As the competition gets underway, T.C. is a bit nervous in the crowd of athletes and supporters, but he also radiates a glow that says he is thrilled to be here, doing this with these people.

Traveling with him are his aunt and uncle, Fran and Wayne Pearson, his 17 year old sister Candace, and a very special teacher, Adina Marcus, a reading teacher from Churchill Junior High School in East Brunswick, New Jersey where T.C. has just finished the 9th grade. She developed a program to keep him involved with his classmates while undergoing the demanding and time-consuming process of kidney dialysis. The process, called "pediatric distant learning," involves a two-way use of cameras and monitors so that T.C. can be "present" in the classroom even while receiving treatment in the hospital.

Marcus recalls that one time when he was on-line, a hospital staff member came into his room to involve him in crafts. "Don't annoy me," he said. "I'm in school." T.C. achieved one of his important goals by being present, live and uncensored, for the first full day of school in September of 2001. Comcast wired the school and hospital rooms for free, and they also wired Adina Marcus's home so she could continue to work with T.C. over the summer. When pressed, she admits that she volunteers her time to work with him well beyond the school day. "He's amazing," she says. "I'm just his teacher." But she's more than "just a teacher," as evidenced by her winning a Sigma Xi Award for Teaching Excellence and another award as New Jersey Technologist Teacher of the Year. In keeping with her generosity with her time, she has donated any money she won to the National Kidney Foundation.

T.C. bowls a graceful hook for a strike. His team mates and supporters cheer.

Dialysis began for T.C. after his first kidney failed. He feels that his second kidney was "God-given" because he only had to wait 1 1/2 years. The transplant was completed on March 27 of this year, a gift from a 47 year old man who died in the hospital. T.C. recalls hearing about the available kidney during dialysis. Three hours later, he had his second chance.

T.C. says that he most appreciates the little things that he can now do, like go to school every day or go to the bathroom. He missed the regular contact with other people when he was at the hospital for dialysis, and now he enjoys just hanging out with his friends, listening to music (preferences: "just about everything"), exploring on the Internet, and just being with his family-playing board games or just talking about what happened that day. His sister boasts that he's a member of the junior varsity bowling team at school, and he mentions that he has been bowling since he was 7, with his high game 205 and high series 515. He has also written for the local newspaper. He also attended the "semi-formal,"...something like a junior prom." T.C. has also joined an East Brunswick youth group that's involved in a number of fundraising activities. He enjoys all the contact with other kids, and he appreciates the opportunity to give back. "He just wants to be a kid," his teacher says. But what an amazing kid.

Another ball by T.C. hooks a bit too far, and the eight-pin remains standing: Cheers and shouts of encouragement.

A strong A and B student despite being physically removed from the classroom 3 days a week for his 4 hour dialysis treatments, T.C. has his eye on college-either Rutgers or the University of Michigan. He has been a Wolverine fan for years, and last year the Make-a-Wish Foundation took him to see Michigan play in the Citrus Bowl, where he gave the team a pre-game pep talk.

Some uncertainties, however, loom in T.C.'s future, as his disease-recurring FSGS-is starting to attack his new kidney. He is receiving treatment to slow or stop the disease, and the family is hopeful that research will continue.