Working by himself in a corner of West Perry’s modest wrestling room, Deven Jackson is about as far from national television cameras as he can get.

Jackson is four years removed from sharing his inspirational story on “Good Morning America.” He is more quiet and serious than the boyish 11-year-old who smiled through interviews about bacterial meningitis, the amputation of his legs and living a life without limits.

Jackson was eight years old when he got sick and was given a 10 percent chance to survive. He won that fight, but faced a tough reality that his struggles were only beginning. Jackson had to rehabilitate himself, learn to walk all over again and reimagine his life without legs.

But the beauty of Jackson’s story was always the determination he showed in the face of hopelessness. He got fitted for prosthetic “blades” that allowed him to run and play football, a sight that brought “Good Morning America” and former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow to tiny Elliottsburg to share his story.

Jackson also got to meet his favorite New York Giants and run with the Philadelphia Eagles. It was an oasis of good for a kid who was relentless and kept smiling throughout, but who still deserved a short break from his problems.

“It was a great experience,” mom Michelle Jackson said. “We learned that there were so many people who truly cared about Deven and his well-being and seeing him do well.”

Jackson’s reality since then has been more challenging than cheery.

Now a freshman at West Perry, Jackson can no longer play football. He’s a growing boy and his bones continue to grow even though his legs can’t. So Jackson has to have surgery every year to shave those bones down, heal and get refitted for new legs. That whole process can take anywhere from 3-6 months, and the timing of it makes football impossible.

“He can never prepare himself for the upcoming season to stay competitive with the other kids with going through those surgeries,” father Dave Jackson said. “Then you’ve got to learn to walk all over again. It’s like as soon as you get the surgery again, it’s back to therapy. It’s back to learning how to walk, so it’s just not like a week or two and you’re back up and walking again.

“This thing can take like three months, then if there’s an infection happening, it can be another three months.”

The feeling for Jackson is that just when he’s feeling strong and competitive, he has to tear everything down and rebuild.

“It’s hard,” Deven said. “It’s like I was doing football, playing wide receiver, killing it, catching it. Then they’re like, ‘You’ve got to get surgery.’ Then I’ve got to get new legs, and it messes with a lot of stuff. I had surgery and couldn’t wrestle over the summer, then just didn’t have any practice. It just hurts. It stinks.”

Because of his journey, wrestling might be the perfect sport at the perfect time for Jackson. It has a way of tearing down and rebuilding without prejudice, so at least it’s a process Jackson understands. Wrestling also rewards skills such as consistency, toughness and attitude, all of which Jackson has in spades.

That’s not to say Jackson’s experience is the same as everyone else’s. He removes the prosthetics and competes with a lower center of gravity. Where his opponent simply runs to the center of the mat to compete, Jackson has to scoot, shuffle and bear claw to get there.

Not even the simplest act of wrestling can be taken for granted.

“They just get to run,” Jackson said. “I’ve got to bear claw, but I’ve got to keep my endurance up. I can’t really run around. It hurts my knees, and I get brush burns.”

The inability to run long distances is a year-round factor that works against him. Conditioning is such a vital part of the sport, and Jackson has no good way of working his lungs.

Jackson’s only option is to get jacked. He does pushups, pullups, bench presses and rope exercises to get his cardio, and he makes up for a conditioning deficit with raw strength. Jackson weighs in around 105 pounds and benches 160.

“He’s going to go after everybody, no matter what,” West Perry coach Craig May said. “He goes out every match like he’s just like anybody else. To me, there are never any limits on him. He’s over on the ropes while the kids are jogging, or he’s doing some kind of ab exercise or core exercise or he’s doing pullups or doing pushups or he’s doing something. It’s just a matter of keeping him moving.”

Jackson does different practice exercises, but he carries himself in exactly the same way. He doesn’t say much, but he approaches every drill and exercise with purpose and offers zero complaints. As much as anything, Jackson has learned through a grueling and unfair ordeal to focus on positives and do the work.

“He doesn’t have to say it,” Dave Jackson said. “He doesn’t have to do anything. He just shows you. He doesn’t complain. He just gets out there and works. He’s very humble inside. He’s not going to be the kid who’s pumped up and rippin’ and roarin’ and trying to fire the team up and get them ready to go. He’s going to be the guy who puts his nose down and goes to work. He’s going to give it everything he’s got.”

So, Jackson sticks to his corner of the wrestling room, focusing on his own processes without any thoughts of what he *could* be doing if life were more fair to him. He is ripping through rope exercises while his teammates sprint with a prime view of where he wants to be.

He faces a wall with two banners hanging down, one with a list of West Perry’s all-time district medalists, the other a shorter list of the program’s state qualifiers. Jackson wants to be on both of them, but he’s not stopping there.

“I want to go to college,” Jackson said. “I want to go to Penn State. I want to get a couple banners. I want to get 100 wins. When I get to college, I’d like to win an NCAA championship.”

The road might be long, and Jackson might to have to scoot down on his hands and knees, but he intends to get there. Along the way, TV cameras or not, he is sure to be an inspiration.

“I hope I inspire a lot of people,” Jackson said. “You pretty much can do any sport that you want to do. No one can say no. You’ve got to have a positive attitude. You have to work hard. You’ve just got to stay positive and keep working hard.”