Kevin Konfara is living his dream.

After graduating in 2010 from Divine Child High School in Dearborn, he went on to Madonna University, where he racked up a 3.4 honor roll grade-point average on his way to earning a degree in clinical lab science last May.

He’s in the process of seeking an internship that will lead to a job in a hospital setting.

He loves sports, particularly hockey and basketball, which he plays nearly year-round and which has given him opportunities to travel coast to coast in the USA.

Kevin, who will be 24 in April, is easy to get along with. “I love being with the guys,” he said.

Observing him with his teammates, as I did a couple weeks ago at a hockey match, the feeling is mutual.

The journey Kevin has traveled to attain the dream stage of his life attests to his incredible courage in the face of overwhelming odds.

He plays in the Wheelchair Hockey League, the only adaptive floor-hockey league in the state. Currently, the league has 40 players who hail from as far away as Lansing or Holly, divided into four teams. Games are played October thru March on Sundays starting at 1 p.m. at the Canfield Alkali Arena (visit thewchl.com for more information).

Players in the co-ed league, ranging in age from 10 to 60-plus, have various disabilities that include muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and brittle bones.

“But I have the rare one,” Kevin said. He was born with Larsen Syndrome, a disorder that affects the development of bones throughout his body. One of the symptoms is dislocation of the hips, knees and elbows.

“He went through numerous surgeries,” said his father, Roger, “repositioning or reconnecting joints.”

Kevin spent some of his recovery in a body cast.

“Doctors went as far as they could. They fixed him, but not perfectly,” Roger said.

There was nothing wrong with Kevin’s heart. He joined the league when he was 10 in 2002. Games are played in an area about the size of a basketball floor with lightweight plastic sticks and a whiffle ball. Kevin scored 15 goals and 18 assists in his first four years.

“I had never been on a wheelchair. I barely could get down the floor,” he said.

But once he caught on, there was no stopping him. With one game remaining on the 2015-16 schedule, Kevin has set a single-season scoring record with 93 goals and 107 assists and a career record of 565 goals and 681 assists.

The league sponsors an all-star travel team, the Michigan Mustangs. Kevin has been selected for the 11th consecutive year and will be heading to Philadelphia in mid-July to compete against eight other teams in the U. S. Powerhouse Championship.

The Mustangs won it all in 2009 and 2011 and were runner-up four other times. Kevin was selected MVP in 2011.

At about the same time he started hockey, Kevin joined the Detroit Diehards, a wheelchair basketball team of the DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan. Practices are held on Wednesday and Friday nights.

Kevin gets around on crutches and leg braces when he’s not in the chair playing games. He also tools around in a 2011 Ford Escape equipped with hand controls.

He’s always smiling. “My disability gives me extra incentive,” Kevin said. “I try to do my best. I never like to be called mediocre. I want to be at the top. My dream has come true.”

He’s an inspiration. So what about your dream? What’s your excuse?

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Don Horkey may be reached at [email protected].