DIFFERENT KIND OF ATHLETE
We found out that Jenny was hearing impaired
when she was four and a half years old.
Several surgeries and
speech classes later we discovered
that Jenny had Juvenile Rheumatoid
Arthritis.
She could not put pressure on the heels of her feet
so she walked on
tiptoe,
and when the pain became unbearable I carried her.
Jenny was fortunate, because she did not suffer
the deformities often associated with JRA.
All
through grade school and high school Jenny suffered,
yet she seldom complained. She took her medicine,
and I would often wrap her feet in steaming towels.
I would hold her and rock her until the pain eased.
As soon as she could
withstand the pain,
Jenny carried on as though she were pain free.
Jenny
wore a smile on her face, a song on her lips,
a prayer in her heart, and a love and acceptance of others,
that was simply amazing. I don't remember her ever voicing self‑pity.
She ran when she could run. She played when she could play,
and she danced when she could dance.
When she could do none of these things she took her medicine,
and she waited until she could.
Jenny was the epitome of faith in
action.
A lovely blonde with warm brown eyes,
she would never be a cheerleader.
She would never compete in a sport.
She could not even take part in a gym class,
although she took the same health class four years in a row
just so she could pass with a substitute credit.
She became a leader in her church youth group.
She joined the band. She won a place in the Governor's School for the
Arts,
yet no one in the Charleston, South Carolina School System
knew what to do with Jenny.
The perimeters were simply not in place to deal with a student
who was both active and handicapped.
Jenny continued to have one surgery after another on her ears.
Her hearing improved to 60%, and she taught herself to read lips.
She carried a pillow to school, and once,
when she suddenly experienced crippling pain,
her friends scooped her up and carried her from class to class.
She
was totally mainstreamed, popular, and funny.
She attended every football game cheering the team on.
She carried her pillow everywhere she went,
so that she could cushion the pain when she sat down.
Then came her junior year.
She would be considered for scholarships;
however school activities, especially sports,
could often mean the difference between
receiving an award or losing out.
So
Jenny came to a decision,
and in her quirky unorthodox manner,
she began to bombard the high school football coach.
She begged. She pleaded. She promised.
She got her best friend, Shelly to sign up with her.
Finally Coach Burns gave in, with the admonition,
"If you miss ONE game, you're out!"
So Jenny and Shelly became managers
of the Garrett High School Football Team,
but it soon became evident that, to Jenny,
this was something very special.
She hauled big buckets of water to her teammates.
She bandaged knees and ankles before every game.
She massaged necks and backs. She gave pep talks.
She was continually at their beck and call,
and it turned out to be one of the best years
for the Garrett High School Football Team
in its twenty‑five year history.
Often Jenny could be seen carrying a bucket of water
in each hand,
nearly dragging them, along with her pillow tucked under her arm.
A line-backer was once asked why he thought
that the team was winning all of their games,
especially in the face of
injury.
In his soft Charleston drawl, he explained.
"Well, when you've been knocked down, and you can't seem to move,
you look up and see Jenny Lewis limping across the field,
dragging her buckets and carrying her pillow.
It makes anything the rest of us may suffer seem pretty insignificant."
At the Senior Awards ceremony
Jenny received a number of scholarships to the College of Charleston.
Her favorite award, however,
was a small one from the Charleston Women's Club.
The President of the Women's Club listed Jenny's accomplishments,
starting with her grades and activities,
and ending with an excited,
“…and she was the first girl to letter in football in Garrett High School
history!!"
© Jaye Lewis, 2001
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