University Southern California Trojans
Grayson's Special Visit
September 29, 2017 | Football, Trojan Outreach, USC Ripsit Blog, Features
Over the years, athletes have been asked to sign all sorts of interesting items, from posters to vehicles to babies.So when two-year-old Grayson O'Steen asked USC QB Sam Darnold to "sign his new leg," the Trojan signal caller didn't flinch. What makes Grayson special, though, is that he had his left leg partially amputated when he was eight months old, and came to USC football practice this week to have his favorite players sign the mold for his new prosthetic leg.
When Grayson's parents, Troy and Andrea, learned their son had a tumor in his leg and that the best option was to amputate, they put their heads together to find a way to make the best of the situation. The doctor suggested they decorate Grayson's leg in some way, with a cartoon character or super hero, and that's when Andrea got an idea.
"Hey, you like USC," she said to her husband. "Let's do a USC leg! And let's make it memorable and see if we can get someone to sign it!"
She sent a private message on Instagram to then-USC QB Cody Kessler, who was happy to get involved. The O'Steens came to campus and got Grayson's first prosthetic leg signed by Kessler, Su'a Cravens and other members of the team at the time.
Since then, Grayson has grown and gotten more and more comfortable using his prosthetic leg, to the point where he's competed in a few toddler track and field events. When it came time for him to get a new prosthetic leg, the O'Steens reached out to see if they could stop by campus again, which Grayson calls "Sam Darnold's house."
When the family came to practice, Darnold, USC head coach Clay Helton and other players like Ronald Jones II, Stephen Carr, Ykili Ross and more signed the mold for Grayson's new leg, and signed sweatshirts and footballs for the older O'Steen children — all of whom are huge USC fans.
Just like his parents and everyone who passes through USC, Grayson is sure to be a member of the Trojan Family forever.
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