Courtesy of Darrius Simmons (All Images)
MUSIC LOVER
1. Darrius poses with his grandfather after a band performance.
2. Darrius and Yiruma talk at Carnegie Hall.
At a mall in Ohio, a teenage boy sits at a keyboard in a music store and starts to play. His fingers glide effortlessly over the keys, and beautiful music fills the air.
Shoppers stop and listen. A crowd gathers. People pull out their phones to record him.
Those who look closer are even more amazed. Why? There’s something extraordinary about Darrius Simmons, the boy making magic at the keyboard.
He is playing with only four fingers.
Darrius, 18, was born with three fingers on his right hand and one on his left hand. He was also missing bones in his lower legs. But Darrius has never let these challenges get in the way.
When he was just a toddler, doctors gave Darrius artificial legs called prostheses. They were uncomfortable to wear at first. But Darrius was determined to walk.
He spent hours practicing by holding on to furniture. When he was almost 3, he took his first real steps. His family celebrated.
As Darrius grew older, he had to work hard to do things that were easy for other kids. Anytime someone tried to help, he would say, “I can do it myself.”
For example, he learned to use the three fingers on his right hand to hold a fork. He taught himself to write. And soon he was playing basketball, football, and video games with his friends.
At a mall in Ohio, a teen boy sits at a keyboard in a music store. He starts to play. His fingers glide effortlessly over the keys, and beautiful music fills the air.
Shoppers stop and listen. A crowd gathers. People use their phones to record him.
Those who look closer are even more amazed. Why? There’s something unusual about Darrius Simmons, the boy at the keyboard.
He is playing with only four fingers.
Darrius was born with three fingers on his right hand and one on his left. He was also missing bones in his lower legs. But he hasn’t let these challenges stop him.
When he was a toddler, doctors gave him artificial legs called prostheses. They were uncomfortable to wear at first. But Darrius was determined to walk.
He spent hours practicing, holding on to furniture. When he was almost 3, he took his first real steps. His family celebrated.
As Darrius grew older, he had to work hard to do things that were easy for other kids. When people tried to help, he would say, “I can do it myself.”
Darrius learned to use the fingers on his right hand to hold a fork. He learned to write. And he played basketball, football, and video games with his friends.
At a mall in Ohio, a teenage boy sits at a keyboard in a music store and starts to play. His fingers glide effortlessly over the keys, and beautiful music fills the air.
Shoppers stop and listen. A crowd gathers. People pull out their phones to record him.
Those who look closer are even more astonished—because there’s something extraordinary about Darrius Simmons, the boy making magic at the keyboard.
He’s playing with only four fingers.
Darrius, 18, was born with three fingers on his right hand and one on his left hand. He was also missing bones in his lower legs. But Darrius has never let these challenges get in the way.
When he was just a toddler, doctors fitted Darrius with artificial legs called prostheses. They were uncomfortable to wear at first, but Darrius was determined to walk.
He spent hours practicing by holding on to furniture. When he was almost 3, he took his first real steps, and his family celebrated.
As Darrius grew older, he had to work hard to do things that were easy for other kids. Anytime someone tried to help, he would say, “I can do it myself.”
For example, he learned to use the three fingers on his right hand to hold a fork. He also taught himself to write—and before long, he was playing basketball, football, and video games with his friends.