A patriotic 10-year-old boy gets out of his wheelchair and stands for the national anthem
The inspiring sight of a young boy standing up for the national anthem, even though he uses a wheelchair, has traveled far beyond the Putnam County Fair in Tennessee where it occurred, thanks to social media.
Leah Norris, who was attending the fair on Sunday night, shared a video on Facebook of the young man using his wheelchair to help himself stand while country artist Jenny Leigh performed “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
“One of the most touching things I’ve ever seen tonight!” Norris wrote on Facebook. “This young man was struggling to stand for the anthem as he had braces on both legs with his Dad patting his back in support of helping him.”
The 10-year-old boy, identified by news station FOX 17 as Avery Price, has a syndrome that makes using his legs difficult, yet he still wanted to stand for the anthem. “I usually sit and put my hand over my heart, but last night I just decided to stand,” Avery told Fox. “I like to stand for my country.”
Avery, whose grandfather served in the Air Force, has always been patriotic. According to his father, even Avery’s old leg braces featured the American flag.
Many people were moved to praise Avery; they also praised his parents for raising such an admirable son.
“Very proud to see him do that, makes me feel really good especially through the stuff he’s been through and he still wanted to do that, that’s amazing to me,” Stephen Price wrote.
The middle school student recently underwent surgery at a Nashville medical facility, which has improved his mobility somewhat.
“He doesn’t understand the impact he made,” Norris told the news station. “It’s not a protest of anything, it’s more of our soldiers and our men and women are fighting for our rights to do what we want and Avery done what he wanted, and he stood up for what he believed and he stood up for his country.”
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