This is just a quick note about a man I photographed last week for a Times' story. Reggie Williams is a remarkable person and what he's endured is truly amazing.
Reggie played 14 seasons in the NFL and was in two Super Bowls before he retired. Then about a year ago Reggie resigned his VP position at Disney's Wide World of Sports to focus on rehabilitating his knees which were badly injured during his time in the NFL.
His knees were so bad that doctors thought that they would have to amputate his right one due to infection. Reggie decided to drive his Lexus to the New York hospital where the operations would take place using his left leg in case the driving leg was amputated for the ride home.
After several operations last summer, doctors were able to avoid amputation and save Reggie's right leg. After months of recuperation, Reggie was able to drive the Lexus back to Florida with that driving foot.
While following Reggie around last week we got to talking about what has changed for him. He told me that through it all he found out something about people and himself. He found that always being positive is a very hard task. He thought that people gravitated towards the negative too easily.
Everyday is tough for Reggie as he slowly hobbles to his corner Starbucks to grab his coffee. It seems like life, which 20 years ago was at an NFL pace, is now more about appreciating ever day.
In the Times' story columnist George Vescey asked Reggie what kept him going during the darkest days. George said it was the love from God.
Merry Christmas
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