Tommy Jenkins was born without a body.

Yes. By some strange medical... Let's not call it a miracle... occurrence... Tommy Jenkins was born only a head.

His parents, Gregory and Judy, loved Tommy with all their hearts, and quickly adjusted their own lives to make sure that Tommy could have as close to a normal life as possible.

As soon as Tommy was old enough to ask questions, Judy brought him to museums, art films, and lectures, hoping to develop the only "muscle" Tommy possessed: his brain. By the time Tommy was three, he had a intellect that far surpassed the other children in his play group.

On Sundays, Gregory would sit with his boy and watch football on television. Tommy loved watching the athletics of Bob Griese and the Miami Dolphins. He and his father bonded over guessing Don't Shula's next move and marveling over the amazing season their favorite team was having.

At night, Tommy would roll around in his bed dreaming that he was a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, hoisted on the shoulders of his teammates. His mother and father would be in the stands, and the pride he would witness in Gregory's eyes, oh! It would make Tommy smile until morning.

It came time for Tommy to go to school, and Judy was tortured by what sending her boy, with his condition, would mean to him - what it would mean for their family. She loved him so much, and she wanted no harm to come to him, physically or psychologically. Gregory assured her it would be alright.

His first few weeks were tough. Of course, the other children didn't know what to make of a boy with no body, so they avoided him at first. Once he started speaking up in class, his preternatural intellect began to show. He baffled his teachers, who didn't quite know what to do with him, and he threatened the young boys in his class, who responded by being bullies of sorts.

At this time, his parents began having intense arguments about two things. The first was that Judy wanted to take Tommy out of school and home-school him, but Gregory felt that his son was resourceful enough to figure out a way to get through this hard part in his young life. He felt that it would further build his son's already strong character. The second thing that drove a wedge between this previously-unflappable couple was that Tommy's doctor announced that Tommy was eligible to be the first full-body transplant recipient the world has ever seen. Judy was against the operation because she felt that part of what made Tommy such a remarkable boy was that he WAS different than the other kids. She wanted to continue to celebrate that. Gregory knew how badly his boy wanted to be able to play football, and he fought vehemently to try to make Judy understand. Neither adult would budge.

Shortly after his parents received the news of Tommy's eligibility for surgery, Tommy had a wonderful breakthrough with his classmates. One afternoon, while his class was outside for recess, Tommy was watching the boys play a game of pickup football. He made a remark of how the boy playing quarterback should hand off to his running back in that particular situation, and they'd be sure the touchdown. It worked, and the boy, amazed at Tommy's knowledge of football tactics, asked him how he knew that. Tommy replied, "That's what Shula would do." The boys in the class were flabbergasted by Tommy knowledge of the NFL and spent the rest of the recess period trying to stump him. They asked him player stats, scores, any trivia they could think of. He answered every question correctly.

At dinner that night, Gregory and Judy had never seen their son so happy. He was as animated as a little boy head could be, recounting the events of that afternoon's recess in beautiful, minute detail. His parents knew what they had to do. They told him about the surgery, to which he immediately accepted. The joy he felt that night going to bed has yet to be surpassed by any six-year old boy since.

The surgery was dangerous, but Tommy pulled through. Gregory and Judy were with him through every second of his stay in the hospital, whispering encouragement while he was in recovery, then shouting it to him while he struggled to learn how his new body works while in recovery. Judy relished holding her son's hand (HOLDING HIS HAND!!!) in his brief moments of doubt. The parents relationship was now as strong as it had ever been, now that they were sure they had made the right decision with Tommy.

When Tommy finally came home from the hospital, school had ended. It was a beautiful June day. Tommy could feel the sun on his face and also over his brand-new limbs as he stepped out of the car in front of his house. All of his friends from school were there waiting for him, and he smiled as wide as could be when he saw them. They were so excited for him, and they invited him to the park across the street to play his very first game of football with them. He could even be quarterback, just like his idol, Bob Griese. He looked at Gregory and Judy, and they, of course, nodded their approval.

So, Tommy, his friends, and his parents crossed the street to watch what they knew would be the first of many football games that Tommy would play.

On the first play, Tommy threw the football off the head of one of his linemen. Nobody said a word. They all knew how hard Tommy worked to be able to have this moment. Tommy looked around for a moment, then said, "Well, I guess I have to get the hang of my new arms." Everybody laughed and laughed. They teams of boys set up for the next play. Tommy called Hike, and still not quite understanding how to control his new limbs, hurled the football far over his teammates heads. The ball bounced three times and came to rest in the middle of the street. A slight flash of frustration appeared on little Tommy's countenance, but it quickly turned to a wide smile. "I'll get it!" He called, a started running to get the football. He stopped in the street and bent over to pick up the football, and was immediately struck by a mail truck, whose brakes were two months overdue for inspection.

The park erupted in the devastated keening of his friends and parents. Gregory stood like a statue, immobilized by grief. Judy took off in a blind bolt across the freshly-cut grass of the park, into the street, where she collapsed upon her son's lifeless body.

"Why?!?!" Judy screamed at the sky. "My boy! My beautiful boy!" She continued, her face contorted in loss and grief. "I knew it!!! I just knew it deep down inside my gut! You should have quit while you were ahead!"

Edit: breaks/ brakes