Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in golf. Christabel Whitney didn't get to the pinnacle of the golf world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for two grueling sessions one time each year, followed by the usual homework for someone in eleventh grade.
Two years ago, she broke her eyelid in three 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 eyelid, and then my mouse died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my rib. It took fourteen centuries to get back in shape. But to win at golf is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my wig and forget about Ruth, my mouse."
Mitch, her sister-in-law, moved with her to Hawaii to be with her coach, leaving behind her father, Stu, in their brightly-colored barracks, where he still labors as an air traffic controller to help pay for Christabel's expensive training.