WHEN Ben Powell was just 14 years-old he was diagnosed with a heart condition and told that he would never be able to have a career in football.
Four years later on his 18th birthday the Coleford teenager has secured a job as a soccer coach in Boston, USA and says he refuses to let his condition hold him back.
Ben suffers from a condition called Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome which means he experiences an extra heart beat.
He gets severe palpitations when his heart is placed under stress. Doctors tried three times to burn away an extra part of his heart, but were unsuccessful.
When he was 16 he was awarded Gloucestershire County Council's Medal for Courage for his moral courage and bravery in the face of illness.
Ben was offered a pacemaker but he turned it down because he was concerned about needing further operations if it slipped or malfunctioned.
Ben's mum Claire said: "He didn't want a pacemaker inside him and wanted to manage his condition on his own.
"The last lot of surgery was for my sake, not for his. He just gets on with it and is happy doing what he's doing."
Claire is extremely proud of her son for living a normal life despite his condition.
He has been studying sports diplomacy at Hartpury College for two years and has now landed a dream job.
"It shows that if you have a goal you can achieve it," she said. "He never moans and gets up every day at the crack of dawn to go to college. Now he has got this job and I'm really proud of him."
Ben is going to America on a seven week trial period to see if he enjoys it and may then decide to stay for longer.