SALEM — The rumors about Will Parr travel the grapevine the same as any others.
It would be fair for Parr to get angry by the time they reach him in the line of communication, but that type of reaction simply doesn't fit the Salem resident's personality.
Fifteen years ago Parr was born with a rare disease called progressive neurofibromatosis, which causes tumors to grow throughout the body. As an 11-year-old Parr had his right leg amputated as a result of the disease, and new stories seem to circulate regularly about what happened.
"You should hear these stories. One kid came up to me one time and said there was a rumor that I got hit by a boat," Parr said. "Some say cancer. Some say boat motor. I've heard shark attack.
"Sometimes little kids will ask me and I'll say, 'Just eat your vegetables and do your homework.'"
Parr's strong sense of humor is equalled by his determination, intellect and focus. He lives with a can-do attitude that was put on display this fall as a member of the Salem High junior varsity golf team.
Golf has not been a lifelong love of Parr's — he only picked up the sport last year. But neither his inexperience with golf nor his choice to live without a prosthetic leg was enough to keep Parr from getting involved.
"He seemed so interested and he enjoys it. It truly makes him happy," Will's mother Michele Parr said. "We've been really supportive of him being part of a team. He hadn't done that before. That was great to see that happening."
'Trying to Understand'
Neurofibromatosis, according to thechildrenshospital.org, is "a condition that causes tumors to grow on nerve tissue, producing skin and bone abnormalities."
Michele and Michael Parr were not prepared for Will being born with such a disease and, as a family, they're learning more about it every day.
"We're still trying to understand," Michele Parr said. "It's a very, very rare disease, especially in children. Adults tend to get it as they get older; a child being born with it is almost unheard of. We're still kind of sorting through it all."
As he gets older, Parr may dive deeper in trying to understand his disease, but his approach at this point seems to be pretty simple. He takes each day — and each checkup — in stride, not over-thinking anything.
Parr is a regular at Massachusetts General Hospital. He's been treated there since he was born and has gone there for monthly checkups since he was 8 years old.
"It's been the same nurses and same doctors pretty much," Parr said of his checkups. "It takes as little as 10 minutes. It's pretty simple."
Like everything else, Parr finds the good in his regular hospital visits. "I'm glad (Mass. General) is so close," he said. "I hear about other people having to go to Texas to have certain things done. One of my roommates (in the hospital) was from Iraq."
Not slowing down
In March of 2006, Parr had his first amputation due to a tumor. His right leg was removed below the knee.
In an instant, Parr's life was altered forever.
At just 11 years old, Parr had to deal with the emotional and physical ramifications that come with an amputation. What he remembers the most is the physical pain he experienced during his recovery.
His first post-surgery fall is not a fading memory.
"I took a nap in the afternoon. I fell asleep on my mother's bed watching TV and didn't even remember that I had crutches when I woke up," Parr said. "I took my first step and went smashing down. I remember how much that hurt. I landed right on my face."
Learning how to walk permanently with crutches or with a prosthetic leg is typically the first thing everybody associates with amputation recovery. But that's just a small part of what Parr — and every other amputee — has to deal with.
In addition to any internal battles an amputee faces, they also must deal with the external reactions.
"Amputation is a whole realm of things that are not on your radar screen," Michele Parr said. "You would never think of any of this, then all of a sudden you're in the middle of it and it's all you think about for quite a long time."
Parr had an additional surgery in the seventh grade when the knee of his right leg was removed.
He wanted to move on as quickly as possible from that procedure as well, but sometimes the outside world just doesn't move as quickly as Parr.
"I had surgery on a Wednesday and stayed home (from school) on Thursday and Friday. Amputation is kind of a big thing, but I went back the following Monday. The doctors said to wait at least a week-and-a-half," Parr said. "We had a meeting with the (Collins Middle School) principal, vice principal, nurse, me and my parents, and I was told not to take the stairs. For two days that was fine, but then I was late for Spanish class and to be quicker I took the stairs. Three teachers caught me.
"Later that day the principal called my class and told my teacher to send me to the elevator with my stuff. I went down there, and her and my dad were waiting. She said, 'We'll try again next week.'"
It also seems that Parr can't slow down long enough to commit to using a prosthetic leg. Despite the encouragement of his doctors and physical therapist, Parr simply chooses not to use one.
"I'm still growing and it takes so much time. I have to get it adjusted and fit, and I've (them) tried twice since my last surgery," Parr said. "It's not comfortable. I had a really good one for a year, but that was two years ago."
Not wearing a prosthetic also contributes to the whispers of people who do not know Parr's story.
"Developmentally, it's probably physically better," Michele Parr said. "Using crutches can be a strain on his back and arms. There's concern about that and socially, I think people have the idea that amputees should wear a prosthetic. They don't get that there would be an option."
Amazing, inspiring and breathtaking
One thing that isn't an option with Parr is allowing himself to be held back.
If it weren't for that attitude, he might never have tried golf.
Parr didn't grow up playing organized sports. Besides grandmothers who live in Delaware and Pennsylvania respectively, no one in his family plays golf. But an extremely late-night decision introduced Parr to the sport, and it didn't take much for him to catch the bug.
A neighborhood friend convinced Parr to give golf a shot late one night just over a year ago. On very little sleep they went out to play the next morning, with Parr using his friends' clubs.
"He showed me how to swing. I was terrible," Parr said. "I just had a good time and got hooked."
That winter Parr saved up some money, did some research and bought his own set of clubs. Then, last summer he joined the Junior League at Olde Salem Greens with some friends and met Salem High golf coach Tom Doyle.
"He told me he was going to be a freshman at Salem High and I asked him if he was interested in playing on the golf team," Doyle said. "He said yes, but he was concerned because he couldn't carry his bag and walk with crutches every day. I told him that between me, the golf course and the athletic director that we'd make it happen if it was something he wanted."
Parr took Doyle up on his offer, and the City of Salem arranged for Parr to have a special single-person cart for his matches. Doyle also worked it out with opposing coaches so Parr could ride with someone in a cart during his away matches.
Parr still uses his crutches on the course. He maneuvers himself over to the ball, drops his crutches and swings on one leg.
His game still has plenty of room for improvement — he typically shoots in the low 50s — but numbers on a scorecard aren't the type of contributions that are important for Parr.
"The kid is an outstanding human being," Doyle said. "Every teacher, everybody that knows him just is amazed with his attitude. He's got a positive attitude about life and he's certainly a go-getter.
"He's not looking for special treatment. My freshman basketball coach has him in phys. ed. and he's playing every game, doing everything (like everyone else). He's not looking for anything. He's been an amazing story."
Amazing is a good word to describe Parr. His ability to make the most of what he has is inspiring, yet all he is doing is being himself.
"I've seen him come in on the ninth hole (at Olde Salem Greens)," Michele Parr said. "It kind of takes my breath away, to say the least."
Parr for the course
Name: Will Parr
School: Salem High
Sport: Golf
Siblings: Holly, 12; Sophie, 10; Joseph, 7 and Alli, 4.
Hobbies: Fishing, working at the Salem Witch Museum
Favorite classes in school: English and Social Studies. Parr is enrolled in four honors classes, including English, Biology, Algebra 1 and World Studies.
Favorite vacation spot: Ossipee Lake in New Hampshire
