Hershell Mims shared a story to illustrate his grandson’s perseverance.

In 2014, just a week or so after Verbena senior Tyler Abbott had arm surgery, the teen suggested he and his grandfather work to clear hunting land for the upcoming deer season.

“He said, ‘Paw-paw, we need to go finish that green field,'” Mims said. “Do what? He said, ‘We need to go finish the green field or we’re not going to be ready to hunt.’ I said, ‘Today?’ He said yes.

“We get over there and he said, ‘I’m driving the tractor.’ … That was a week after the surgery. I couldn’t believe it.”

It wasn’t just any surgery.

Abbott — now a senior at Verbena — lost his right arm in a tractor accident on that same piece of hunting land. Doctors…