The story is even more unlikely given the challenges Benetti has faced. The only child of Rob and Sue Benetti, Jason was born 10 weeks premature. After being diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a condition that primarily affects body movement and muscle coordination and often is caused by damage to the brain before or at birth, he went through three extensive surgeries that left him in casts from the waist down. Benetti spent part of first grade in a wheelchair and eventually had to wear braces on his legs.