Message of hope
By Justin Pelletier, Staff Writer
 

LEWISTON - Signing autographs is one of the pleasurable parts of Travis Roy's day now - even if it means using his teeth and lips to do it.

"So who do I make this out to?" he asked, forming words around the pen in his mouth. One after another, Lewiston Middle School students paraded onto the stage in the school's auditorium. In all, more than 100 students got autographs. At least half of them dished out $20 on the spot to buy Roy's book, "Eleven Seconds." Others brought books from home. Roy smiled and chatted as he signed each one.

"What he's done is nothing short of amazing," said eighth-grader Conroy LeBlond. "We can learn a lot from him, from the struggles he went through."

Roy, 30, grew up in Maine. He was a promising Division I hockey player out of Yarmouth when, in 1995, he suited up for his first NCAA game for Boston University. Eleven seconds into his first shift, he missed a check against a North Dakota player in the corner of Walter Brown Arena and went head-first into the boards.

He has been paralyzed from the chest down since.

"I just remember flopping to the ice," Roy told a captive audience. "I remember thinking, if I could just get to my hands and knees. I'd fallen thousands of times before; all I needed to do was get up."

He couldn't.

LeBlond, and the rest of the students at Lewiston Middle School, were barely old enough to walk when it happened. In recent weeks, though, English teachers at the school have used Roy's book as a classroom aid, and made the students aware of what happened. Still, hearing from Roy made it that much more poignant.

"I don't know that there are really words to describe what he went through," said LeBlond's classmate Andrew Jackson. "It's amazing he can still do all the things he can do now. It's a miracle he's even alive after that."

Roy's message Thursday was one of hope, of a positive attitude toward life, no matter what the circumstances.

"I feel very lucky," said Roy. "I can still laugh, I can still cry and I can still enjoy the people around me. The best thing about having a positive attitude is that you're far more likely to identify your opportunities and take advantage of them."

"What really touched me is that he said the first thing he would do if he wasn't paralyzed anymore was hug his mom," said eighth-grader Kelley Lebeda. "For us, it's so easy just to hug people and not think about how special it is."

After his speech, Roy said he was glad to be back in Maine, even if it was for work.

"It's the values of the people of Maine, of those around me, that made me who I am," said Roy. "Regardless of the accident, I'm still the same person inside."

The school's administration commented after the assembly that the students as a whole were better behaved than at most assemblies. Roy's story struck a chord.

"The message itself is pretty universal," said Roy. "It doesn't matter if you're young or you're old, whether you are a top business executive or a junior high student. I'm not rewriting the book on motivational themes, but I'm hoping my story has a greater impact."

 

Appeared in the Lewiston Sun-Journal - October 15, 2005