The Running Dream

Thanksgiving- just around the corner. Something to be thankful for: the ability to walk. Brought to my attention by the story, The Running Dream.

This story is about an incredible journey of a 16 year old track runner named Jessica. She’s in the hospital. There was a very bad wreck. On their way home from a meet, the bus was crashed into. One girl lost her life, but Jessica lost only her leg below the knee. She doesn’t know how she can manage to adjust to this new life. She can barely walk, much less run anymore. The pain is excruciating, she’s missing weeks of school, and she’s pretty depressed. Luckily she has a fantastic best friend- always there for her, bringing her make up work, taking her out, and finally convincing her that it’s time to face the inevitable- returning to school. The day she goes back, she uses a wheelchair to make it around because her prosthetic leg is not yet ready. That’s how she meets Rosa- a girl in a wheelchair she will never leave. She has CP. But she’s a math whiz and helps Jessica get caught up with everything she’s missed. Months later, when she can walk again with her new leg, the track team begins fund raising to get her a runner’s leg. Her dream is to run again. But she can’t leave Rosa behind. Maybe she will know the joy of running again, but Rosa never will. Jessica comes up with an amazing idea to help Rosa experience life as she has never been able to again.