“Teased Because of His Big Ears”: Michael Phelps Conquered Over the Disease That 1.6 Million American Children Suffer From, Proving the Naysayers Wrong

The success story of Michael Phelps has been one that was not bound to just the swimming pool. On the personal end of his life, Phelps had to fight one battle after another, dealing with major setbacks. A child of divorce, Michael had to deal with abandonment issues while also suffering from ADHD. To make matters worse, Phelps was often bullied in school owing to his physical characteristics.

But just like he bested his competition in the pool, Phelps bested his bullies and his conditions too. And watching her son from a corner, proving all his doubters wrong, was his mother, Ms. Debbie Phelps.

Michael Phelps’ gold medal at Athens was bigger than it seemed

They say, ‘behind every successful man is a great woman.’ And behind Michael Phelps stood his mother, Debbie. The single mother did everything in her power to help Michael achieve the success he would. And when he did, Debbie would be the proudest. No matter the success, Debbie would cheer for her son the loudest. In her autobiography, ‘A Mother for all Seasons,’ Debbie wrote about Michael’s first ever Olympic gold medal and the significance of the victory.

At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Michael Phelps won his first-ever Olympic gold medal. But the win was not just a gold medal, it was also an answer to all the things that held him back. Discussing the same in her book, Debbie wrote about Michael smiling his brightest smile. Michael’s coach, Bob Bowman, once told Debbie that the smile on Michael’s face after winning his first ever medal had never been matched. “My first reaction was that nobody could be that happy. Michael was.”

READ MORE: “It Was Not What I Expected”- Michael Phelps’ Mother Once Opened Up on Her Relationship With Ex-Husband

After Michael won the gold, Debbie saw the same smile on her son’s face. “In that setting, as the sun went down in the sky, as he walked across the pool deck toward us, it was like visualizing all his years of swimming going through my head.” Debbie added, “I saw him first as that little fun-loving boy, the one who was teased because of his big ears and who a teacher or two had said ‘would have trouble learning.’ A boy who never let a diagnosis of ADHD keep him from proving the naysayers wrong.”

Debbie – The wind beneath Michael’s Wings

Whenever Michael was in trouble, Debbie was there to help him through. When she felt like Michael needed to concentrate his energy somewhere, she brought him to the local swimming club. When Michael’s teachers refused to cooperate with his ADHD, she told them the right way to deal with it. Even when Debbie had to handle her divorce, she stood strong and helped her children thrive in their lives. When Phelps went through two of the most infamous incidents of his life, Debbie patiently supported her son.

Through thick and thin, Michael was never really alone; Debbie would always be nearby. She has been more than just a mother to Michael. Debbie has been his biggest supporter.

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