Losing one dream, gaining another

Martin Bryan isn't a bad snooker player. He walks the five-minute journey to the bus-stop to travel into Limerick to the snooker club. The walk "isn't that bad".

If it were you or me, spending one day in Martin's body, we'd probably say the walking was awful. But Martin is used to it. And he appreciates what he has. When you can't play football or other sports, it's great to have a sport where legs don't matter. His hero is Ken Doherty. Martin would love to have a snooker table in his house - what a dream! Not that Martin ever expects it to happen.

Martin was born with an exceptionally severe case of club feet. He's had surgery at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, enduring six operations in 16 years. At this point, he can't see himself having a career or a family either. Then, why would he? Martin's in fifth year at the CBC in Limerick, and he's taking it one day at a time.

For most of his life, he walked on his toes, like a dancer en point. Both the condition and the surgery were unbearable. "It was very painful. I don't want to remember the pain," he says.

Now he can almost put his heels on the ground, although one leg is still a couple of inches shorter than the other. "It's a bit better, but it's not perfect," he says.

Plastic supports help to hold up his legs. He's had to deal with ignorance in other people's attitudes to disability, like when people see your disabled body and assume that your mind is slow as well. But his friends understand. They take him for who he is. They never talk about Martin's disability.

Martin has had to give up his dream of being a carpenter. He's realised that, with his weak legs, working on building sites would be impossible. So he's going to try to become an architect and design projects for carpenters to build.

What would he ask for if you gave him a magic wand? New legs? A snooker table? No. If he had a wish, he tells me, he'd ask to have his father back. Martin's father died when he was two years old. Martin's mother, a care worker, has reared four children on her own.

Children and teenagers usually worry more for their parents, than for themselves. Martin is an example of that. A choice between a pain-free body and a living father? There's no choice.