A Keller teen is one step — or one stroke — away from achieving a lifelong dream.
Cody McCasland, 14, was born with a rare defect called sacral agenesis. It affects the lower spine and caused him to be born without knees or shinbones. At 15 months old, doctors amputated both of his legs and two months later he got his first set of prosthetic legs.
And he hasn’t slowed down since.
Cody told NBC 5 in 2012 that he wanted to compete in the 2016 Paralympic Games. Today, he's one swim meet away from packing his bags for Rio de Janeiro.
"I’ve made it to the Paralympics trials this year, which are in June in North Carolina," he said.
The Paralympic Games run for the two weeks following the Rio Olympics.
Cody’s been on a swim team since he was 6 years old. He now trains with the Lakeside Aquatic Swim Team at Keller Independent School District for about 12 hours per week.
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"My arms are my main propellers," he said. "My legs are an add on and just used when needed."
This year, he traveled to his first international swim meet in Toronto and competes in national meets across the country.
Cody is also active outside of the pool. He went skiing in Colorado for the first time last month with the Texas Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital and he’s no stranger to competing in races like the Cowtown Marathon.
"It has been hard in some areas,” Cody said. “But I just keep pushing through it all."
It also makes Cody mad when he hears parents tell their children not to ask him questions about why he has prosthetic legs. He wants people to ask him what happened.
"I just don’t tell them don’t feel sorry. I can do everything you can do. I might just have to do it a little bit differently, but I can still do it."
