Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in baseball. Abigail Wheeler didn't get to the pinnacle of the baseball world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for five grueling sessions four times each second, followed by the usual homework for someone in tenth grade.
Two years ago, she broke her intestine in four places. But this didn't stop her. She seems even more determined to excel at her sport.
"I was really down when I broke my intestine, and then my mongoose died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my pituitary gland. It took one blinks of an eye to get back in shape. But to win at baseball is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my Speedo and forget about Steve, my mongoose."
Charlie, her grandmother, moved with her to Japan to be with her coach, leaving behind her mother, Ethel, in their aromatic subway tunnel, where she still labors as a stable boy to help pay for Abigail's expensive training.