Blind, brain damaged 8-year-old lifts football linebacker

Rudy Favard, 17, carries Sammy Parker, 8. (Essdras M Suarez/Globe Staff)

“Can I ask you something?’’ he said, sitting in the Parkers’ living room after Sammy was asleep.

“Is it OK if this article is more about Sam than me?’’

Why?

“He’s done more for me than I’ve done for him.”

Rudy Favard is a busy teenager–a high school senior who is also the captain of  the football team. During a trip to the school nurse’s office, Rudy learned of a family in his local community who needed help. The father of the struggling Parker family had recently undergone heart surgery and was no longer able to carry his 8-year-old son Sammy, who suffers from cerebral palsy, up the 14 steps to his bedroom each night. They couldn’t afford to pay for a caregiver.

Rudy immediately volunteered to visit the Parker’s home four nights a week to help put Sammy to bed.

Don’t miss Yvonne Abraham’s Boston Globe article about Rudy and his impact on this family (and their impact on him).  There are many more incredible layers to this touching story. Sammy has a twin (who does not have cerebral palsy) who deeply loves his afflicted brother.

This is one of those stories that shows us what love in action looks like–really makes you think about how a tragedy is an opportunity to serve.

Don’t watch this video without a box of tissue nearby.

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