'Just Caleb Syndrome'
Born a month early, Heather Hanley did not know what her first son, Caleb Ross would be capable of - talking, walking or otherwise. Now 37 years later, he is an accomplished Special Olympics (SO) athlete and beloved by his community. Ross, who was given multiple diagnoses, has what his mom calls 'Caleb syndrome'. He began SO when he was about eight years old. Since then, he's been involved with over a dozen sports offered by SO: bocce ball, flag football, soccer, softball, basketball, horseshoe, skiing, snowshoeing, poly hockey, dodgeball, kickball, bowling and volleyball. Basketball is his favorite. Caleb's three brothers, John, Joe and David, support him along the way and at times, have coached his team. Hanley said David is Caleb's biggest supporter and always wants to attend his games. Caleb helps out at the Strickler Center's food drive twice per week, attends church on Sundays and works for Mid-Michigan Industries where he does trash pickup and passes out Central Michigan Life newspapers every two weeks. He is driven by community involvement. Everywhere he goes, someone knows Caleb.
