Dennis Byrd

What qualities do you think of when you think of heroes? Bravery, courage, or maybe saving someone? Well, Dennis Byrd is a different type of hero, a hero from within. He is a hero because he struggled through tough times.

My hero is Dennis Byrd. He was a football player for the New York Jets from 1989-1992. During a game against the Kansas City Chiefs on November 29, 1992, Dennis was rushing the quarterback, but instead of running into the quarterback he ran into fellow teammate, Scott Mersereau, who was also charging at the quarterback. Dennis ran into him with his head down, so that shattered his fifth vertebra. He was paralyzed.

The New York Jets professional trainer didn’t think that Dennis would make it. He was sent to a hospital and then transferred to different hospitals to go through rehab. While Dennis was watching the Jets play against Buffalo, Dennis had his whole team with him. The Jets were wearing a sticker on their helmets of a fish with the number 90 in it. That was Dennis’ number. Dennis would draw a fish on the tape that he used on his ankles. After the game some of his teammates flew all the way to the hospital and gave Dennis the game ball. Dennis knew that he couldn’t give up. He was trying to do simple things like stand and eat by himself, but he couldn’t. After a while of going through rehab, Dennis finally stood. Then he started to walk. By the time the Super Bowl came around, he could walk all by himself. He could finally walk and eat by himself, could hug his wife and children, but the one thing that he couldn’t do was play football. But he did something far greater. He overcame one of the hardest challenges ever.

Out of the heroes in T.A. Barron’s book "The Heroes Trail," Dennis Byrd is definitely a hero from within. I think that that would have to be one of the hardest heroes to be because you have to fight to stay alive through disease or injury. In this case, Dennis Byrd was paralyzed. To be hero from within you need to have special qualities like courage, faith, perseverance, and commitment.

Dennis Byrd is a big hero because he overcame a huge obstacle in life because he became the hardest type of hero, struggling through really tough times.