Teenager Lives Through the Pain
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From: http://afraidofedhochuli.blogspot.com/
There are certain things that I believe someone shouldn’t have to live through. Burying a child, watching a family member die, losing a parent at a young age and being unable to help a family member in the time of crisis are the four most important to me. That is why this story hit me so hard.
In Montgomery, Alabama a 16-year-old fullback had to live through something that no one should have to endure. And he did it with Brett Favre poise.
On October 18th, Jordan Creel was home alone with his mother when he awoke to the fire alarm. At 3 a.m. that morning he listened to his mother’s cries for help as he was unable to get passed the flames that were outside of her door. He knew there was nothing he could do so he ran to knock on neighbors’ doors.
When the Fire Department got to her they found her body in the bathtub, with the dog, unburned. She had died of smoke inhalation.
Said Alabama Christian coach Gregg Baker: "I got a call from Jordan saying his mama just died. Then I got a call from his girlfriend saying he wasn't doing so good. So I went over there and I told him, 'Look, this is up to you. If you want to play tomorrow night, I'd love to have you play. But I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do."
Jordan Creel had witnessed the death of his mother when he was the only one home and he could do nothing about it. He didn’t need to play football but he decided it was what she would have wanted. So he played.
"I pulled Jordan aside and said, 'You're going to have the game of your life tonight, and your mama's going to have a front row seat," Baker says.
And he scored.
The Alabama Christian Academy fullback rushed for 232 yards, two touchdowns and even had nine tackles on defense as Alabama Christian beat Daleville on October 19th.
His team hoisted him off the field with tears in their eyes.
"Every time I touched the ball, I thought of her."
He lives with his grandparents now, five blocks from where he lived through the most terrible ordeal he may ever face, and he endures. He lives on through football: "It's an escape for me."
He has a voicemail of his mother saved on his cell phone, the last message she left him telling him to get his bicycle fixxed. But it is everything he needs. "I don't want to say I'm holding on to it," Jordan says, "but it is good to be able to hear her voice.”
It may not be her voice from the stands but it is something he will cherish forever.
