Against the Odds

Tina says her son has always had the drive to exceed expectations, and she and her husband, Mike, are right there to encourage Cody whenever he needs a boost. "When he says, 'I can't,' we say, 'That's not a word allowed in this household,'" she says. "We find a way for him to do it. It might be different than someone else, but we work together and we get through it."

Mike says Cody's spirit is contagious to everyone he meets. "He's always had that about him," he says. "He just walks into a room and absolutely takes over somehow with his personality." Cody even brightens the day of the disabled veterans he's met with who have lost their limbs. "He's never had his limbs, and he's just smiling, bouncing through the room, and just wants to race everybody."