Against all Odds
By Grandmaster Robert CutrellAt the end of his fi rst stripe test as ten-year-old
Clayton Hyde stood in front of the ChunJiDo
examination board consisting of his Grandmaster
and two other master Instructors, he thanked
everyone for the training and instruction that
helped him meet the challenges he had faced
during the testing. Th e audience members in
attendance, as well as his family and peers, were
very proud, but it was not until he was asked to
share his story of what he had endured over the
last few years to even be able to test that everyone
understood the full magnitude of what Clayton
had gone through to persevere against the odds
and be able to perform his testing so well.
Prior to January of 2016, Clayton was your
average, free-spirited young man enjoying
life, sports, monster trucks, dinosaurs, and
many other activities that help shape children’s
early years. In January of 2016, Clayton’s life
took a very diffi cult turn. Clayton began to
experience severe pain, redness and swelling
in his ankle. After visiting his pediatrician, he
was referred to a foot specialist and placed ina “boot-type” brace. When the condition only
worsened, the foot specialist recommended
doing exploratory surgery for possible foreign
matter in the foot or ankle. Nothing was found,
and the symptoms very quickly spread to the
other ankle and also into Clayton’s thumbs.
Th e pain, swelling, and infl ammation in both
legs became so painful that Clayton was forced
to use crutches, as well as an additional boot
for the other ankle, and he eventually had to
be carried or use a wheel chair wherever he
went. He had an amazing support group with
his parents, step-parents, school, and fellow
students. His teacher opened her room early
so Clayton’s family members could carry him
to his class in the morning, and they always
had a wheelchair nearby to take him where he
needed to go during the school day. In spite
of all that Clayton endured, he was successful
in all of his school work and made the honor
roll. But the pain, suff ering, and challenges
were starting to take a toll on Clayton, and the
once bright shining spirit of this young boy
was starting to dim. Clayton was referred by
his pediatrician to Riley Children’s Hospital in
Indianapolis, Indiana. After another series of
examinations and tests it was determined that
Clayton had Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, also
known as Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Juvenile
idiopathic
arthritis (JIA)
is the most
common type
of arthritis
in children
and can cause
the immune
system to attack
the body’s
normal tissues
in the joints
and possibly18 January 2018 / taekwondotimes.com