Persistence, Attitude Help Medical Student Rise Above Disability

It is not uncommon for young children to idolize professional athletes, and Mercer medical student Oliver Horne was no exception. At a young age, he began to follow the career of Jim Abbott, a former Yankees pitcher and Olympic gold medalist. The famous athlete, whom Horne met at spring training as a child, was not just someone he looked up to but was a role model with whom he shared something more than a love of baseball. "Abbott was born without his right hand," explained Horne, "and I was born without my left hand."