February 01, 2018 05:14 PM

A Life Without Limbs

Don Jorgensen reports:

Tea, SD

A young boy from Tea is doing something many thought couldn't be done and it isn't the first time.  

He might be the most inspiring young boy you'll ever meet. 

For the past eight years, we have followed Austin Schoppert on an incredible journey, one that includes a lot of ups and downs, but also a lot of accomplishments.

When Austin had his arms and legs amputated at a young age because of bacterial meningitis, his future looked bleak.   

As he grew older, he tried using prosthetics.   

"I don't like those.  They hurt; they're boring," Austin said. 

Don Jorgensen: Do they kind of slow you down? 
Austin: Yeah.

Now he's a fifth grader in Tea and has adapted to a life without limbs. 

"He prefers to just hop around; a lot of children who have his same disability kind of grow up the same way," dad Mike Schoppert said. 

"Maybe when he's older, he might make that decision to get legs or arms, but for now he doesn't want to," Mike said.  

What he does want to do is wrestle.  Austin recently joined the wrestling team in Tea and has been practicing for the past couple of months. 

KELOLAND News was there when he competed in his very first wrestling tournament.  

You can see how he does tonight on KELOLAND News at 10. 





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