Erath's Robert Vincent has been successful despite the obstacles he has faced

“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.”
– Booker T. Washington

Robert Vincent’s mother Jackie, learned her son is a “doer” and not a follower. He wanted his life to count for something and was willing to jump over obstacles to get things done.
With 36 years on this Earth, he has accomplished a lot by jumping over obstacles the average person will never encounter.
At the age of 10, Vincent was diagnosed with a rare form of muscular dystrophy called “Charcot Marie Tooth.” Over time, the disease damages nerves in your arms, feet and legs, to where you can not walk again. But it never slowed him down or gave him an excuse not to accomplish anything.
“I have never been upset that I have Charcot Marie Tooth or asked, ‘Why me?.’ I have a deep faith in God, and I have always felt that we have to live our life with what God has given us,” said Vincent. “I have never looked at myself as disabled or lived with the belief that I can’t achieve something. I have lived my entire life with the belief that if I wanted to do something, I could achieve it if I worked hard enough.”
He has done a lot in his 36 years of living.
Vincent was instrumental is raising more than $100,000 to help build a new all-weather track at Erath High School. He was only 16 at the time.
At 19, he became the youngest alderman of Erath.
With a crippling disease, he received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from UL. He also added a graduate degree from Southern Law Center and passed the bar exam in 2010 while struggling to walk up and down stairs in law school because of his muscular dystrophy.
Vincent, 36, looks to have jumped over another hurdle and continues to live life despite doctors telling him he only had a few months to live not too long ago.
Around four months ago doctors told him there was not much else they could do for his muscular dystrophy disease. It had progressed to his diaphragm near his lungs.
They sent him home with Hospice. He began planning for his funeral. They also hooked him up to a breathing machine called a BiPap, which rams 30 pounds of air down his throat to his lungs. Doctors told him the machine was needed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
But Vincent and his family were not ready to just give up. There was still more obstacles for him to overcome.
His mother, Jackie explained to more than 200 friends and family at the Order of Living Legends Induction Ceremony on Sunday that her son plans to continue to live.
On Mother’s Day in May, she wanted one gift for her Mother’s Day.
“I asked him if he would come to Mass with me for Mother’s Day,” said Jackie. “It had been since Christmas Eve that he had been to Mass. This was all I wanted for Mother’s Day.”
Vincent went to Mass with his mother, and they have been going to church everyday for the last two weeks. His family began noticing that instead of Vincent getting worse, he was getting stronger and had more energy. He was able to go places without the breathing machine.
“After that, Robert decided, with his courage, he was going to live until he dies,” said his mother to the crowd.
Since Mother’s Day, Robert went with his family to New Orleans. There are future trips planned in a special handicap bus. Jackie said the trips are on Robert’s Bucket List.
“God has been good and life has been grand,” said Jackie. “Despite the physical challenges, Robert will always tell us how blessed he is. He continues to persevere and strive in his professional and community endeavors.”
The young man continues to stay busy and still practices law in Erath.
Vincent is currently an Erath alderman. He is also on the board of the Erath Community Building Association, a member of the Board of Commissioners of the Erath Housing Authority, and a 4th Degree Knight with the Knights of Columbus.
Vincent is currently serving his 13th year as president of the Erath 4th of July Association. He has been a member of the Erath 4th of July for over half of his life, having joined in 1996.
He will be this year’s Grand Marshal for the July Fourth Parade on Saturday.
“Muscular dystrophy may have taken away his energy, his ability to walk, his ability to breathe for a long time, but it has not taken away his intellect, his spirit, and most important his strong faith in God.
“He has overcome so many obstacles in the 26 years when first diagnosed with Charcot Marie Tooth. It was done with great humility and courage. Robert is our inspiration to live life to the fullest no matter what obstacles we are facing,” concluded Jackie.
Vincent said had he not been diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, his life would not have changed much.
“I feel that I would have lived my life essentially the same way,” explained Vincent. “Of course, the physical aspects of life would have been easier, but I know that I would have made the same choices. I have loved the life that I have lived. I love helping my community and people. My physical limitations have not changed that, nor have they deterred my determination to help my community.”