TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

The Fresh Prince Of Leto High

ADVERTISEMENT

By KATHERINE SMITH, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 12, 2007

TAMPA - Growing up, Renaldo Gordon loved watching the TV show 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.'

He identified with Will Smith's character, a teenager from a broken home who moved in with a loving family. It was the family part of the show that got Gordon.

'That guy came from a bad neighborhood and he ended up with someone good,' Gordon said. 'I used to imagine that happening to me all the time. I thought, one of these days, I'm going to have somebody look after me.'

Gordon, 17, didn't come from a bad neighborhood, just bad circumstances. At age 7, Gordon's mother died. His father was incarcerated, so he began a 10-year journey through the foster care system.

A chance ride home after a spring football practice with a Leto High assistant coach helped the Falcons' starting defensive tackle realize his 'Fresh Prince' dream.

Another Kind Of Dream

Lamon Caldwell had his own dream. Growing up in Chicago and playing high school football with Simeon Rice and Donovan McNabb, the Leto defensive assistant coach dreamed of playing professional football. And he did, in the Arena Football League.

Caldwell's dream changed last year. Now he dreams of a day when he's 100 percent healthy.

In May 2006, just before Memorial Day, Caldwell wasn't feeling well. He had trouble breathing, so he went to a walk-in clinic. His blood pressure was 200/180 and he was immediately sent to an emergency room. Doctors discovered high blood pressure had led to renal failure and he began a month-long hospital stay.

'It was something that just snuck on me, caught me and had me down,' said Caldwell, who played two seasons for the AF2 Quad City SteamWheelers. 'I was in real bad shape.'

During his recovery, Caldwell, 33, moved in with Rice for a time. It taught him a lesson on how, sometimes, you need people to lean on.

Given his health situation, people wondered whether Caldwell was taking on too much when he went through the appropriate steps to become a foster parent to Gordon. Some of his friends thought he was crazy to take on such a responsibility when he should have been taking care of himself.

Turns out, Caldwell needed Gordon just as much as Gordon needed him.

'I had to realize sometimes I will need help,' Caldwell said. 'I was so used to doing things for myself. So I do think I need him as much as he needs me because he's been a big help. He's definitely made me a lot more humble, a lot more consistent and a lot more attentive.'

Plenty To Be Thankful For

The first foster home Gordon lived in was a good one, he said. But it didn't stay that way. Sometimes, Gordon would get hit for no reason. Then there was his time in Sarasota. Without a room of his own, Gordon slept on the floor. Some nights, he went without dinner.

'It was nasty. It was ridiculous,' Gordon said. 'That's why I'm so grateful for where I am now. It's a big step from where I've been, so I've got to take the opportunity to do good. I think about all the places I've been and it keeps me going, keeps my motor running. I wake up every morning and I thank God that I am where I'm at now.'

With a roof over his head and a steady, consistent influence in his life, Gordon has learned to dream big. He likes watching the Travel Channel and charting destinations he'd like to visit. He received an invitation from the National Merit Scholars to travel to China as a student ambassador next summer.

Another goal is to one day take care of sister Tiffany, 13, who is staying with friends of the family in Tallahassee.

'My main mentality and goal is doing something,' Gordon said. 'I just want to do something.'

Gordon took his first plane ride this summer to Chicago to meet Caldwell's family, which had gathered for a reunion. Just as Caldwell did, his family made Gordon feel at home.

'I hadn't been around family in such a long time,' Gordon said, 'that made me feel so good.'

Moments like that help distract from Caldwell's health issues, though he gets a nightly reminder. Every night, for eight hours, Caldwell undergoes peritoneal dialysis through a tube in his stomach. Caldwell is on the kidney transplant list in Florida. Leto head coach Hugh Dehnert jokingly offered Caldwell one of his kidneys.

'But he said I'd be listening to Jimmy Buffet all the time and would turn Republican,' Caldwell said.

One of his cousins in Chicago has proven to be a match, but Caldwell holds out hope that won't be necessary.

'For some odd reason, I believe I will be healed without having to have a transplant,' he said. 'I believe in my heart that some things you go through for a reason and I think this is one of those.'

He Believes In Fate

Caldwell is somewhat limited physically. During drills at practice, he'll mix it up with the players, but then the tube in his stomach reminds him not to push it too far.

'He doesn't show it too much, but I know what's going on,' Gordon said. 'He's a strong guy, so he really just lets me know that nothing's going to happen to him. I know something's wrong, but to make him feel good, I don't show him my emotions.'

Caldwell believes in fate. He believes there's a reason he ended up at Leto, a reason he met Gordon and a reason the two have learned to lean on each other.

'I see a lot of myself in him,' Caldwell said. 'I figured somebody would do the same for me, so that's probably why I did it. I saw myself and everybody that I grew up with in him. This kid was no different than me.'

Reporter Katherine Smith can be reached at (813) 259-7860 or ksmith@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT