This past August (2017), Brittan
tried out for the USSSA (United States
Specialty Sports Association) Atlantic
region team in Dallas, Georgia. “You
may have seen some of these games
on ESPN Wide World of Sports,” said
Britt. “Our region is made up of South
Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. It was
our first experience, so we learned a
lot this first time around about the
process and the tryouts.” Even so,
out of all the boys who tried out in all
three-states, Brittan made the USSSA
Atlantic National 9U team.
“I see kids whose parents have
pushed them until they are burned
out,” said Britt. “It’s the other way
around with Brittan. He’s burning us
out.” He gave me a weary smile. “Last
night, after we got done with football
practice, he wanted me to throw
baseballs to him to let him practice his
swing. Then he got out the football and
throws it to me. It’s 9:30.”
Britt doesn’t need for his son
to live out some dream of playing
sports that his accident took from
him. Having his wife Janna, and son
Brittan, was more than he could ever
have hoped for. The reason he and his
wife, now a surgical nurse at Vidalia
Regional Hospital, make the drive to
Savannah two or more times a week
for Brittan to practice and play with
the Tigers is because their son not
only has natural talent for the game,
but the determination to be a great
player as well. When you see that kind
of passion in a child, you don’t have to
push; you just have to hold on.
Even though that fateful day in
1990 changed Britt’s life, it did not
take away his hope. “I’m going to walk
again,” said Britt. He glanced at the
large window that filled one entire wall
of his office. “They’re doing all kinds
of stuff now for spinal cord injuries
at the Miami Project, and I still go
there from time to time.” According to
their website, “The Miami Project to
Cure Paralysis, a Center of Excellence
at the University of Miami Miller
School of Medicine, is considered
the premier investigative research
program conducting cutting edge
discovery, translational, and clinical
investigations targeting spinal cord and
brain injuries” (www.themiamiproject.
com).
As I left Tabor Computer Solutions,
I thought about Britt’s bold statement:
“I’m going to walk again.” I really hope
he does walk again. But until then,
he will keep throwing balls to his son
every chance he gets. Every moment
that he spends with his son has value
to him as a father.
I came across a line the other day
in The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
by English writer, Douglas Adams and
thought of Britt. It read, “I may not
have gone where I intended to go, but I
think I have ended up where I needed
to be” (pg. 128). The beauty of life,
after all, is not in someone’s idea of
a perfect path, but in the gift of each
new day with those we love. TCM
38 Toombs County Magazine