Once more the brave boy made up his mind. He would not be a
cripple. He would walk. But unfortunately from the waist down he had no
motor abilit y. His thin legs just dangled there, all but lifeless. Ultimately
he was released from the hospital. Everyday his mother would massage
his little legs, but there was no feeling, no control, nothing. Yet his.
determination that he would walk was as strong as ever.
This determined
young man Dr.Glenn Cunningham, ran the world's fastest mile..
Questions
(a) The word in the passage similar in meaning to disable is........ 1
(i)) dangle (ii) cripple (iii) determination
(b) What had caused the disability to the boy ?
1
Answers
Answer:
a. cripple
b. at the age of eight years, his legs were very badly burned in an explosion. From then he lost his mobility power.
Answer:
Inspiring story of an invalid who became the fastest runner
Glenn Cunningham was born in Atlanta, Kansas on August 4, 1909. His father, Clint Cunningham, was a water-well driller who also did odd jobs.
At the age of 7, Cunningham and his older brother Floyd were badly burned in a schoolhouse fire.
The little country schoolhouse was heated by an old-fashioned, pot-bellied coal stove. Glenn Cunningham had the job of coming to school early each day so that he could use kerosene to start the fire and warm the room before his teacher and his classmates arrived. One cold morning someone had mistakenly filled the kerosene container he used with gasoline, and disaster struck.
The students arrived to find the schoolhouse engulfed in flames. Terrified on realizing that Glenn was inside, they rushed in and managed to drag the unconscious little boy out of the flaming building. He had major burns over the lower half of his body and was taken to a nearby county hospital.
From his bed, the dreadfully burned, semi-conscious little boy faintly heard the doctor talking to his mother. The doctor told his mother that her son would surely die as the terrible fire had devastated the lower half of his body.
But the brave boy didn’t want to die. Glenn made up his mind that he would survive. And somehow, to the amazement of the physician, he did survive. Yet when the mortal danger was past, he again heard the doctor and his mother speaking quietly. The mother was told that since the fire had destroyed so much flesh in the lower part of his body, it would almost be better if he had died, since he was doomed to be a life time cripple with no use at all of his lower limbs. His mother refused to let the doctors amputate.
The doctors told him and his parents that he would never walk normally again. However, Glenn and his family refused to accept such claims and with much determination and unwavering faith, he would not only walk, but run, and very fast.
Once more this brave little boy made up his mind. He would not be a cripple. He would walk. But unfortunately from the waist down, Glenn had no motor ability. His thin, scarred legs just dangled there, all but lifeless.
But although he did survive, the effects of the fire had clearly taken their toll: the arches on both of his feet were damaged, the toes on his left foot were nearly burned off, and his right leg was a few inches shorter than his left one. Doctor wondered if he would ever walk again, but a determined Glenn went home and began steadily rehabilitating his injuries.
Ultimately Glenn was released from the hospital. Every day afterward his mother and father would massage his little legs, but there was no feeling, no control, nothing. Yet his determination that he would walk was as strong as ever.
When he wasn’t in bed, he was confined to a wheelchair. One sunny day his mother wheeled him out into the yard to get some fresh air. This day, instead of sitting there, he threw himself from the chair. Glenn pulled himself across the grass, dragging his legs behind him.
He worked his way to the white picket fence bordering their lot. With great effort, he raised himself up on the fence. Then, stake by stake, he began dragging himself along the fence, resolved that he would walk.He started to do this every day until he wore a smooth path all around the yard beside the fence. There was nothing he wanted more than to develop life in those legs.
After weeks of practice, he gained a minor victory when he walked with crutches. Several months later, he was able to stand on his own. And nine months after that, he could once again walk without crutches.
It was Glenn’s determination and persistence that led him to walk again.Slowly over a period of months, Glenn’s legs began to function, to the astonishment of the doctors.Christmas eve 1917, Glenn gave his mother a present by taking his first steps without holding onto anything. Soon, he proceeded to run, grabbing a milk cow or mule’s tail, taking as much weight off his legs and running behind as the animals headed to water. He still couldn’t straighten out his right leg. Every step was “like daggers,” but he never quit trying. In time Glenn discovered that it was less painful to run than to walk.
Ultimately through his daily massages, Glenn’s iron persistence and his resolute determination, he did develop the ability first to stand up, then to walk haltingly with help, then to walk by himself – and then miraculously – to run.
Well, he actually started doing something more akin to hopping fast than running. But before long, young Glenn Cunningham was known throughout the community for his running. Because he ran everywhere.He once said, “I didn’t move 10 feet without breaking into a run. I ran and ran and ran.”
Strangely enough, however, although walking caused him great pain, running hardly hurt at all. And so, as Glenn would later remark, “For five or six years, about all I did was run.”