Posted on 12/31/2006 11:35:52 AM PST by nuconvert
Disabled trumpeter, dad steal the show
A member of the Louisville Cardinals marching band -- who is blind and in a wheelchair -- never fails to inspire when he takes the field with the help of his father.
BY MICHELLE KAUFMAN
The most inspirational team in the Orange Bowl this year, the one that best exemplifies courage and willpower, is not Louisville or Wake Forest. It is the team of Patrick Henry Hughes and his father, Patrick John Hughes, who will perform a feat more remarkable than anything displayed by the extraordinary athletes on the Dolphin Stadium field.
Patrick Henry Hughes was born without eyes and can't straighten his arms or legs. And yet, he will play trumpet with the 220-member Cardinal marching band while his father pushes his wheelchair around the field, jogging, spinning and maneuvering the chair in tricky formations. The Louisville freshman and his dad have attended every practice since last summer and performed at every game this season.
Hughes, a Spanish major who graduated from high school with a 3.9 grade-point average, is also a talented pianist. He has performed piano concerts at a congressional breakfast on Capitol Hill and at the Grand Ole Opry, and regularly mesmerizes passersby at shopping-mall shows. When people see his stumpy arms and thick fingers, they figure he'll play elementary piano, and then he wows them with Chopin, Mozart, Ray Charles and Duke Ellington.
DEVOTED FATHER
Patrick's father quit his job as a systems analyst in 1999 and works the overnight shift at UPS so he can spend his daytime hours at his oldest son's side. He aids Patrick in all his college classes and at band practice. The elder Hughes was a violin major and piano minor at Louisville, so he shares his son's passion for music. Hughes' mother, Patricia, a stockbroker, studied trumpet, and his younger brothers, Jesse and Cameron, are musicians as well.
'When the band director first suggested I join the marching band, we were like, `Yeah, right,' '' Patrick said by phone last week.
Hughes had been in his high school marching band, but his wheelchair stayed parked at the 45-yard line and the band marched around him. He had attended many Louisville basketball games, and was a fan of the pep band, so when he registered for classes last summer, he inquired about getting a spot as a trumpeter. Louisville requires pep-band members to also be in marching band.
Rather than make an exception for Hughes, band director Greg Byrne invited the disabled freshman to be a full member of both bands.
''I never had any doubt Patrick could do it; the only question was whether I could do my part,'' Hughes' father said. ``The rehearsals started in the dead of August, and it was hotter than fire. I felt I was in pretty good shape, but pushing a 40-pound chair with a 150-pound guy through grass is quite a workout. When I tried to push forward, the wheels would dig into the turf. I was sweating like a dog.''
A BUMPY START
Patrick admitted that he was a bit apprehensive at first.
''It was rather scary because I had never played trumpet while my chair was moving on a bumpy surface, and I was afraid I might fall out,'' he said. ``Usually, I hang on to the armrests, but with both hands on the trumpet, I felt uneasy. Thank goodness I have a good seat belt.''
The father-son duo struggled with the turf. Mr. Hughes had to lift the front wheels to make turns. But then a mechanically inclined Hughes family friend offered to alter the chair with thicker tires that would rotate 360 degrees. The modification made a world of difference.
''It remains a work in progress, but we're doing much better now than we were at the beginning,'' Hughes said.
The elder Hughes admits that he sometimes loses his place in the intricate formations, but helpful band members discreetly lift fingers off their instruments and point him in the right direction.
Patrick Hughes' grit and determination earned him the Disney Wide World of Sports Spirit Award this month, and he has been featured on Good Morning America and in People magazine.
''I've always been taught I can do anything I set my mind to,'' Hughes said. ``I will fight until I win, and that has been my philosophy all through life. People didn't think I could play the piano, and when they hear me perform, they're pretty amazed.''
EARLY CHALLENGES
Hughes was born with bilateral anophthalmia, the rarest and most severe form of eye deformity. He also has a birth defect that does not allow his elbows and knees to function properly. He had two titanium rods surgically attached to his spine in 1999 to correct scoliosis.
''Once we got over the shock when Patrick was born, we got on with the business of living,'' the elder Hughes said. ``We saw his intelligence and personality at such an early age and realized Patrick was a special kid. We wanted him to have as full a life as possible, no different from what we want for our other two sons.''
When Patrick was 2, his father put him in a high chair next to the piano and started to teach him how to stroke the keys. By 5, he was playing children's songs and taking lessons from a blind piano teacher. ''We saw eye to eye on a lot of things,'' Patrick said, laughing.
Patricia Hughes said she worried that children would be cruel to her son when he started school, but was pleasantly surprised. Children in preschool took turns being his daily helper, and he made friends all through elementary school.
When he got to middle school, the parents decided it was too hard to have both of them working day jobs. ''It was tearing our family apart,'' the elder Hughes said. ``We were both chasing our careers, and we weren't around enough. The way it works now, one of us is around all the time.''
Hughes goes in to work at 10:30 p.m., works until 5 a.m., sleeps from 6 to 11 a.m., and gets his son to class by 1.
''It's been a dream come true for me, watching all of this happen with Patrick,'' his proud father said.
``The only downside, and I'm not complaining, is that my free time has been cut out completely and I don't get to spend time with my other two sons. I am missing out on their sports and music, but they are very understanding, and things will get better next semester, when marching band is over and Patrick has classes only three days a week.''
The elder Hughes said that despite the challenges, he feels blessed.
''Patrick has taught me a lot about life,'' he said. ``Mainly, he's taught me never to say never.''
Greater love has no man ...
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thanks for posting this.
Made my monitor screen really blurry!
bump
That is the true spirit of people in this country. Thanks for posting it.
What a great story!
cool. bump!
I wonder how many mothers would have aborted this great kid.
We never know what we are cheating the world out of when we abort a child.
what an incredibly inspiring family!
Thanks, from someone who is recovering from cancer surgery and needed to be lifted from self pity.
This story is so awesome. Beautiful......and they do it all on their own it seems.
ping...
What a great family!
He IS blessed. People who are too selfish and lazy to help those in need end up feeling haunted and cursed. This is why:
"At the end of our lives, we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made or how many great things we have done. We will be judged by ‘I was hungry and you gave me to eat. I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless and you took me in.’" -- Mother Teresa
"Thanks, from someone who is recovering from cancer surgery and needed to be lifted from self pity."
It's all in the attitude. The kid and his father have incredibly positive ones. I can see where this article would uplift you also, and I wish you the best in your recovery. You too can pull through this bad patch when you pull out a steely will and resolve. Go for it!
Thank you. "Wanted: One steely resolve." ;o)
...or maybe just some friends to talk to. ;)
When Patrick was 2, his father put him in a high chair next to the piano and started to teach him how to stroke the keys. By 5, he was playing children's songs and taking lessons from a blind piano teacher. ''We saw eye to eye on a lot of things,'' Patrick said, laughing.
The young man has a dry sense of humor to boot! :-)
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