At 12 years old, in less than 48 hours Travis went from perfect 20/20 vision to no vision at all. He had contracted Cavernous Sinus Thrombosis (CST). It's an extremely rare but an extremely deadly form of a sinus infection. The doctor said that 70% of the people who have what he had die, and of the 30% that survive, only a very small percentage have normal brain activity afterward. Travis was only the second case in the world where the infection only affected the eye.
His response? You read it above. He fixed his mind on what he believed to be true about God...embracing the fact that God is good, God is in control, and God has his best interests in mind.
And then, he set his mind on playing football again at the encouragement of his coach who had come up with a brilliant way to make it possible. The coach moved Travis from tackle to center, where he sensed Travis had the highest chance for successfully mastering the fundamentals of the position. It was also a wise move because the center position tapped into Travis' leadership skills that the team still so desperately needed.
Now while that makes sense from a football standpoint, it still requires an immense amount of courage to play football blind. I really can't imagine what it would be like to not be able to see your opponent, let alone go through life without my sight. Clearly, God had the right person to testify to the power of "blind faith." The team would go on to win the conference championship that year, and he then played all four years in high school.
When adversity strikes, how do you respond?
In Travis' words, I find inspiration and hope...
"We all have disabilities and obstacles in our lives that we have to overcome, but those obstacles are not insurmountable mountains. I just want people to be encouraged and inspired, and to realize that whatever their circumstances, they don't have to be defined by them."
