<img class="" style="float: right;" src="https://opedge.com/Content/OldArticles/images/2004-02_12/Teenage-Football.jpg" width="219" height="306" hspace="4" vspace="4" /> <b><i>Youre a 17-year-old football player, enjoying life and youth. Then you find out you have a rare, dangerous form of cancer that could claim your life. What do you do? How do you react?</i></b> Jerried Rhodes, at the time an offensive lineman for the Mansfield, Texas, football team, met this challenge with courage and a determination that not only would he recover--he would also play football again. Jerried's battle against the dreaded disease began in the eighth grade. Jerried had broken his right foot, and it didn't heal properly. There were times when the foot would swell painfully for several months, leaving him limping. However, in the fall of 2001, the pain had become so severe that Jerried could not complete the football season. What was happening? The news turned out to be grim. Jerried was suffering from synovial sarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer that attacks the joints. This was the cancer that claimed the life of actor Robert Urich in 2002. "In 25 seconds, everything changed," said Jerried's mother Rose Taylor, quoted in <i>The Dallas Morning News</i> May 16, 2002. "It felt like somebody punched me." This wasn't the first time Jerried had faced death. When he was three, he underwent open-heart surgery to correct a previously undetected birth defect. Surgeons inserted a plastic valve into his aorta to regulate blood flow. "He should have had a stroke, but for some reason he didn't," said his mother, quoted in the newspaper article. Amputation seemed to be the avenue that would give Jerried the best chance for survival, and so on January 8, Jerried's right leg was amputated below the knee. Jerried's warm heart led him to help another patient, a 12-year-old boy who also lost a leg to synovial sarcoma. "Since the procedure, Jerried has been in the hospital several hours a day spending time with his new friend," commented the newspaper article. Jerried did not give up his determination to return to a normal life and the sport he loved. He and his father, Royce Rhodes, designed a weight-training program that Jerried, using a prosthetic leg, followed faithfully every day. He returned to school about two-and-a-half months later. And in September 2002, Jerried played his first game since the amputation as Mansfield took on Bell High School in Hurst, Texas. "Fans who didn't know about Rhodes' condition probably would not have noticed any difference between the six-foot, 215-lb. lineman and his teammates," said an article in <i>The Dallas Morning News</i> September 15, 2002. "Rhodes moved with a slight limp, and a small portion of his prosthetic leg was visible between his sock and pants, but otherwise he was just another player determined to lead Mansfield to victory." Although his team lost 28-24, Jerried earned an accolade from Mansfield Head Coach Jimmy Burkholder. "This speaks volumes about his character," Burkholder said, as quoted in <i>The Dallas Morning News</i> article. "He's got a heart the size of the stadium. He's a great kid who's fought through a lot of adversity. He's going to be a great man." "Jerried is an inspiration," said Jim Cody, general manager of New Options Sports, Dallas. "We are more than happy to supply Jerried with all of his K55 suspension sleeves." And what is Jerried doing now? He is attending Tarleton State University, Stephenville, Texas--and still following his dreams.
