Todd's Stories #10

I stood looking at that diamond yearning for my chance.  No, this was not any regular diamond.  This was a baseball diamond, and I wanted to play.  My thoughts drifted to earlier that day when a simple door had seemingly ruined any chances I had at playing.  The door had closed faster than I expected and the sharp corner sliced through my heel like Bode Miller slicing through moguls of snow, sending blood everywhere and me to the ground.  Oh how it was painful, but not as painful as watching my little league team struggle without me.

So there I stood, on the sideline with little hope of getting in.  I had a plastic bag over my foot to keep it as clean as possible, but every attempt to get my cleats on ended in futile agony.  We were behind in the game but had put a few runs on the board, giving us a chance at coming back.  All I wanted was an opportunity to put us ahead, but it did not seem like that was going to happen.  

I tried one more time to get my cleat on my bloody foot.  All I wanted was to play, that's all I ever wanted.  I long ago learned of the strength of my body and my ability to overcome any pain, and so I still had hope.  My drive to get in the game overcame the pain that rushed to my heal when I got the cleat on my foot, but that was only the first step.  I now had to try to walk around without limping, and eventually run. 

Despite the slow progress I eventually gained enough speed to be noticed by the coach.  Although I was already a very slow child and had been made even slower by my injury, my power with the bat far outweighed the slowness with which I ran.  Because of that my coach came over and asked how I felt.  I told him I was in some pain but I just wanted one at bat, one chance to put another v in the win column.  He told me I would get my chance, and so I patiently waited for my chance to be the hero I have always wanted to be.

The score was now 5-4.  We were down and it was the bottom of the ninth inning.  We had a man on second and third with two outs, and that's when the coach called me in.  My heart was beating faster than ever before, but I knew I could do it.  I had been waiting for this moment all day, and no heel injury was about to ruin it.  So I got up there and stared straight into the pitchers eyes.  He knew he was in trouble.

After a couple of rusty swings, I finally got a pitch to hit and I blasted it into the outfield.  I stumbled to first, and by the time I had done so the victory was already ours.  I had won the game for us, and on a bum foot at that.  I jumped up and down in glee as my teammates came over and hoisted me up onto their shoulders.  It was a day I would never forget: a day of trials and tribulations, but in the end, a day of triumph.

Note: This story is only based partially on truth.  Some details of said Todd's Story have been forgotten, and thus filled in with exaggeration.

The moral of the story is that no injury can hold Todd back.