Ellett was young enough to learn how to predominantly use his left arm despite losing his dominant hand.
For the previous two seasons, Ellett worked as Reid’s personal assistant, taking complete responsibility for all of the veteran coach’s scheduling, game planning, and other duties.
How did Porter Ellett lose his arm?
When Ellett’s accident occurred, he and several other children were riding in the back of a driving pickup while alternately playing on a motorcycle that was secured to the truck bed. I tried to get off of it, but I ended up falling out of the truck, he claims.
Ellett has learned to adapt and look for the good in life from buttering toast to swimming without stopping to fast type on a computer, lessons he has shared in hundreds of lectures as a motivational speaker.
Ellett, who underwent surgery to remove his right arm at the age of 16 after losing the use of it in an accident when he was 4 years old, hasn’t let the loss of a limb or anything else stop him. On the family farm, where he repaired sprinkler pipes, baled hay, and drove a stick shift, it was not an acceptable alibi. Or in sports, where he was a standout in baseball, basketball, and track in high school.
The trainer chuckled. All right, you’ll be my left-hand guy from now on, he added. Ellett was hired, and the moniker remained. Ellett has served as Reid’s assistant for the previous two seasons, handling all of the experienced coach’s scheduling, game preparations, and other responsibilities by herself.