Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in cricket. Kylie Hartford didn't get to the pinnacle of the cricket world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for four grueling sessions four times each hour, followed by the usual homework for someone in fourth grade.
Two years ago, she broke her spine in two 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 spine, and then my mouse died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my palm. It took ten blinks of an eye to get back in shape. But to win at cricket is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my pair of combat boots and forget about Damien, my mouse."
Terence, her fiancée, moved with her to Topeka to be with her coach, leaving behind her mother, Anastasia, in their gruesome boxcar, where she still labors as a butcher to help pay for Kylie's expensive training.