Patrick Henry Hughes

Patrick Henry Hughes
Patrick Henry Hughes
Born	March 10, 1988 (age 36)
Occupation(s)	Student, speaker
Instrument(s)	Piano, trumpet
Website	http://www.patrickhenryhughes.com/

Patrick Henry Hughes (born March 10, 1988) is an American multi-instrumental musician from Louisville, Kentucky who was born without eyes and without the ability to fully straighten his arms and legs, making him unable to walk.

Biography

Patrick Henry Hughes was born March 10, 1988, to Patrick John and Patricia Hughes. Upon his delivery, the medical staff noticed physical anomalies. These were diagnosed as bilateral anophthalmia with pterygium syndrome and congenital bilateral hip dysplasia.^[1]

His father, Patrick John Hughes, introduced him to the piano at the age of nine months. Patrick has studied piano in the years since and later began the study of trumpet. He has two younger brothers, Jesse and Cameron.

Patrick Henry's national fame began in 2006 while a student at the University of Louisville. At the suggestion of Louisville's marching band director, Dr. Greg Byrne, Patrick Henry joined the Louisville Marching Band, playing trumpet while his father pushed him in his wheelchair through the marching routines. This visible commitment attracted increasing crowd and media attention throughout the fall football season, and the pair of Patricks were featured in a variety of television and newspaper coverage. Patrick Henry was subsequently invited to play piano and sing in musical performances throughout the country, including two performances at the Grand Ole Opry, and onstage performances with Pam Tillis, Lonestar, Lane Brody, Chad Brock, Faith Hill, and Bryan White. Also in 2007 he played solo trumpet on stage in performance with the Louisville Orchestra.

Hughes graduated from Atherton High School, where he participated in the International Baccalaureate program and was a member of the National Honor Society. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Louisville, where he majored in Spanish and played trumpet in the marching band.^[2]

In November 2007, the members of the Hughes family were chosen to be the recipients of a complete home renovation for the show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.^[3] The episode aired on February 15, 2008.^[4]

During late 2012, Patrick Henry and his family competed on Family Feud, remaining champions for four days before being defeated on their fifth and final day; the family was later brought back because of a technical error and given another chance to retire undefeated, but were again unsuccessful.

Patrick Henry Hughes's story was dramatized in the 2015 movie I Am Potential, written and directed by Zach Meiners and starring Jimmy Bellinger as Patrick Henry, and Burgess Jenkins as his father.^[5]^[6]

Published works

I Am Potential: Eight Lessons on Living, Loving, and Reaching Your Dreams with Bryant Stamford (ISBN 0738212989; Da Capo Lifelong Books, 2008)^[7]

Discography

Most Requested From Me to You (2006?)
Look Within (2009)

Awards

2001: Olympic torchbearer, December 17, 2001
2001-2005: VSA Arts of Kentucky Young Soloist Award
2003, 2006: Breaking Barriers Spotlight Award
2005: VSA arts Panasonic Young Soloist International winner
2006: Disney Wide World of Sports Spirit Award^[8]

References

^ "Feature Family - The Hughes" (PDF). The Conformer. International Children's Anophthalmia Network. Spring 2004.
^ Hayes, Erin (2006-11-10). "Blind, Wheelchair-Bound Student Doesn't Fail to Inspire". World News Tonight. ABC News.
^ Fenton, Angie (2007-11-08). "Louisville family's home gets a mega-makeover". Louisville Courier-Journal.
^ Dorsey, Tom (2008-02-15). "U of L trumpeter Patrick Henry Hughes will appear on 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'". Louisville Courier-Journal.
^ "I Am Potential Home Page". Retrieved August 27, 2016.
^ I Am Potential (2015) at IMDb
^ Thornton, Matthew (2008-03-31). "Dutton Wins Recall". Publishers Weekly. Da Capo Lifelong senior editor Katie McHugh won an auction for I Am Potential, by Patrick Henry Hughes and his father, Patrick John Hughes . . . the pair, with co-writer Bryant Stamford, will share Patrick Henry's story of overcoming blindness and disability to achieve musical success, along with his lessons for living with faith.
^ Kaufman, Michelle (2006-12-31). "Disabled trumpeter, dad steal the show". Miami Herald.