Wilma Glodean Rudolph greatly impacted the lives of thousands of people. She had a very hard life, but she had faith that she would live. She believed in herself and never gave up the fight. Rudolph’s life teaches numerous people an incredibly important lesson: always persevere. Rudolph’s life demonstrates this accurately because her childhood was filled with adversity and if she had given up, she might never have been able to walk again. Not only did Wilma triumph over disease and poverty to walk, but she went on to become one of the world’s greatest female track and field athletes. Wilma Rudolph’s life proves that perseverance truly does win the prize.
Rudolph was born on June 23, 1940 at only four pounds and eight ounces. She came from a large but poor family. Her father and mother both worked to support their family of twenty two children, but because of their color they could not afford things that white people could. Rudolph’s mother was a maid and worked six days a week and her father was a railroad porter, but neither parent made much money. Both Rudolph’s father and mother were hard working people, but in 1940 no one had much money even if they did work hard. However, the Rudolph family survived by doing things such as making clothes out of flour sacks, but life continued to be terribly difficult.
As an infant and young child, Rudolph had a number of diseases. Her family lovingly nursed her through each one. Some of these diseases were measles, mumps, scarlet fever, chicken pox, double pneumonia, and polio. Of all of the diseases, polio was the most devastating. Polio is an infectious viral disease that affects the central nervous system and that can cause temporary or permanent paralysis. She was only four years old when she contracted polio. Even though she survived the disease, Rudolph’s left leg and left foot were severely weakened. Finally, her mother, Blanche, took her to the only black doctor in Clarksville, the town where the Rudolph’s lived. He sent Rudolph to Fisk University, fifty miles away in Nashville, for treatment. Her mother drove her to the doctor once a week for physical therapy. The doctor showed Blanche how to massage Rudolph’s leg. Blanche showed the older children how to massage her leg too, so Rudolph was in good care, but the doctor told Rudolph that she would never walk again. To this, Rudolph said, “My doctor told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother”(“Selected Wilma Rudolph Quotations” par. 3).
Being the nineteenth child of her twenty two brothers and sisters, Rudolph received a great amount of encouragement and comfort. When she was in her leg brace, she took advantage of her siblings and even admitted to taking her braces off. Rudolph said,
When I was about five, I spent most of my time trying to figure out how to get my [leg] braces off, and you see, when you come from a large family, there’s always a way to achieve your goals, especially when you don’t want your parents knowing them. I would take off my braces, then station my brothers and sisters all through the house and they would tell me if my parents were coming and then I’d hurry and put the braces back on (“Wilma Rudolph” par. 7).
By the age of eight, Rudolph could walk with a brace on. She also used a high-topped shoe to help support herself. At age eleven, Rudolph could walk with no brace and no special shoe. One day, Rudolph’s mother came home to find her playing basketball, by herself, barefooted. Rudolph said, “when the sun is shining I can do anything; no mountain too high, no trouble to difficult”(“Selected Wilma Rudolph Quotations” par. 18) By believing this, Rudolph proved the doctors wrong. She became an athlete.
Rudolph was tutored at home until age seven because she was crippled. When she was able to walk with the support of a leg brace and a high topped shoe, Rudolph went to a school in Clarksville called Cobb Elementary, but it was not a very good school. Back then, even though slaves were no longer owned, blacks were treated awfully. African Americans paid the same amount of taxes as white people, but the black schools were poor and did not have all the advantages that a white school had. When she was in high school, Rudolph wanted to play basketball. The coach did not want her on the team, but he did want Rudolph’s older sister on the team. Rudolph’s father, Ed, agreed to only let Rudolph’s older sister play if she could play also. Rudolph’s basketball coach called her “Skeeter” because he said, “you’re little, you’re fast and you always get in my way”(“Rudolph Ran and the World Went Wild” par. 10-11). Rudolph waited three years, but never once played in a game. Finally, Rudolph’s coach put her in as a starting guard. She proved to be a good basketball player, but she was great in track.
