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He lived his lifelong dream for only 11 seconds. Travis Roy, quadriplegic, motivational speaker, and former Boston University hockey player, spoke to hundreds of Boston College students on Tuesday. The event commenced with a video of Roy's childhood, his accident, and his life now. The event was sponsored by several campus organizations, including the Emerging Leader Program, the Office of the Dean for Student Development, the athletics department and the Presidential Scholars Program.
On Friday Oct. 20, 1995, Roy experienced both the best and worst time of his life. One of Roy's foremost goals in life was to play college hockey. After receiving numerous offers from the University of Michigan, Harvard, and Maine, Roy chose to attend BU on a hockey scholarship. He was one of six freshmen on the 1995 team and was slated to play in the first three games of the season. After BU scored in the first two minutes of his first game, "I felt the tap on the shoulder I'd been waiting for my whole life," Roy said. Ready to enter his first college hockey game, Roy skated onto the ice, ready for face off. After only 11 seconds of play, Roy prepared to use his shoulder against an opponent. "I angled myself just right, and as I followed through, [the opponent] moved out of the way," Roy said. "I lost my balance, which was ironic because I was a good skater." His body crashed into the Plexiglas and the way his body was angled caused him to fall head first into the boards, then to the ice. Roy lay face down on the ice with his head tilted to the side. "Out of the corner of my eye, a red and white glove came towards me," Roy said. "It was on my hand but I couldn't feel it or move it, and it was at that point I knew I was paralyzed."
His father came down to the ice, telling him to get up and continue playing. Roy, though, knew the extent of his injury and its seriousness.
After the accident, Roy required a ventilator to breathe for over two months, and used blinking as his only means of communication. "I wondered if this was what the rest of my life was going to be like," Roy said.
As a result of his accident, Roy had broken his fourth and fifth vertebrae and suffered significant spinal-cord damage. Once he had regained some strength, Roy was transferred to the Shepherd Center Rehabilitation Network and was there for eight weeks while he attempted to rebuild muscle in his right bicep. It took just as much effort to lift a bagel 6 inches as it did six weeks [prior to the accident] to bench press 160 pounds, he said. However, it was during his stay at Good Shepherd that Roy realized how fortunate he was.
Surrounded by his family, friends, and teammates for support, Roy said he recognized what was truly important in life. A naturally goal-oriented person, Roy continued to set goals for himself and find happiness in the smaller things in life. "A positive attitude and the energy that comes from it will take you further in life than anything else," Roy said. His attitude after his time at the Shepherd Center changed for the better when he "realized there was more living left to be done as a quadriplegic," Roy said.
Since his accident, Roy has shared his inspirational story with students, athletes, and companies throughout the country. Roy has continued to live with his handicap by maintaining a constant beam of optimism, perseverance, and pride, he said. He offered advice to the BC students about life, love, and the things that are truly important. "When I look at my life, I still feel very fortunate," Roy said. "I can still cry, laugh, and enjoy the people around me and the love around me carries me."
Roy said that setting goals, having a positive attitude, love, and respect will lead to accomplishment. There are some times when we choose challenges and goals, and there are times when the challenges choose us, Roy said. Students should find something that they are passionate about and that fascinates them, he said.
In 1997, Roy founded The Travis Roy Foundation, a foundation dedicated to spinal-cord-injury survivors and research. It works to raise money, funding the research to find a cure for such injuries. While at the Shepherd Center, Roy received over 20,000 letters, many of which contained donations. It was with these that he started the foundation. The event's co-sponsors donated $5000 to the cause. Since 1997, the foundation has distributed over $2.5 million for individual grants, research projects, and rehabilitation institutions across North America. According to the Travis Roy Foundation Web site, in the United States there are over 250,000 people currently living with a spinal-cord injury and approximately 13,000 new injuries each year.
"I look at each day like a new face-off, a new opportunity," Roy said. "This little kid from Maine did make it and nothing will stand in my way."
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