Aiming High

(Photo by Casito)

Faith Oakley was appropriately named.  Born with Erb-Duchenne palsy, which “caused nerves in her right arm to be pulled away from her spine,” she has nevertheless become an ace archer.

When Faith was just a fourth grader, her camp counselor suggested she try archery.  The counselor held the bow while “Faith pulled back the string with her left hand and aimed.”

Faith must have aimed high because she now, at age 16, competes “against some of the best student archers in the world.”  These days, Oakley uses a mouth tab in order to draw the bow.  Her jaw muscles and molars therefore hold back 20 pounds of bowstring tension.  This is akin to lugging “a 20-pound bag of cat litter.”

How does she keep herself going?  With these strong words of Faith:  I have always believed I can work hard enough to become the best in the world.  

Resources

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/with-the-use-of-only-one-arm-shes-determined-to-be-the-best-archer-in-the-world/ar-BBI5XVe?OCID=ansmsnnews11

Copyright January 9, 2018 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved