Breaking The Limitations Of Adversity
IllustrationStoryHistorical Account★★★★Wilma Rudolph was the twentieth of twenty-two children. She was born prematurely and doctors didn’t expect her to survive. She did, but at age four she contracted double pneumonia and scarlet fever, which left her left leg paralyzed.
At age nine, she removed the metal leg brace she had depended on for the past five years and began walking without it. By thirteen, she had developed a rhythmic walk, which doctors said was a miracle. That same year, she decided she wanted to begin running. She entered her first race and came in last.
For the next three years, she came in dead last in every race she entered. But she kept on running until the day came that she won a race.
Eventually, the little girl who was not supposed to live and then who was not supposed to be able to walk would win three Olympic gold medals.
The point
Wilma Rudolph, born prematurely, survived polio that paralyzed her leg. She persisted through losing every race for three years until she finally won, eventually earning three Olympic gold medals.