I’ll start by telling you that I am not going to identify him by any name other than Razor…  And I’m not going to give you his picture, either. I’ll tell you why later…

His name is Razor…

I heard of him a few months ago.  He is an amazing person.  I would say that he has more courage than just about anyone.  Sure, there might be someone out there than has a touch more… but not much.  His courage is in his determination.  And he is loaded with it.

He doesn’t ask for anything.  He has a ready smile.  And he carries a stick.  And two blades.  But that isn’t why he’s called ‘Razor’.

He also has another weapon… one of Atlanta’s toughest guys in hockey, Dan Sullivan… Sully.

Razor is in elementary school.  He has Cerebral Palsy, and has been undergoing therapy from the age of three years old.  Yes, he is just a kid.  And as long as he can remember, he’s wanted to play ice hockey…  There were a few problems, though.  The first one was that he couldn’t skate…  The second one was that he had some trouble walking.

Enter Sully.  Sully and Razor met in Augusta.  Razor’s mom had tried everything she could to help him learn to skate, but it wasn’t happening.  His physical therapist didn’t think it would happen.  Sully taught him to skate.  Before Sully, nobody could keep him up…

Now, without his name on his jersey, you might have a hard time figuring out which kid he is on the ice.  The other kids like him and respect him… regardless of whether they know about his condition.  He is a really nice kid.

I could have made this post prettier with some nice pictures…

But I want you to think about something instead of looking at the pictures…

The easiest thing in the world would have been for Razor to give up.  Nobody thought he could skate.  Even his therapist didn’t think it was going to happen.  Nobody would have looked at a little kid with CP that couldn’t ice skate and call him a failure… except Razor.

And nobody would have had a second thought if Sully didn’t even try…  Except Sully.  Who would expect that a hockey player… especially one known more for delivering a punch than the puck… would be the stone that would hone the Razor?

I’ve known Sully for about a year.  There isn’t much in his world that is more important than helping kids.  Right after that is helping kids play hockey.  And then play hockey better.

I met Sully’s mom today…

She wasn’t surprised about Sully’s desire to help Razor.  But seeing Razor and hearing the story brought tears to her eyes… over and over.  Heck, me too.

But Sully’s mom had a missing piece of information.  When he was a kid, he wanted to be a hockey player.  During the winter he skated on his uncle’s pond… every day.  He skated until he was dragged off.  He skated until he clothes were frozen solid.

Razor and Sully are cut from the same cloth.  Razor will likely not be a professional hockey player, but he has destroyed the odds against him.  There were a lot of people that thought that Sully, coming from a single parent home, wouldn’t be a likely pro player, either.  It isn’t an inexpensive sport, and the costs aren’t just financial.

Come to think of it, Sully has a weapon, too.  His mom.

Do you have the determination of Razor?  Of Sully?  Of Sully’s mom?

Do you face the same kind of challenges?

Tags: hockey, kids, life at home  |  Posted under all posts, life at home  |    View Comments