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PatchWork by Joyce Whitis |
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PatchWork by Joyce Whitis |
Brian Rankin, Young Man with the Will to Win
It was the manner in which he held the book and the distance of his face from the printed page that made you stop. Did he need more light in the room? It seemed well lighted. Was it the glasses he wore almost on the end of his nose? Surely if they were not correctly fitted, they would be replaced. The boy grasped the book in both hands, fixed his face only a few inches from the printed page, and with incredible swiftness, head moving slightly back and forth, he read one page and flipped over to the next.
"That's Brian Rankin," one of the secretaries said. "He reads everything he can get his hands on."
"The funniest thing is to walk in here and see Brian look up with newsprint on his nose," Cindy Shipman, history teacher laughed. He pretty much reads everything but he prefers American History to say...World History."
Rankin had to be touched on the shoulder to get his attention. He marked the a place in the biography of James Monroe and put it back in his book bag.
"I've started a collection of books about the founding fathers," he grinned. "I don't know enough about some of the early presidents like Adams and Monroe so I'm getting the books. I've got an interesting book about Jefferson, more than a thousand pages. I really like to read about all the presidents. Right here," he stopped talking to take a heavy hardcover book from the bulging bag, "is a book about Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt, that is. I like both the Roosevelts but I prefer Theodore."
Brian Rankin was born, one of identical twins, on September 13, 1979, in Denton, Texas. Brian, the smaller twin, was born first which was unusual, the doctor said, but otherwise the boys seemed normal. Francine and Jerry Rankin didn't know that there would be twins until the latter part of the pregnancy and were happily surprised to learn that their son, Jason, would have two little brothers to grow up with.
Brad developed heart problems those first months and continued to worsen. The doctors were not optimistic and when he was only five months old, the little boy died. His twin, Brian showed the smallest signs of the same problem and the doctors told his parents that the baby likely would not live to be a year old. When his first birthday passed, they told the Rankins that he would probably die that winter when health problems for the very young are at risk.
The Rankins watched their baby closely but the old heart troubles never got any worse and in fact eventually disappeared. Brian grew just as other children and they noticed nothing unusual until he had been walking for sometime. Gradually they became aware of his poor vision. It was hard to properly fit him with corrective lenses because of his inability to answer the examiner's questions and then it was time to start Kindergarten.
By then the Rankins had moved to a farm near Huckabay, Erath County being home to Francine, whose maiden name was Drennin. Brian began school at Huckabay and soon the teacher realized that her student had a severe hearing problem. It was decided to take him out of school and allow him to adjust to hearing aides and glasses. The educators and the parents believed that this would be better for Brian.
Today they aren't so sure that it was best to keep him back a grade because he has no difficulty with any subject except math. Brian is legally blind and deaf and watching him read a math problem is almost painful. First he must look at the numbers and then back at the question and then back again at the numbers, all the while keeping the page just a few centimeters from the end of his nose.
This week he must take the TAAS test for the third time because he hasn't been able to pass the math. Last week he won second place in the Regional UIL contests in Brenham in Current Events. In a couple of weeks he will be going to the University of Texas to compete for the State Championship in Current Events. Not only did Brian win with himself as his own coach, but the team from Huckabay also placed second in this Region, and Brian was the coach for his fellow teammates, Jeremy Harris and Kendra McLendon.
"All the way down there (to Brenham), Brian was reading US News and World Report or the Washington Post or something about current events and really urging Jeremy and Kendra to be reading too. He wanted to be prepared for the contest to the best of his ability, which is considerable," Nancy Palmore, English teacher said.
Carla Trussell, Brian's fifth grade teacher, says that the boy was quick to tell her if he needed anything special. "I need this paper magnified," he'd tell her. "He adjusted well to school. The other kids used to tease him some but they got accustomed to his ways, and besides that he has their respect. The way he gets around school, you would never know that he is legally blind."
"Huckabay School has been so good for Brian," Joanne Kennedy, visually impaired teacher, said. "Mr. Pringle (Principal), Mr. Echols, (Superintendent), and all the teachers have been so understanding and helpful. As for Brian, he is just amazing! He knows every rock and blade of grass on the school campus and walks around the place as if he could see. He functions just like we'd like all our visually handicapped to function. If he has a problem, he asks for help. I enjoy him so much."
Kennedy took Brian and his mother, Francine with her to Boston and New York last June and had a great time showing her young friend the historical places in both cities.
"I prefer Boston to New York," Rankin said. "We walked too much in New York. The place I liked the best was Ellis Island because Miss Kennedy's grandparents came from Ireland and got off the boat on Ellis Island."
This high school junior subscribes to several magazines and newspapers including Historical Traveler, US News and World Report, Business Week, and American History. "I watch all the evening news broadcasts," Rankin said. He leaned in a little closer as if sharing a secret. "I hold the remote and during the commercials, I switch to another channel so I can watch all three news shows at once."
Outside in the bright sunlight, the photographer asked Rankin to lift his head. "Your face is in shadow," she told him. "I'm sorry that the sun will be in your eyes for a few seconds."
The young man lifted his chin and with a smile spoke, "That's OK, I can't see anyhow."
For the legally blind, the world is in perpetual shadow. The shapes moving down the hall at school, are fellow students, the taller shapes are teachers. For the legally deaf, that twilight world is also mostly silent. In this world of "one size fits all" mentality, Brian Rankin's measurements are different, but he has learned how to make himself fit.
He wants to attend TSU and is practicing walking with a white cane until he learns his way around campus. With a major in Library Science, probably at North Texas University, he would like to do research, perhaps in law. He knows life will have some limitations, like driving a car for instance, but when he looks into the future, this young man sees very clearly.