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We found out that Jenny was hearing impaired, when she was four and a half years old. Several surgeries and speech classes later, when she was seven, we found out that Jenny had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRV). She could not put pressure on the heels of her feet, so she walked on tiptoe, and when the pain became unbearable, I carried her. Jenny was fortunate, though, because she did not suffer the deformities, often associated with JRV. All through grade school, and on into high school, Jenny suffered, yet never complained. Jenny, a beautiful blonde, with warm brown eyes, was never a cheerleader. She never competed in a sport. She took the same health class four years in a row, just so she could pass with a substitute credit each year. No one in the Charleston, South Carolina School System knew what to do with Jenny. The perimeters were, simply, not in place to deal with a student, who was both active and handicapped. She was totally mainstreamed, popular, and funny, attending every football game, cheering the team on, carrying her pillow everywhere she went, so that she could cushion the pain, when she sat down. Then came her senior year. She would be considered for scholarships; however, school activities, especially sports, could often mean the difference between receiving an award or losing out. So Jenny came to a decision; and in her quirky, unorthodox manner, she began to bombard the high school football coach. Finally, the coach gave in, with the admonition, "If you miss ONE game, you're out!" So, Jenny became Manager of the Garrett High School Football Team. She bandaged knees and ankles before every game. She gave pep talks, and it turned out to be one of the best years for Garrett High School Football Team, in its twenty-five year history. When asked why he thought that the team was winning all their games, even in the face of injury, one linebacker explained, in his soft, Charleston drawl, "Well, when you've been knocked down, and you can’t seem to move, you look up and see Jenny Lewis, limping across the field and carrying her pillow. It makes anything the rest of us may suffer seem pretty insignificant." At the Senior Awards ceremony, Jenny received a number of scholarships to College of Charleston. Her favorite scholarship, however, was a small one from the Charleston Women's Club. The President of the Women’s Club listed Jenny’s accomplishments, starting with her grades, and ending with an excited, "...and the first girl to letter in football, in Garrett High School history!!" — Author unknown
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