This piece runs 21:12 and it is worth every second of your time.
It is about a former ESPN producer, Lisa Fenn, and the bonds she formed while doing a story on two incredible individuals who battled to overcome unthinkable obstacles. Here is a preview of the story.
Here is the link to the entire video, which includes a moving first-person essay from Lisa Fenn about her experience.
Fenn writes:
Perched atop Dartanyon’s back — yes, riding on his back — was teammate Leroy Sutton. He traveled around up there because he had no legs, and the school had no elevator. And because when he was 11 years young, he was hit by a train. Yes, a freight train. Though the paramedics saved his life, they could not save his entire body. His left leg was amputated below the knee, his right leg below the hip. His mother, ravaged by guilt, soon slipped into drug use and disappeared for stretches of time, leaving Leroy alone to care for his younger sister. His father spent nearly all of Leroy’s youth in jail. The “why” questions haunted Leroy, but he learned to mask their torment with a quick smile.
The one with no legs, being carried by the one who could not see. At first, I stayed because I simply could not look away.
It was a nice story, though as a former journalist, I kept wondering what the circumstances were around Lisa’s departure from ESPN. Did she enter another line of work and was it directly related to her opting to have a continued relationship with the two men. Additionally, it doesn’t jive with the feel-good feature vibe, but the for-profit Collins College (where Leroy was attending) closed shop late last year. Wonder where that left Leroy.