By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Eighteen years ago, Rodney Tait and his wife, Abbeba, received some shocking – and devastating – news about their unborn child, Emmanuel.

As Emmanuel grew in the womb, doctors began noticing some concerning information in their tests, and gave his parents a grim prognosis.

“We were faced with a really, really, really crucial crisis. Emmanuel was in the womb, and we went to UAB and they told us that from what they saw, he wouldn’t have legs or arms,” Rodney Tait said. “If he did have any function, it wasn’t to be anything that would be of a life that we could handle.”

Doctors continually monitored Emmanuel as he developed, and became increasingly concerned about what they saw.

“They literally, as young parents, took us and called my mother to tell her ‘Hey, we need to counsel them. This kid is going to be financially too much. There’s no way he’ll be what you’re thinking he will be, because physically, he should be in a situation where he should be handicapped or, at best, invalid,’” Rodney Tait said. “They told us that the PKU and all the things they saw from tests on the baby that we should give him up to science. If we allowed them to do the tests, there was a possibility that he wouldn’t live, but he would help other babies and help scientists understand what they would have as a baby.”

From there, the Taits began to pray.

“We went to our prayer room at the time to do what we knew to do. We prayed and we cried, and let me tell you, we spent a lot of nights walking and crying and asking God to help us,” Rodney Tait said, noting Emmanuel means “God with us.” “I heard God say he was going to be with us with this child.”

Nearly two decades later, not only can Emmanuel walk and talk, but he owns the school record in nearly every track event in which he has competed. This season, he is gunning for state records.

“We refused to just hear that our child would not walk, would not talk and would not be able to function. Not only is he functioning, but at times, he has been number one, number two, number three in the nation,” Rodney said.

After Emmanuel graduates next month, he will continue his storied track career at Samford University after he inked a scholarship offer during an April 15 ceremony in the THS library.

When he leaves Thompson, Emmanuel will leave behind a legacy of admiration and respect among everyone he has met at the school.

“I just want to tell you that we’re proud of you,” THS track coach Tim Castille told Emmanuel. “When we took the job, we came into a difficult situation. Coaching guys like you made it a lot easier. He comes to work every day, he’s a leader for us. He’s a guy you can look up to. Guys like you make it fun to coach.”

Despite a negative prognosis before he was even born, Emmanuel has excelled on the football field, on the track and in the classroom.

“I’m telling you that God can do anything, and he did it for us. They told us that the kid was not supposed to walk, talk or be here. Not only is he here, but he’s an A-B student, he is a strong kid, he’s a good kid,” Rodney Tait said.

Hearing his father recount his story, Emmanuel was unable to hold back his emotions.

“It’s amazing to see everyone out here. It’s overwhelming, actually,” Emmanuel said. “This is what I’ve been working toward for years. It’s crazy now that it’s coming to fruition. Now, we get to reap the benefits of what we have sown.”