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Harrisburg teacher pens story based on brother's life

Harrisburg Middle School language arts teacher Ben Vinyard's hero is his older brother, Brad.

"He was always somebody who I looked up to when I was growing up," Vinyard said. "He was basically another father figure in my life…someone I could try to model myself after."

When Brad was a senior in high school, he was diagnosed with bone cancer in the tibia. He and his mother moved to Houston for more than a year so that Brad could receive treatment, while Ben and his older sister lived with family and friends in Harrisburg. Eventually, the majority of Brad's leg had to be replaced with a metal prosthetic that broke twice before he made the decision to amputate in 2012.

"There weren't a lot of options other than that," Vinyard said.

Cancer-free for 20 years, Vinyard is now the pastor at First Baptist Church in Harrisburg, and is a a record-holding weightlifter.

After watching his brother's fight for many years, Vinyard, an eighth-grade language arts teacher, was inspired to pen "Superheroes are Everywhere," a children's book about his brother, and what heroes really look like.

"I used to teach in Kentucky, and I had a lot of time to think about things on the drive," Vinyard said.

Geared for kindergarten through third grade, the book tells Brad's story through Vinyard's eyes, describing the impact of positive role models and how heroes can be found anywhere.

"You're going to be faced with a lot of situations in life, and the best thing you can do is roll with the punches," Vinyard said.

The artwork for the story was done by Shawn Winders, a teacher that Vinyard had worked with in Kentucky. While Vinyard and his brother are only four years apart, the story depicts a more exaggerated age difference as the narrator takes the reader through the impact that Brad had on various points in his life. The story also encourages readers to find the heroes in their own lives.

"I think that you can learn a lot from the book. The whole point of the book was that if you're facing a difficult situation, and you put a little effort into it, you can overcome (almost) everything," Vinyard said.

"Superheroes are Everywhere" can be purchased on Amazon.