A Walking Miracle

While playing hide and go seek in his Laurel, Mississippi backyard in mid-August of 1951, Mack Cameron suddenly felt a sharp pain in his left hip joint and fell to the ground. He was taken to the family doctor by his parents the next day but nothing was found wrong with his left hip. As they were leaving the doctor's office, the doctor asked them to come back in so he could examine Cameron's right side. There he found damage to Cameron's right hip that was originally thought to be caused by polio, which was beginning to be widespread at that time. Cameron began his first day of the first grade on crutches and would stay on crutches for over three and a half years. Cameron was constantly picked on by gangs of classmates, ending up in fights usually with more than one kid at a time as he tried to defend himself. The disease, finally determined to be Perthes disease, worked its way into both heels and both knees and after three years began to cause damage to Cameron's left hip. It got so bad that the doctors offered twice to do surgery to put a round metal ball in place where the hipbone, now dissolved, had been. The catch: Cameron would never be able to run again. Mrs. Cameron, a woman of strong faith, refused and continued praying. Soon after, when the doctors went in to check the disease progress, the disease was gone! It was not located anywhere in his body. Cameron went on to have a storied athletic career, just like his father. When inducted into the State of Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, he encouraged others to never, ever, ever give up. He and his father were the first "Father-Son" duo inducted into the Hall of Fame in Mississippi. This true story of the miracle God worked in a young boy's life highlights the importance of faith, family, friendship, and grit when faced with challenges in life. Readers will experience the full range of emotions along with young Mack Cameron: fear and joy; disappointment and success; laughter and tears. This book will be an encouragement to all who read it.