This story is very touching and hits very close to home for us. My stepdaughter contracted spinal meningitis when she was an infant. A delay in properly diagnosing the issue left her with CP. She sits in a wheelchair, is blind and she doesn't have any real speech other than a great laugh and a huge smile when she is happy; which is virtually all the time.
Doctors said she would be lucky to live to be 7 years old. -- This past October, she turned 24.
In a very similar situation to what these people are going through, I am the only one who can lift and carry her. My wife and our state staff who help out can move her from her bed to her wheelchair or into her shower chair with use of a Hoyer lift, but because she has gotten big, I am the only one who can actually carry her around.
She is the apple of my eye, and it is a great fear for me that if something happens to me, then how does that affect Rene's life? She loves being held, tossed into the air and at bedtime, she gets hysterical when I toss her into her bed. I don't know how I would be able to deal with not being able to physically lift her so that she could still enjoy these things.
Even when I was still wrestling; with broken bones, torn muscles and the like, I would always make sure I could still lift and toss Rene around in the manner she loves, regardless of the pain. What a truly remarkable kid this young man is to have the heart to fill that void for someone.
I wish ND would offer him a scholarship... If his football ability isn't quite up to standards, then maybe just offer an Exceptional Human Being Scholarship.