Issue on June 2008
Running for his life,by Robert Kiener

Article:
The tragic story began when Ryan Farrington was about five years old.He felt numbs and pains on his body one day and his worried mother brought him to the hospital for a checkup.The doctor who examined Ryan could not figure what actually happen to him so he just put him on a morphine drip.When Ryan was seven,the same yet different thing happen to him.That evening,his mother Lisa heard another scream coming from his room.Indeed,when she rushed there,Ryan was lying on his stomach,violent spasms wrenching his back with what looked like snakes twisting and turning beneath his skin.Doctors again could not do much but just put him on a morphine drip to deaden the pain.Finally,when Ryan was seven,a specialist confirmed that he had dystonia,a rare condition similar to parkinson's disease.This disease affected much of his body;left leg,back,hands,and even his face.There was no cure and the older he gets,the worse it became.
With this disease,Ryan was not able to do simple things like tieing his shoelace or even holding a fork.One day,the doctor told them that the only thing they can do to stop the pain is numbing his nerves;which meant that he could never walk again.Ryan objected to the suggestion strongly.
He went to a rehabilitation centre hoping that he could walk normally again.To many people's surprise,his condition improved tremedously and he could even run faster than a normal person.He is now the Britain's top ten sprinters for his age group. Although his illness will often relapse,he did not give up.He said,'I don't know what's going to happen with my disease.So i have to hurry.'

Reflection:
I admire Ryan farrington's courageousness and determination.He became an athlete in spite of his incurable disease and faces life positively even though nobody knows when his illness will relapse and take him away.It is not easy for a normal person to become an athlete because not many have the potential and stamina to do sports,much more a half-cripppled person.From the article itself,i can feel the hardwork Ryan has put into the rehabilitation sessions in spite of the hardships and pain he had to bear.This itself takes alot of courage and patience to be done.I think Ryan is also fortunate to have supportive family members cheering him on and giving him full support in whatever decision he makes.Furthermore,it takes alot of courage for his mother to deal with this alone as she and Ryan's father had divorced.There is also one special person that i think has helped Ryan fulfil his dreams.Its is his coach,Frank Gardner. He helped Ryan realised his potential and make full use of it.Now with his talents and his coach's patience and guidance,he can achieve more than anyone can expect from a half-crippeld person.
It is Ryan's enthusiastic spirit towards life in spite of his disease that made some of us here feel ashamed of ourselves.Many of us here have a perfect body health but we refuse to make full use of it.
Most of the people who read this article,when faced problems,would run away,fearing that he or she would get hurt.They refused to face their problems and chose to hide from reality.So i think there is one most important thing we can learn from Ryan Farrington.It is his willingness to face reality and stand up on his feet again in spite of the challenges and obstacles surfaced as he goes on with life.When a normal person is down with such an illness,they will often choose to die instead of trying hard to make achievements.In conclusion,i will like to ask,even a person down with an incurable disease can stand up and make miracles happen,why can't we?

Done by:Poh Jie Ying(15)