If you've ever felt like the odds were stacked against you, I have good news: God doesn't play by the odds.

On March 19, 2001 in Gulfport, Mississippi a woman named Stacy gave birth to a little boy. He was about four months early and weighed just 2 lbs 1 oz. He wasn’t breathing when he was born but doctors were able to resuscitate him and get his heart beating. The baby spent a week on life support. Doctors told Stacy that her son had about a one percent chance of survival and suggested that she let him go, she chose not to. Stacy named her son Derick.

Photo Courtesy of The Derick Hall One Percent Foundation

Derick was moved to the NICU where he spent five long month on a ventilator before finally being strong enough to go home with his family.

When he was little, Derick suffered with asthma – but this kid loved football and the asthma didn’t stop him. He started playing flag football when he was 4 and moved on to tackle football at 9. He continued to get stronger and he excelled at football all the way through his high school years, into college and beyond.

Derick is truly an example of beating the odds. He’s become an inspiration to the parents of micro-preemies that there is hope for a healthy future. He’s even started the Derick Hall One Percent Foundation, lending support and services to premature babies and their families.

He credits his success to his mom for standing her ground and believing in him from the start.

Derick's mother, Stacy said “I had to give him a shot at living. I had to give him a shot at being someone who can change the world because apparently God had a plan for this kid, and he chose me to be his mom.”

The baby who once weighed just over two pounds, now stands 6’3” and weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 lbs.

If you want to see him in action on the football field, Derick will be wearing number 58 this weekend as he and his team compete against the New England Patriots.

You see, Derick Hall is a linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks. This will be his first Super Bowl but his mom says it won’t be his last.

When you feel like you have reached the end of your rope, hang on! Let Derick be a reminder that with God, you still have a chance to overcome any obstacle in your path.

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