Jeraldo Henry Jr. committed to the University of Missouri’s wheelchair basketball team, defying odds after a spina bifida diagnosis.
RED OAK, Texas — What some may see as a constraint is actually Jeraldo Henry Jr.’s freedom. He uses a wheelchair.
“I’m not really a lazy person,” Henry said.
He has that Kobe Bryant Mamba mentality.
“Great things come from hard work and perseverance, hashtag no excuses,” said Henry.
It is a mantra he lives by because when he was born, doctors diagnosed him with spina bifida.
“Part of his spine when he was born was outside of his back,” said Jeraldo’s mother, Christina Henry.
Doctors told his parents, Christina and Jeraldo Sr., that he wouldn’t be able to walk. That’s why his mother was surprised when Henry took up soccer.
“He wasn’t supposed to walk, but then again, it’s Junior (Henry) taking risks and figuring it out. He can’t feel his legs at all,” said Christina. “He was just sensing in his hips when his foot was on the ground.”
Her amazement grew when Henry began using a wheelchair and traded his soccer ball for a basketball.
“My mom and dad played sports back in their time. So, it was just, it was fun for them. So why not? I just figured it’ll be fun for me,” said Henry.
Jeraldo attends Texas Online Preparatory School. He began competing nationally with his high school team, the National Wheelchair Basketball Association’s Dallas Jr. Wheelchair Mavericks, and the Texas Outlaws adult team.
“I just like to learn a lot, and so it’s easy for me to, like, understand the game a little bit more,” said Henry. “I get buckets.”
Heating up on and off the court, the scholar athlete with a 4.03 GPA has put up a new score.
Henry committed to the University of Missouri’s Wheelchair Basketball Team.
“I was kind of shocked because I wasn’t expecting that,” said Henry.
His parents are proud, too.
“He adapts and overcomes. You find your happiness in what is presented to you,” said Christina. “That’s freedom when you can internally find happiness within where you don’t have to depend on it.”
Henry plans to study nutrition and exercise physiology. His ultimate goal is to represent Team USA at the 2028 Paralympic Games.
He’s also the author of “The NARWHALS’ WAY: A Framework for Teenage Happiness.”