Part 1

​ Growing up, I used to lose my breath very easily and I would also faint a lot. I would just be playing outside with my other friends and I would lose consciousness and blackout.

Even just walking up steps, I was totally out of breath. I was told when I was a child, I was born with asthma or some type of breathing and brain deficiency. My mother told me by the time this was discovered, It was too late for them to operate on me, it was just too dangerous. 

My mother told me the Doctors told her, I would never live a normal life, that I would be on medication and be dependent on someone to take care of me for the rest of my life.
My mother told me that the medications were so many and cost so much, she never bought them and never gave them to me.  She told me, she believes this was the Lord protecting me.

If that were not enough, they told my mother that I was very slow, close to being retarded. 

When I heard my teacher tell my mother this, I was about 8 years old. As I sat there listening quietly next to my mom, I told myself "I will study harder than any kid in any class for the rest of my life, but I refuse to accept this." 

I'm not going to lie, when all this hit me, I felt very alone. But, I learned how to pray as a child and I started reading my Bible in my room on my own, I didn't understand anything I read, but I kept reading. I can't explain it, I just felt God was with me, even though I couldn't hear Him, or see Him.

Well, I did great in school, even though the other kids finished exams and lessons much sooner than I did. I didn't give up. Many times I was the last student to finish my exam but I still got my 'A'.

I played sports and ran Cross Country and ran track, but it wasn't easy for me.

When I was 15 years old, a man from my church named Don Knox, who was about 21 years old, told me to be ready very early Saturday morning because we were going on a bike ride. The bike ride was over 3 hours long. We finally made it to a park and I was so grateful so I could finally rest and catch my breath.

Don told me that he had entered me in a race with the P.A.L. The Police Athletic League. 

Before I could say I was way too tired to run, Don told me that my race was getting ready to begin and I needed to get up to the starting line. 

Well, I did and I came in dead last. The second race, I came in last again.

Frustrated, I told Don, "If you just put me in with my age group I can win, these kids are 3 years older than me."

Don, just looked towards the track and said "Your next race is coming up, you better get ready."

 As I started this race, I said to myself "I might not win, but I'm not coming in last." so, I overtook the person ahead of me. Then I said "I can at least take one more." After getting ahead of him, I said I can definitely take at least one more. Eventually, I found myself behind the lead runner, I said to myself "I can take him, I know I can. I ran with everything I had, breathing super heavy, drawing breath whenever I could, but I did not give up. When I crossed the finish line, they were all behind me. I beat him, I beat all of them and I won the race. I couldn't believe it! 

I walked over to Don and said "Did you see that Don? Did you see? I won, even though those other kids were older than me."

 As if I said nothing at all, Don said "You better get on your bike Sean, we have a long ride home."

     End of Part 1