All Cory Elmore wants is a chance. A chance to play Division I college football. A chance to chase the dream that was snatched from him 4-1/2 years ago.
Given what he has endured, it seems obvious that he deserves it.
No question. No debate.
"I'm hoping someone from the NCAA will read this and have a soul, have a heart," he said. "It's not like I can't do anything else with my life. I'm well-educated, and I graduated from school. I'm not some stereotypical athlete who's had everything handed to him his entire life. I just love football. I'm not near ready to be done with it yet."
Football life was good in 2006. Elmore and twin brother Ricky accepted scholarships to play for the University of Arizona, redshirting their freshman seasons in anticipation of much brighter futures.
But while he was home in Simi Valley, Calif., over Christmas break, Cory, then an offensive lineman, went in for a routine check-up and doctors discovered an atrial septal defect, a congenital condition in which the wall that separates the upper heart chambers does not completely close.