A week and a half ago, Oklahoma State football player Anthony Parks thought his dream was over after it was discovered he had been born with only one kidney.

When college recruiters told him he wasn't fast enough, he set out to defy them. This was different, though. This, he thought, was out of his hands.

But what looked to be the end of Parks' Division I football career proved to be only the latest hurdle for the former Olathe East High School standout, who returned to practice Monday at Oklahoma State 11 days after the shocking revelation.

Parks — in his first season with the Cowboys after two years at Butler County (Kan.) Community College — traveled to Dallas last Friday to meet with a specialist. He determined that if properly protected, Parks, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound receiver, faced no additional risks in continuing to play football. Parks signed a waiver of liability with the university Monday afternoon, clearing his return to the field and bringing relief to him and his family.

"It's been such a roller coaster from start to finish, from finding out the bad news to finding out the great news," Parks said. "It makes you love the game more now knowing it can be taken away from you like that."

Parks had never had any indication that his left kidney was missing. Not in high school, when he underwent X-rays for a broken rib. Not when he had surgery for a hernia in January. Not once during his football career.

"Obviously, that's the first question that I asked," said his father, Gerald Parks. "How does a person as active as Anthony not know that he only had one kidney?"

While undergoing an MRI for a partially torn hip flexor muscle, Parks was found to have a cyst in his abdomen. Team doctors learned, in conferring with a radiologist, that a high percentage of people bearing this particular cyst only have one kidney.

"I said, ‘I'm sure there would be telltale signs if you only had one kidney your whole life,' " Gerald Parks said. "He called me back about a half hour later and said, ‘It's over.' "

Joseph Vassalotti, chief medical officer of the National Kidney Foundation, said one in 500 to one in 1,000 people are born with only one kidney — a genetic disorder known as unilateral kidney agenesis. Unfamiliar with Parks' case specifically, he said the greatest risk would be sustaining trauma to his one functioning kidney.

Walking through the football offices later that week, Oklahoma State athletic director Mike Holder noticed Parks staring out over the stadium "with a pretty forlorn look on his face." Holder, who had learned of Parks' situation from Cowboys coach Mike Gundy, introduced himself.

"It's a lot different when you look somebody in the eye and see how disappointed they are about it," Holder said. "When I understood the importance of football to him, I wasn't ready to accept that he couldn't play football anymore."

Getting to a program like Oklahoma State had been Parks' goal since his days at Olathe East. He was a two-time first-team All-Metro selection with the Hawks, as a defensive back in 2002 and a receiver in 2003. As a junior, he led the Sunflower League with 11 interceptions. As a senior, he made 42 catches for 750 yards and 11 touchdowns.

"He had several (colleges) who were interested, and they were just scared to pull the trigger because they thought he was a half-step slow," Olathe East coach Jeff Meyers said. "So he said, ‘I'm going to go the junior-college route and prove them wrong.' And he did."

In his second season at Butler, Parks was a first-team All-Jayhawk Conference selection as a receiver and return specialist. He finished the season with 28 receptions for 820 yards and eight touchdowns.

Parks signed with Oklahoma State in time to join the Cowboys for spring practice. He had emerged as a probable starter at receiver and as a return specialist after an impressive camp, highlighted by his performance in the team's spring game — three catches for 81 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown reception.

Holder phoned T. Boone Pickens to see whether Pickens, the famed Oklahoma State booster, could use his connections to get Parks a second opinion. Pickens set up an appointment with a specialist in Dallas last Friday.

Parks was injected with dye and underwent a CT scan, which revealed his right kidney to be functioning normally. Gerald Parks said he was told if Anthony wore a flak jacket for protection, he'd be no more at risk on the field than anybody else.

Parks' return to practice Monday was limited to about 45 minutes and minimal contact as he readjusts from the time missed. But he said he doesn't plan to change the way he plays the game.

"I've lived with it my whole life. I'm not going to change now," he said. "If I go across the middle, it's not going to cross my mind that if I jump up for this pass, I could get hurt."

"Life's all about chance, chance encounters. If I hadn't walked through that varsity room when I did and seen him there, this probably never would have happened," Holder said. "It's like it was meant to be. He's supposed to play football. I've found that life's like that."

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