I love those feel good stories..

When he was 6, his dad, James, died after a bicycle crash in their hometown of Robinson, Ill., close to the Indiana border. His mother, Tracie, was left to raise Leonard and his older brother, Bailey, while dealing with chronic back pain. She has been unable to work or afford the necessary surgery.

"We struggled," said Leonard, whose brother became a Marine and served in Afghanistan. "It was tough growing up. Not a lot of money sometimes. Not that much food. But we got through it."

"We slept on the living room floor with blankets and candles," Bailey said. "No electricity. No water. No furniture. With hardship and getting through hardship, that only helps bring people closer together."