For a Largo woman, no cost is too great to give her son a chance to compete in the Paralympics in Athens, Greece.
By SHANNON TAN
Published August 6, 2004
[Times photo: Kathleen Flynn]
Valerie Brandon says helping her son Emmanuel compete in the Paralympics in Athens, Greece, was more important than keeping her home. "I just want to be able to go to Greece and have my son look up and see me," she says.
LARGO - She has never watched her son compete. And when she does, she'll probably only see a fuzzy image on a judo mat.
But Valerie Brannon is determined to find a way to get to the Paralympics in Athens, Greece in September, where her son Emmanuel will represent his country.
So she fell behind on her mortgage and let the bank foreclose on her house in Ridgecrest. She sold her furniture and household items. She says she doesn't care if she has to sleep on a park bench.
Her friends tell her: "Val, you're crazy. Why would you give up your house?"
"I just want to be able to go to Greece and have my son look up and see me," said Brannon, 42. "These worldly goods mean nothing to me. Why try to hold on to something like that?"
Brannon and her two children have albinism and are legally blind. Her husband, also an albino, died from lymphoma in 1996. Her kids are her life now.
She lost her job a decade ago when the clothing store she worked for closed. Unable to find work, she gets by on about $740 in disability each month. That just about covered her house payment.
Then Emmanuel needed new uniforms and spending money for his judo training camps. Brannon ended up filing for bankruptcy last year - twice.
"She sacrificed so much," said Emmanuel, 19. "I'd love to have her go."
Unlike the Special Olympics, which is noncompetitive, the Paralympics is an international competition of elite athletes with disabilities. Emmanuel, a brown belt, is the only Florida member of the six-person U.S. Blind Judo Team. At the International Blind Sports Association World Championships in Quebec City, he tied for ninth place in his weight category.
He has traveled to Colorado and California for training. The only time his mother left Florida was to attend an uncle's funeral in Detroit in 1997.
Brannon just got her passport so she can go to Greece. Now she has to come up with more than $4,000 for her airfare and hotel costs.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him," she said. "I need to support him."
She lost her four-bedroom house last month. Before Emmanuel came back from training in California last week, Brannon earned $175 braiding hair for three friends, which covered three nights in a Largo motel and some food. They left after running out of cash, and ended up sleeping on the floor of a friend's home.
Then another friend gave Brannon enough money to return to the motel. She said she doesn't know where they'll be tomorrow, but she said God hasn't brought her this far to leave her behind. Her daughter cried when Brannon told her she lost their home. But she understands.
"I'm going to believe in her," said Jocelyn, 16, a student at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine. "Every decision she's made, she's made for the best."
Jocelyn stopped asking her mother for spending money so her brother can have what little there is. She juggles three jobs during the school year. She even postponed going to a training camp for goal ball, a sport for blind athletes.
Still, Emmanuel couldn't afford running shoes or a new cane when his old one was stolen a few months ago, said Ron Peck, executive director of the U.S. Paralympics Judo Team.
When he's training, he'll borrow a friend's cell phone or try to scrape up some change to call his mother. She tells him she's there in spirit.
Brannon is trying to place collection jars at convenience stores to get spending money for Emmanuel. But it has been tough getting a ride, and she can't take the bus because the sunlight bothers her. Then someone stole one of the jars, which had $9 in it.
"I don't care how many times you get knocked down," she said. "You keep trying."
People pick on them because they're African-American but have light skin. Emmanuel is often asked why he talks like he's black. That's because I am, he replies.
"It used to bother me when I'm younger," he said. "Now it's water off my bridge."
Judo helps him take out his frustration and anger without hurting anyone. He discovered the sport while attending the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind.
Last year Emmanuel won gold and silver medals at a tournament in Boca Raton. When he came home, he put the medals around his mom's neck. She couldn't stop crying.
Emmanuel returned to California Thursday for training. His mother will remain in Largo, praying for a miracle.
Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Shannon Tan can be reached at shtan@sptimes.com or 727 445-4174.
TO DONATESend checks to Emmanuel Brannon c/o Blind and Visually Impaired Judo Fund, Wells Fargo Bank, 999 E Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City, CA 94404. For information, visit www.supportblindjudo.com[Last modified August 6, 2004, 01:00:38]
