Olympic 2002 Relay in San Antonio, TX

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Within the membership of Wheel Me On... there were at least five members who were selected by nomination to carry the Olympic Torch during the relay to Salt Lake City, Utah. Of these members, four actually carried it, and the fifth unexpectedly required surgery during the week of his run. To really understand the full gist of this, one needs to realize, there were over 210,000 people that were nominated and of that number, there were only 11,500 people selected to be Torchbearers. These people were selected because they did something: Ordinary people doing the extraordinary; The theme was to "Light the Fire Within". All of whom, who carried the Torch, were extra special because they each did something that directly affected their community, their city, or our America. We are proud to realize at least four members in our organization achieved the honor of carrying the Olympic 2002 Relay Torch.

It is without a doubt, that had it not been for the members of Wheel Me On... I would never have been selected as an Olympic Torchbearer. I am deeply touched and the gratitude is indescribable, for there are simply not enough words to express my appreciation and "thank you" seems so inadequate.

One may think, that at my age and time of life, I would now slow down having accomplished the most incredible experience imaginable, but instead I find myself wanting to continue, move forward with wheels turning, and never stopping. The "once upon a time" attitudinal problems preventing socializing had dissipated, changed to aggression, and grown to the point of being honored to carry the Olympic Flame. I cannot help but credit this to the fact that over 50 percent of our membership are connected in some way with the military.

A reality check to learn of many, many other wheelers also selected across our nation to carry the same Olympic Flame, has only succeeded in making me want to continue keeping my wheels turning, for the sake of others who may experience challenges with engaging in society. It is not just dedication; it is the perseverance of everyone working together.

Rushed in the chain of events, a newsman asked to interview me, so I quickly went outside with Spoke, who was eager to cooperate. Bill Dillow stood near us, in the street with camera straps wrapped around his neck, and a video camera in hand. I glanced at him and hoped he would run the video, but he aimed the digital camera at us instead, and then the interview began. A few simple questions, then later I learned that Spoke was seen longer on television than myself, and laughed in spite of it back inside the train depot where Donna Statham was waiting.

In early hours of the morning, the three of us mixed among 90 other participants who were anxiously waiting for the flame to arrive from Houston, Texas for the continuing relay of the Salt Lake Olympic Torch Relay and the 2002 Winter Olympics. The flame was now on its eighth day of travel in the United States, on a journey of over 13,500 miles that would run through at least 26 different states.

The flame arrived before dawn broke through the darkness of night, and even though sitting close to the door, hearing the whistle of the train blowing, I was unaware of the spectacular event about to take place. Then it was announced on loud speakers and people rushed to see for themselves, the Olympic Flame 2002 that was traveling to Salt Lake City, Utah via thousands of miles, hand carried by people, scurried on the back end of pick-up trucks, and even on the front end of a Union Pacific Railroad train engine to complete the journey. Heading around the building, onto the sidewalk that would lead to the railroad tracks, again I was stopped by another reporter. Pausing long enough to answer a few questions for a local radio host, I spied the flame leaping in glory from the front of the train from a large cauldron.

Too soon, I was told to board the bus along with thirteen other Torchbearers, the first to make their run and relay the Salt Lake Olympic Torch for the Olympic Winter Games 2002. It is possible that I would have remained near the train in pure amazement, looking at the flame, for an indefinite time. Quickly, I cranked up the speed on my power wheelchair and swiftly moved to where the bus was parked. Without further delay, the relay crewmembers boarded me on the lift first and strapped my chair down inside the bus. Adding another wheeler next to me, the rest of the Torchbearers boarded from the front door. It was about 6:30 in the morning on December 11th, 2002, the eighth day of the Olympic Torch Relay in the United States.

While we listened intently to the Relay Crew Members and then introduced ourselves, the driver moved the bus quickly to the first segment of the relay and stopped. A round of applause and cheers rang out loudly as the first Torchbearer left the bus to make his run. The bus moved to the next segment, again there were cheers as the second Torchbearer left. David Robinson, Spurs Basketball Team, San Antonio, Texas, rode the same bus with me, but I was so captivated by all, that I never thought to ask for an autograph unlike the wise wheeler who sat next to me, with an autograph book in hand. All of these Torchbearers had stories of their own, all had "light the fire within" in their own special way, and inspired others across the nation, but I felt as though our bus was even more special because it was starting the relay in the city of San Antonio with the first fourteen runners out of ninety-one.

It did not matter that it was still so early in the morning that the sun had not even rose when the bus came to its last stop and my wheelchair was loosened from the brackets on the floor. It did not matter that it was raining. The lift door creaked open and I emerged to a crowd of people applauding my arrival. Police gathered around me with the relay crewmembers, the Torch appeared suddenly in front of me, and a relay member began to place it in the holder on my wheelchair. "Wait" I quickly stopped her as I looked for Doctor Sheryl Beltrane, my Honorary Person, and then asked Sheryl to hold the Torch with me to have it lit from the previous relay Torch. In short seconds, I was caught up in the expression on Sheryl's face, the anticipation of being able to light my Torch with her help, and the satisfaction of accomplishment. The people cheered while I was instructed to follow the truck in front of me, and then as I glanced to the sidewalk, I spied others who meant so much.

In front of the pack was WMO Vice-President, Bill Dillow, running with cameras dangling and trying to get ahead of me for a shot. He ran into the street and the police moved him back to the sidewalk. Then I saw Frank Anderson and I let out a screech, "Frank!" I yelled, rather unlady-like as he pushed Donna Statham's wheelchair along the sidewalk. He glanced over at me and started laughing. "Gosh", I thought, "He drove over 200 miles just to come and see me carry the Torch!"

Diane Dillow, WMO Office of Record and daughter-in-law to Bill Dillow, quietly waved and smiled as I passed, and then moved with the rest of them as they followed me for three long blocks along the sidewalk. When the segment for my relay had ended, the rush of close friends came toward me, Diane quietly approached and handed me a beautiful bouquet of flowers at the end of my run. Sheryl was probably the most exuberate of all, her enthusiasm surely contagious, she clung onto the Torch that had been extinguished at the end of the segment, and carried it back to the van for me while I admired her patriotic gift of flowers in my lap.

Elia Gonzales, WMO Director of Operations - San Antonio, held on to Spoke's leash and an umbrella she was trying to shield herself with from the rain. Spoke was going berserk and wrapping her leash around Elia's legs obviously trying to get away and run alongside my wheelchair (I suspect) and later, Elia found a cute friend to have their picture taken together. Donna looked her striking self, wearing her Ms. Wheelchair Texas 2000 crown, and giggling as she freehanded in her manual chair. Others took the time to come and share in this moment of fame before going to work. Sheryl's friend Bill, delayed his return to Houston, and Joe, another friend accompanied us back to the Alamo where the festivities would continue.

Some of the extraordinary things that were realized were the number of Olympic Medallists that approached us to say hello. One of them was Gold Medallist Josh Davis who was the only male athlete in the world to win three gold medals at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Another interesting detail is that a patient of Sheryl's was also a Torchbearer. Her segment fell just two relay persons beyond me. As number seventeen, the two of us came really close to being leadoff for one another. Finally, with ten Directors on the Board of Wheel Me On... two of them were selected to be Olympic Torchbearers. The second was Larry Tyrone Hughes, WMO Director of Education, and a 1996 Paralympic Gold Medallist for Discus in Atlanta. Unfortunately, he had to decline to carry the torch. I am not sure exactly what it was that I did to deserve the honor of carrying the Olympic Torch, but I am sure it was really an awesome event that I never believed I could be a small part of, and will forever feel honored to have carried the Olympic Torch for the Salt Lake Winter Olympic 2002 Games.

Julia Hollenbeck

JACKSON: When Josh Sharpe watches the Paralympic Winter Games on TV, he knows how the athletes feel. Paralyzed in a car accident in 1994, the 27-year-old Jackson paraplegic just returned from snow skiing in Lake Tahoe. Whether it's blazing down a slope on specialized skis or racing against other competitors with disabilities on his handcycle, Sharpe has never let his injury disable his spirit.

For Sharpe, competition is about more than winning, it's about overcoming great odds and achieving personal goals. "These games show everyone that life doesn't stop after an injury," said Sharpe. "Everyone has obstacles in life. It's just that the obstacles are a little different when you're in a wheelchair and sometimes a little scarier."

Sharpe and a room-full of other physically-challenged athletes from around the state gathered at Methodist Rehabilitation Center to celebrate the 2002 Paralympic Winter Games. The athletes, along with patients and staff, watched coverage of the Salt Lake games on a large, wall-size projection screen in the Jackson hospital's conference center. The crowd showed their awe of blind downhill skiers, nodded their heads in approval of a skater who kept getting up from falls and cheered when highlights were shown of the U.S. sled hockey team defeating Sweden and Norway.

"These athletes are so impressive and the stories are so captivating," said Shelia Burnham of Madison. Since being injured in a fall, Burnham has been in a wheelchair but - like Sharpe - she hasn't let her injury stop her from grabbing life by the horns. She is a regular water-skier and active handcyclist. "We've been watching the Games every day and the athletes are inspirational," said Burnham. "Sports aren't the answer to everything, but you can tell that scoring a goal on a hockey sled means more than just helping the team win. It's also a reminder of how far they've come and how much they've accomplished."

During the broadcast, Sharpe and other athletes spoke to current patients about the Games and being involved in sports. Sharpe demonstrated several pieces of equipment used by disabled athletes in Methodist Rehab sports programs including, quad rugby chairs, water skis, racing chairs and handcycles. "It's scary to think how many people in wheelchairs just sit around and aren't active," said Sharpe. "It's obviously bad for you physically, but it's also bad for you mentally. Being out there and doing things like climbing a 30 foot-tall rock wall, gives you the self-confidence to do other things like driving a car or getting a job."

Over 500 athletes from 30 nations compete in the winter games, with each event featuring athletes with varying degrees of disabilities. The games are held every two years in the weeks following the Winter and Summer Olympics and are roughly one-third the size of the Olympic Games.

Methodist Rehab's therapeutic recreation department offers spinal cord-injured patients an opportunity to get back in the game by participating in organized sports programs. Patients learn that with special training and adaptive equipment, they can enjoy a variety of athletic activities including water and snow skiing, rock climbing, wheelchair racing, handcycling, scuba diving, fishing, tennis, quad rugby and sledge hockey.

Methodist Rehabilitation Center provides comprehensive medical rehabilitation programs for people with spinal cord and brain injuries, stroke and other neurological and orthopedic disorders and treats patients from all of Mississippi's 82 counties and from other states. The 124-bed state-of-the-art hospital in Jackson is the only freestanding rehabilitation hospital in Mississippi and one of only 17 in the country designated as a Traumatic Brain Injury Model System by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

Health and Research News from Methodist Rehabilitation Center
Contact Jim Albritton at 601-364-3480 or by E-mail at jalbritton@mmrcrehab.org
Contact Collin Johnson at 601.364.3311 or by E-mail at cjohnson@mmrcrehab.org
1350 East Woodrow Wilson, Jackson, Mississippi 39216 http://www.methodistonline.org

It was a shock for me to see the cover of the Mid-South Chapter, Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), January edition newsletter. On the cover was a photo of a dear member I was positive I recognized. Immediately, I searched the website and sure enough, found his photo taken during the Winter Ski Clinic at Snowmass Village, Aspen, Colorado. Angelo Mattie has been a member of Wheel Me On... since 2000, but due to computer crashes, lost information, etc., I had lost contact with him. Now, I realized he was a member of the same PVA Chapter I was accepted in as an Associate Member following my move to Tennessee. It was Angelo who pegged me as "the camera girl" when I first met him at the 2000 National Veteran Wheelchair Games in San Antonio, Texas. When we were in Aspen, his hope was to be the eldest there skiing the slopes of snow. I believe he was. As a WWII Veteran, it was easy to relate with him, for my father also served during that war. Angelo is younger than my father would be today, and has the spirit of a true American. It was of small wonder that he was selected to be a Torchbearer.

By the time the Olympic Torch Relay reached Memphis, Tennessee, the skies were clear following a six-inch rain. Angelo Mattie was the first off the bus and greeted by a crowd of 500 people, many shouting, "USA, USA". "This is the best moment in my life and I will never forget it", he later exclaimed.

However, the story is much deeper than what meets the eye, later finding out that a new member of Wheel Me On..., also carried the Olympic Relay Torch who worked at the Mid-South Chapter's office.

Now this woman, Sharon Mount, was the very person who nominated Angelo Mattei, and submitted a 100-word essay about why she felt he should be selected. Apparently, there were a few other people who believed Sharon was also special and had accomplished the extraordinary as well, because she was asked to carry the Olympic Torch via "The Inspiration Pairs Program", which was sponsored by Coke Cola and Chevrolet.

What really made this day so very special for the Mid-South Chapter Olympic Torchbearers is that following Angelo's run, Sharon was to light her Olympic Torch from the flame of the Olympic Torch Angelo carried. It is hard to imagine anything more special. (See first photo above.)

However, as Sharon Mount began running with her Olympic Torch, so did all of her family and friends that came to watch her, which surely made the day even more special.

One of the things Sharon said, "With all of the tragedy that our country has experienced this past year, it was an honor to represent my country in carrying the Olympic Flame."

Sharon Mount is the Office Secretary of the Mid-South PVA Chapter in Memphis, Tennessee.

Reading the article in the Mid-South PVA Newsletter rather reminded me of something I had heard from one of our Board Directors who had told me, "Every cloud has a silver lining." When thinking about the silver Olympic Torch, shades of blue, and the white uniforms, I guess he is right.

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