It is unlikely that during the broadcast of the opening ceremony of the Olympics, you paid attention to one of the flag bearers of the tiny delegation from Puerto Rico. Perhaps more colorful characters came to the stadium that evening. And if you suddenly managed to look at the competitions of alpine skiers in the giant slalom, then it is very unlikely that you waited for the competitor number 89 to start.

We are talking about the same person, William Flaherty. A skier from Puerto Rico, where there is no snow from the word "absolutely", already sounds quite unusual. But this is not the most amazing thing in the history of the 17-year-old boy.

"Our life is like a mosaic of truly tragic moments, but they have both pride and hope," says William's mother Ann. When today's Olympian was three years old, doctors diagnosed the boy with a rare and serious disease, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. With it, the immune system begins to attack its own organs. In William's case, it was the liver and bone marrow. According to Ann, doctors gave 95 percent out of 100 that the boy would not survive. “It was a punch in the gut,” the woman recalls.

After courses of steroids, antibiotics and chemotherapy, it became obvious that bone marrow transplantation was indispensable. The seven-year-old brother of William Charles, with whom he turned out to be one hundred percent compatible, approached the role of a donor. The operation lasted three hours. Ten days later, William was released from the hospital. But the recovery took a long time. “There were many consequences of chemotherapy. I had to pull out, it seems, 22 teeth,” William himself recalls. Even a common cold turned into serious problems. Plus, osteopenia (a disease in which the strength of tissues decreases) made itself felt.

When William was six years old, his family moved from the American city of Cincinnati to Puerto Rico, as required by the work of the boy's father, Dennis. But this did not cancel the family tradition of regularly going to a ski resort in Colorado.

“Skiing played a key role in Wil's recovery,” his mom says. - G-forces have strengthened his bones. As soon as he began to exercise daily in the fresh air and in the sun, the effects of chemotherapy began to pass.

At the age of three, William Flaherty needed a bone marrow transplant. The donor was the seven-year-old brother Charles: the boys had one hundred percent compatibility

The father instilled in his sons a passion for the ski slopes. At the age of 13, Charles decided that he should go to the Winter Olympics. He qualified for the 2018 PyeongChang Games, becoming the first Winter Olympian from Puerto Rico. The passage of his brother with a banner at the opening ceremony, his participation in the competition made a huge impression on William. And he got the idea to go to the next Games in Beijing.

Passion for skiing helped the teenager, when in the same year a tragedy occurred in the Flaherty family: the boys' father, Dennis, died suddenly. William's constant training became a kind of therapy for him. "It was my anti-stress, my choice to overcome all these problems. On the other hand, how many people get a chance to get to the Olympics?"

According to Ann, her son's trip to Beijing was in the balance until the very end. His steroid use as a child had left his lower jaw so hollow that any fall would have been catastrophic. "We prayed that he wouldn't break anything, because the bone that held his face and teeth was almost gone."

William Flaherty's dream came true. Together with skeletonist Kelly Delka, he, like his brother four years ago, carried the flag of Puerto Rico at the Parade of Nations. And he has already performed in the giant slalom, where he closed the fourth ten, although this does not matter anymore.

“Dad, did you see? We did it!” William wrote on his Instagram after the competition. “Today I fulfilled my dream. I passed two attempts and took 40th place. I hope I will still compete in slalom, but time will show."

Flaherty also said that the Beijing Olympics would most likely be his last. "A complex operation on my leg is coming up. A part of the bone is removed from there to fill the cavity in the jaw with it. Medical problems do not go away, they have long been a part of my life. Of course, if I try hard, I can come to the Games in four years, but I I think it's time to turn the page and move on."

The slalom competition will take place on February 16th. The final attempt will begin at 8:45 Moscow time.

bbabo.Net