Over the summer, eighth grade students at Higgins Middle School were required to read Eleven Seconds: A Story of Tragedy, Courage & Triumph, the autobiography of Travis Roy. Last week, the students met Roy when he visited the school as a gift of the Higgins PTO.
In 1995, Roy suffered a devastating injury eleven seconds into his first college hockey game. He took students on an emotional journey revealing how he has managed to cope after the accident and, with the help of family and friends, overcome tremendous barriers to begin a new life.
"In life there are times when we choose our challenges and other times when the challenges simply choose us. The question is whether we conquer the challenges life presents us, or surrender to them," Roy told the 400 students gathered in the auditorium.
Since the accident, he has regained movement in his right arm. In 1997, Roy started "The Travis Roy Foundation" to help spinal cord injury survivors and to fund research into a cure. Inspired by Travis' own story, the lifeblood of the Travis Roy Foundation has been the generosity of individuals, corporations and foundations across North America. This generosity has made an immediate impact on the lives of many individuals.
Since 1997, the Travis Roy Foundation has distributed more than $2.5 million in individual grants and to research projects and rehabilitation institutions across North America. The individual grant funds have been used to modify vans and to purchase wheelchairs, computers, ramps, shower chairs, and other adaptive equipment to help paraplegics and quadriplegics live their lives.
