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Travis Roy: Ten Years
Later
BY SHANNON PASSON
Travis Roy is in a good place. The peace and beauty of his family
retreat in Lake Champlain, Vermont give him a chance to go pontoon
boating with his giggling nieces and nephew, a chance to unwind,
and now, a chance to reflect on the ten years that have passed
since the day his life changed forever.
In October of 1995, Travis Roy skated onto the ice for his first
game as a college hockey player at Boston University. Eleven
seconds later, his career was over. A freak accident left Travis a
quadriplegic.
Now 30 years old, Travis is driven by the same courage he needed
on the ice, the same courage he needed to rebuild his life. But
for all of the positive energy Travis applies to his daily life,
he is deflated by the long wait for the technology that will allow
him and others to walk again. He never thought he would wait this
long, not ten years, certainly not another ten. “As a
quadriplegic,” Travis says, “the thing I crave is independence.”
It’s not the idea of skating again that drives him, it’s the idea
of being able to do simple things for himself. Travis does far
more than simple things in his work. He does extraordinary things.
Travis is a motivational speaker, inspiring people, not just with
his own story, but with what he has learned are the important
things in life: letting people know you love them; being proud of
who you are; and reaching your goals by focusing on what you can
do – not on what you can’t. It’s that “can do” attitude that led
to the birth of the Travis Roy Foundation, an organization that
helps people stricken with spinal cord injury and raises money for
research and treatment.
After his accident, Travis spent eight weeks at Shepherd Center.
He says he only wishes the unmatched care he received at Shepherd
was available everywhere. With more funding, more research and,
someday, the cure, it may just happen. For now, Travis Roy says
waiting is tempered by one overriding lesson, “live life now.”
To find out more about the Travis Roy Foundation, log onto
www.travisroyfoundation.org.
Shepherd
Center Online October 2005
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