The fact he has cerebral palsy doesn't even slow him down.

Jeremiah was diagnosed at age 2, and referred to doctors at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. His mother, Angie Baldree, has two older children, Jessica Reed, 21, and Jacob Baldree, now 16. She recalls being stunned at the diagnosis, and being bombarded with information. One thing the doctor said in particular stuck with her.

"At diagnosis time, the doctor said, `Your diligence in therapies and treatment plans means the difference between Jeremiah walking across the stage to get his diploma, or you pushing him across the stage to get his diploma,'" Angie recalled. "I decided then I would do everything in my power to help him walk across that stage on his own."

The family lives in Mildred, where they have a swimming pool which is used by Jeremiah for therapy. Jeremiah's father and step-mothers, Marvin and Brenda Baldree, reside in Chatfield. Angie teaches school at Rice Elementary, where Jeremiah will enter third grade in August.

"He loves school and does well," Angie said. "His teacher last year, Janet Bruso, said he has lots of enthusiasm and is competitive in academics."

When Angie first started seeing fiancé Rich Eubanks, she discovered he had more than a passing interest in golf. Eubanks, a mobility specialist with Freestone/Navarro Bi-County Co-Op, took Jeremiah with him to the golf course, and noticed he responded with a focused enthusiasm.

"We were waiting for him to turn 6 so he could have surgery on his Achilles' tendon," Angie said. "When his recreational therapist found out he was interested in golf, she seized on it, and told us Scottish Rite had a golf program. Even though he wasn't old enough, they let him join the Learn to Golf program, and even provided him with a set of custom-made, left-handed clubs made just for Jeremiah."

Once he started golfing regularly, the need for surgery disappeared. As Jeremiah began collecting golf balls from many different courses, figurines of Tiger Woods (his favorite player) and turning his bedroom into a "shrine to golf," his leg was improving steadily.

The part of Jeremiah's brain that is damaged tells his muscles in his leg to flex all the time, which keeps his foot in point position nearly all the time. With the multiple therapies, use of a day brace on his leg as well as a night brace, and botox injections in his hamstring and calf muscles, Jeremiah's gait is nearly that of a normal boy.

"We never really know how long the injections will last," Angie said. "It depends on growth.we have to keep the muscles stretching and working all the time, and the golf and swimming both help immensely.

"Scottish Rite is big on golf, because anyone can play it regardless of their age or physical condition."

Since Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children does not charge patients or their insurance for its services, which are top-notch, the funding for it comes strictly from donations. Several years ago a young patient named Ben Sater came up with and idea to hold a golf tournament, with no entry fees, but asked that each participant raise at least $100 to go to the hospital.

In 2005, the Kid Swing tournament raised $95,000 for TSRHC, with Jeremiah personally raising $1,000. The 2006 tournament raised $157,000 for the hospital, though Jeremiah himself only raised $785.

"The year before last year, I sold calendars to raise money," Jeremiah said, referring to the TSRHC calendars in which he's been featured twice. "Last year I sold bracelets to raise money, and sold calendars again this year that had my autograph on my picture. I also took donations on my Web site, and I'm saving cans that I smash to sell."

Angie said her son was disappointed with his fund-raising total this year, but is trying to come up with other creative solutions to help boost fund-raising efforts for next year. There are lots of corporate sponsors from the Dallas area, which are listed on the back of the tournament T-shirts. Each of the 239 players (six to eight of whom were Scottish Rite patients) received a Nike golf backpack, filled with other goodies provided by corporate sponsors.

"Corsicana Bedding has always been very generous in sponsoring him," Angie said. "I'm just hoping we can get a local corporate sponsor on the shirts from Navarro County - for Jeremiah."

Clarice Tinsley and a cameraman filmed Jeremiah last year for a news report on television about the tournament, trailing him on the course as the teams played. On one hole, just as Jeremiah was in mid-back-swing, the photographer called his name, which rattled him and messed up his swing, causing him to shank his drive.

"This year, Jeremiah sank a 15-foot putt right in front of the cameraman," Eubanks said. "The camera guy was satisfied with his footage, and left right after that."

At the tournament this year, Jeremiah won a 2006 Masters pin flag, autographed by none other than Tiger Woods. The "trophy" went straight to a prominent place in Jeremiah's room, above the Tiger Woods figurines.

When not playing golf or swimming, he enjoys playing soccer and shooting hoops with his brother. He also likes going to the movies, riding his scooter, and reading.

"My favorite book is `Charlotte's Web,'" he said.

He also likes going to Scottish Rite hospital, and when he goes to the dentist there, he gets a toy.

"It doesn't smell like a hospital; it smells like popcorn," Jeremiah said. "It has bright colors and things that kids like.

"And the people that work there are very nice."

Deanna Plemons is a staff-writer for Explore.magazine of Corsicana, Texas and can be reached by e-mail at deannap@corsicanadailysun.com.