March 29, 2006

(By permission of Breakaway Magazine, Focus on the Family)

by Gail Wood

Don't let Grant Dykstra's right arm fool you. He can take you to school on the basketball court. After surviving a near-fatal childhood accident, the Western Washington University guard has made the basketball court his domain - and God's

All it would take was Glen Dykstra's quiet not of approval. A simple yes and his 2-year-old son's bloodied right arm would be gone, amputated at the shoulder after being mangled in a grain auger that morning on the family's farm in northwest Washington.

But Glen wanted to wait.

"He'll never have use of that arm," the doctor said quietly.

Glen, his eyes brimming with tears, firmly shook his head no.

"Let's just see how he heals," he said.

So they put the amputation on hold. A reprieve for a month.

And little Grant Dykstra's torn right arm, broken in three places and held together by 260 stitches did heal - better than anyone hoped. Tearful prayers were answered. Doctors called it a miracle. But Grant, the youngest of three children, sees it more as a blessing.

"I'm just thankful they didn't amputate," Grant says. "I'd never be able to play basketball."

Grant's life is a remarkable story of overcoming trauma, of encouraging parents who ignored the temptation to overprotect, of a young boy who never questioned God or felt sorry for himself.

Never Say Can't

Now, 20 years and 16 surgeries later, Grant is a basketball wonder, an All-American, 6-foot-4-inch guard for Western Washington University despite having limited use of a right arm that is five inches shorter than his left. Yearly surgeries impeded the growth of his right arm; his last operation was the summer after sixth grade. Today, Grant still can't close his right hand into a fist. He still can't move his right index finger without moving his middle finger (both fingers were surgically attached to the same tendon). And he still can't lift as much with his right arm as with his left.

"All the time I hear coaches yelling, `Make him go right,' Grant says.

A defender blocks Grant's left side, leaving no option but to go right. Grant obliges, shakes the defender, cuts back left and throws a wide-open left-handed jump shot. Swish. The opposing coach's instructions are bad advice - again.

"He's a courageous kid," says Brad Jackson, coach at Western Washington. "He's probably always had people say he couldn't do it."

There were many reasons for Grant not to play basketball. But even as a first-grader, with his arm in a cast after yet another surgery, he'd go to summer basketball camp, dribbling and shooting with his left even though he's right-handed.

"I never thought about quitting," Grant says. "All my friends played basketball. My brother and sister played basketball. I just wanted to be like them."

A Family Affair

Grant comes from a basketball family. His dad was nicknamed The Legend, earning all-state honors in high school and leading his team to a 1976 state title. (Grant beat The Legend in H-O-R-S-E for the first time at age 14.) Grant's sister, Shannon, was an all-state guard. His brother, Greg, was all-state in basketball and football.

But Grant was even better, starting on the Lynden Christian High School varsity team as a freshman and being named the state's 2A player of the year as a senior. Grant led his team to a state title and also broke school records for points, 3-pointers, assists, steals and free-throw percentage.

Because he refused to let a handicap become an excuse, Grant was presented the 2006 Comeback Award by the V Foundation and the 2005 Most Courageous Award by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Grant led Western Washington to the NCAA Division II West Regional final as a senior, averaging 20.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.0 steals, shooting 50.6 percent from the field, 43.7 percent from 3-point range and 84.5 percent at the free throw line.

He finished his career as the school's all-time scoring leader with 1,844 points and was fourth in assists with 404, sixth in rebounds with 576 and seventh in steals with 210.

"Doctors still tell me they're amazed," Grant says. "They say I'm a miracle."

Grant is also a survivor, finding strength in a caring family and in his unbending faith in Jesus.

"(When I was) growing up, my parents would never allow us to say can't," Grant says. "Sometimes I would think, I can't. But they'd always remind me that through Christ you can do all things."

God Was There

The accident occurred early one summer day in 1984. The toddler and his cousins were playing hide-and-seek at the Dykstras' 300-acre dairy farm. Somehow, Grant's jacket sleeve caught in the grain auger, which crushes and dispenses feed to the cows. The rotating machinery pulled Grant's red coat in, clamping down on his arm. Unable to pull free, he screamed for help.

Frantically, a cousin told Grant's mom, Alice, that her son was hurt and needed help. Alice ran for the hayloft. Then she stopped.

"She said the presence of God came on her. She turned around and turned off the machinery," Grant says. "At the moment she didn't know I was in the auger."

Alice's decision saved her son's life. By the time she reached the switch, the auger had pulled in Grant to his shoulder.

"My head was going in next," he says.

Grant's day and grandfather took 90 minutes to dismantle the auger so the paramedics could rush Grant to the hospital.

Paramedics initially suggested amputating, but Grant's red jacket, wrapped tightly around his arm, had acted like a tourniquet. "Otherwise I would have bled to death," Grant says.

After a month in the hospital, Grant went home with his right arm sewn to his abdomen to help with the skin grafting. The yearly corrective surgeries began at age 3, each followed by physical therapy.

Holding Court

Basketball was Grant's best physical therapy, his faith was his best motivation.

"As a kid, I heard stories about how God allowed things to happen for a reason," Grant says. "I'd think, Why did this happen to me? My folks explained that God has a plan for me. Now, I can see why it happened to me."

With his accomplishments on the basketball court, Grant has received national publicity. His story has been told in USA Today and on ESPN. "I have an opportunity to tell people about Jesus," Grant says "What could be better?"

The ease with which Grant plays the game hides the years of surgeries and struggles, but Grant's hardships have transformed into opportunities. He now plays for Ws: winning and witnessing.

"When I'm on the court, I fell I am a representative of God," he says. "God has given is all an ability to do something. That's how you can showcase your love for Christ. Tell other people about Christ through that talent. God has given me the ability to play basketball. That's my way of showing His love for me. I try to show that by how I play and how I respond to things so people can see a difference in me."