{"id":2681,"date":"2017-12-30T22:37:38","date_gmt":"2017-12-30T19:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peoplenews.gr\/?p=2681"},"modified":"2018-02-09T19:34:26","modified_gmt":"2018-02-09T16:34:26","slug":"a-greek-inspiration-and-codys-long-road-from-texas-to-vatican-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peoplenews.gr\/?p=2681","title":{"rendered":"A Greek inspiration\u2026.and Cody\u2019s long road from Texas to Vatican City"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Vatican, and by Greek initiative, young Cody McCasland was honored like a true Olympic victor.
\nOn Saturday, September 11th 2012, and during a deeply moving and highly successful ceremony held at the Aula Magna of the University \u201cPontificia Universit\u00e0 Urbaniana”\u00a0in Vatican City (Rome), the International Giuseppe Sciacca Awards were presented to young people between 18 and 35 years of age for achievements in arts, culture, science and society. Special distinctions were also awarded to renowned personalities.<\/p>\n

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Rev. Cardinale Dario Castrillon Hoyos, Cody McCasland, Tina Dean, Vicky Bafataki, Rev. Prof. Don Bruno Lima<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The Absolute Winner of this year\u2019s International Giuseppe Sciacca Awards was 11- year- old American athlete Cody McCasland, a recommendation of the 17-year-old basketball champion Georgios – Nektarios Delis unanimously adopted by the Awards Committee. Cody suffers from a rare degenerative disease called Sacral Agenesis, which caused deformations of his spinal cord when he was still in his mother\u2019s womb. This magnanimous young boy, poster child for a hospital in Texas, has an abnormal heart, suffers from painful bladder syndrome, has a four- fingered hand that is shorter than his other one, and underwent a lower extremity amputation operation on both legs when he was merely 15 months old. At 17 months of age, Cody got his first pair of artificial legs and hasn\u2019t stopped moving ever since.<\/p>\n

He has been running, swimming, playing soccer and hockey and is a celebrated triathlon champion. Cody has underwent 20 surgical operations and has had 13 different pairs of prosthetic limbs. For his courage and iron will, he was chosen by the US Ministry of Defense to raise the morale of wounded and amputated soldiers who return from foreign missions.<\/p>\n

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George – Nektarios Delis (Greece) and Cody McCasland (U.S.A.)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the physical challenges he is facing, Cody travelled for the first time overseas to Rome to receive in person his International Giuseppe Sciacca Award along with his family.<\/p>\n

Early on the day of the awards he met for the first time 17-year-old basketball player Georgios \u2013 Nektarios Delis, the young athlete who strongly endorsed Cody\u2019s nomination. But it was the powerful and deeply moving letter which accompanied this nomination that won the hearts of the Jury of the Awards and convinced them of Cody\u2019s amazing will for life. The young boy with the \u201ciron legs\u201d run to Georgios-Nektarios\u2019 arms and it was as if they knew each their whole lives. Afterwards, they went on a guided tour around the Colosseum, followed by the crew of the Italian news programme TG5. The young American, excited from his visit to the historical monument, couldn\u2019t stop talking about the Gladiators.<\/p>\n

The boys were accompanied by the General Secretary as well as the President of the International Giuseppe Sciacca Awards, Mrs. Vicky Bafataki and Don Bruno Lima respectively, while they were all interviewed by Italian mass media (\u03a4g5, Corriere della Sera etc). A small child with a superhero\u2019s heart, Cody McCasland expressed his gratitude to the International Giuseppe Sciacca Awards Committee for the honor of acknowledging his struggle to lead a normal life, and to his family for their unconditional and unfailing support. \u201cYes, I\u2019m special\u201d, Cody said. \u201cMost people have two legs, but I have many more, a different pair for different occasions, and that helps me stand up to every challenge that lies ahead\u201d.<\/p>\n