Published: November 09, 2009 09:34 am      

“It’s an honor to cut his steaks”

Sunday, November 8, 2009 — Jessie Lowder has an issue with cutting his steaks.

Tennis isn’t that great of a challenge for him, neither is beating me at basketball. Just twenty minutes ago, he had no problem speeding down the highway to get to the restaurant.

Yet now I’m sitting here, knife in hand, cutting his meal so that he can properly eat his dinner.

Everyone at the table is tired tonight; the Gray Stone Knights won their first soccer conference championship a few hours back.

For the majority of his life, the sport has been Jessie’s passion.

During the spring, he spends most of his evenings volunteering as coach of a youth soccer team, and when his cash flow is low, he referees games for the Parks and Recreation Department. Last June, he started the Jessie Lowder Soccer Camp in hopes of teaching younger players the basic fundamentals of the game.

If the interest is there, he wants to get in a few more camp dates before he starts college next fall.

Thursday morning, Jessie has to give a presentation to his school concerning his senior project.

Until the week before Christmas arrives, he’ll be collecting any new toys willing to be donated for the Shriners’ Children Hospital in Greenville, S.C.

Since 1922, the Shriners organization has been responsible for providing medical assistance and hope to children under the age of eighteen free of charge.

The hospital annually serves thousands of kids that have seen more trauma than most of us will in our lifetime.

Jessie has a very special tie to the Shriners, one that’s practically kept him and his family alive for nine years.

In May of 2001, Jessie was in a car accident which severely damaged his spinal cord. Although extensive surgery was done in attempt to repair the damaged nerves, he permanently lost function of his right arm.

Tonight it’s sitting in a purple and orange soft-cast … Jessie’s somewhat of a Clemson fan. To him though, the injury is no longer a negative aspect which dampens his daily outlook, it’s a blessing which constantly reminds him how fortunate he is to be alive.

In the midst of the turmoil and grief overwhelming his life, the Shriners Hospital provided Jessie with the care and attention needed to physically and psychologically overcome his handicap.

Multiple times a year, he travels to Greenville for checkups and appointments to ensure that no further damage is being inflicted upon his limb.

Naturally, one could come to the conclusion that he wants to give back to the organization for all that it’s done, but his motives are far greater than the fulfillment of an obligation for self-gratification.

Jessie knows the feeling of pain. He knows the fear of an operating table, of masked faces identified only by wandering eyes, and of coming close enough to kiss death on the lips.

He knows how thousands of children go through worse traumas every day, and like the rest of us, wants to save them all in a single breath.

The Shriners for Santa program that he has founded aims to put smiles on the faces of the scared and desperate this Christmas.

Like everything he does, and truly everything, Jessie is attacking it with the positivity and enthusiasm needed to impact as many children as possible, and he could use quite a few helping hands.

Drop off locations are Spring Arbor Nursing Home, Tangles Salon, Gray Stone Day School, and Vac & Dash. To contact Jessie directly, call (704) 322-5041 or jessie.lowder@graystoneday.org.

Seventeen years young, Jessie plans on going to school for business in August.

The incredibility of what this young man has overcome matches only that of how he continuously serves our community, and Stanly County truly deserves to know and appreciate his contributions.

I for one, am and always will be honored to cut his steak.

Greg Asciutto is a senior at Gray Stone Day School and for his senior project is writing a series of feature articles on inspirational peers.