2008.12.30
Harman story: The writer's cut
The following is an excerpt of the original article that ran Christmas Eve, about the Floyd County family who just had a baby boy after losing their 4-year-old son to a rare brain tumor. This section, which appeared in the article before "What might have been," was cut due to space limitations.
Brian Harman returned to court for a ‘normal’ day
Brian Harman said going back to work provided some peace following Chance’s death.
Though he said he cherished every moment of the seven months he spent with Chance in the hospital, he’d “give anything for a normal day.” A normal day for Harman is on the court, where he’s the head coach of the Floyd County High School boys basketball team.
At his team’s Dec. 17 home opener against Craig County, Harman was a different person than the gentle family man that drives his wife and two kids around with the sound of Barney the Dinosaur melodies blaring from the back seat.
“Attack! Attack!” Harman shouted from the bench, encouraging his team to tighten up on defense.
Throughout the game, he seemed to live by his new philosophy of not taking anything for granted.
After his pre-game ritual of tracing Chance’s initials onto the court with his foot, Harman was all business. The way his jaw remained clenched while his eyes were intensely locked into the game action, one wouldn’t be able to tell that his team would go on to route Craig County 75-34.
With the home team seemingly scoring at will, Desirae Harman was noticeably removed from all of the excitement happening around her.
At one point, when a Floyd County player sunk a 3-pointer causing the crowd and the announcer to erupt, she was too busy wiping Chaycen’s mouth with a cloth rag to join the celebration.
Destiny, his well-meaning big sister, tried to help out at times, but often didn’t know her own strength.
“Easy, easy, easy,” Desirae Harman said as Destiny tried to give her brother his pacifier a bit too forcefully.
Once the game was over, Brian Harman picked up Destiny and carried her with him to the locker room. She remained in his arms throughout the post-game pep talk.
“Been a while, ain’t it?” Harman said to his players with a smile.
The win put the team at 2-1. Though early in the season, the Buffaloes haven’t been accustomed to having a winning record. Two years ago, when Brian Harman was absent most of the season to care for Chance, his team struggled through a one-win season.
“Family on three ... 1, 2, 3,” Harman said to wrap up the post-game speech, with his team answering, “Family!”
