Greg DeLeon Has Been Through a Lot for an 8th Grader, Joins Archery and Tennis Teams

Born with congenital scoliosis, his parents learned two of the bones in his back were fused together, which meant Greg wouldn't grow, and the doctors at Scottish Rite Hospital for Children said there was nothing they could do for him. But Greg's parents didn't give up. They learned about an experimental treatment that could help Greg grow, but the procedure could only be done in San Antonio.
 
The family travelled to San Antonio for two rods to be placed in Greg's back surgically, to help his bones to grow. Twice a year the titanium rods would have to be surgically removed and replaced.
 
Greg never complained, and never asked why this was happening to him. For all his life, he's been traveling to San Antonio twice a year for the surgeries, 30 in all so far.
 
His mother wanted him to know the joy of being a part of a team, so Greg transferred from Trinity Christian in Cedar Hill, where the only sports offered, football, basketball, and baseball, were ones Greg couldn't play. But as soon as he arrived at  the Bishop Dunne campus, Greg joined the archery team. This past fall he also joined the tennis team, and in the final DPL match of the year, he was the last competitor on the court, beating his opponent by outlasting him. His mother said you could see his Falcon pride.
 
Greg's big sister, Catherine, now a junior in college at St. Mary's in San Antonio, was a tennis star at Trinity Christian, and Greg's father used to play at Kiest Park, where Greg's big victory came this fall. His father died suddenly in 2011 of cancer, but Greg's mother said it was a good, surreal feeling to see Greg playing on the courts where she used to watch her husband compete. Greg knows his dad is smiling in heaven and watching him play and compete in the sport his dad taught him and his sister.
 
X-rays show that Greg may soon be at his optimum height, so only a few more surgeries are in his future. He plans to continue his education at Bishop Dunne and his involvement with the archery and tennis teams, until his graduation in 2020 and attend St. Mary’s University like his sister.

The Bishop Dunne Tennis team has begun practice for the spring season. For more information on the team see the school's website: www.bdcs.org or www.Dunnesports.com.

The school's Annual Golf Tournament is Monday, April 4 , 2016 at Steven's Park Golf Course. To register on line go to www.bdcs.org/golf. For more information contact Lydia Torrez at ltorrez@bdcs.org