Travis Roy was put on ice skates at just 20 months old. As years
passed, his love for the game of hockey became a passion. In the
fall of 1995, Travis accomplished one of his goals by earning a
scholarship to Boston University to become a member of the
reigning NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship team.
At twenty years of age, he entered his first collegiate hockey
game. Eleven seconds into his first shift, his life changed
forever. Travis crashed into the boards and cracked his fourth
and fifth cervical vertebra, paralyzing him from the neck down.
Despite this twist of fate, Travis has continued to persevere and
defy the odds. With an intense rehabilitation regime, he has
regained some movement in his right arm. While coming to grips
with his life as a quadriplegic, Travis returned to Boston
University less than a year after his accident; four years later,
he graduated with a degree in Communications.
In 1997, Travis wrote his autobiography with Sports Illustrated's
E.M. Swift. Titled Eleven Seconds the book chronicles his
accident, his rehabilitation, and his triumph over personal
tragedy. Eleven Seconds was recently updated with an
Afterword Chapter and is currently in its sixth printing.
In over a half-century of BU Ice Hockey, the team has produced
All-Americans, Olympians and NHL professionals, but only one
jersey has ever been retired. On October 30, 1999, Travis Roy's
#24 was hoisted to the rafters of Walter Brown Arena and retired
from play.
Travis is now an advocate for spinal cord research and has spoken
at a variety of events, including testifying at a Senate Committee
hearing for the National Institute of Health in Washington, D.C.
In 1997, he established the Travis Roy Foundation (www.travisroyfoundation.org)
that focuses on finding a cure for spinal cord injuries and
provides grants to help spinal cord survivors purchase costly
adaptive equipment.
Travis currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts; he spends his
summers with his family on Lake Champlain in Vermont. Travis can
also be found supporting his Terriers at BU hockey games, or with
a paint brush in his mouth, creating his latest work of art.
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