Descripción de WHEELCHAIR OLYMPICS:

This is a NATPKG that featured a young athlete who found a new sport to compete in after he was paralyzed. The Original Story I wrote for NB29: An Athlete Again with Wheelchair Games Posted: Aug 13, 2008 11:14 PM EDT Updated: Aug 27, 2008 3:09 AM EDT Tremaine Rollins is a student at Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center in Augusta County. But the real story here is he's also a national Olympian. He will not be competing in China this summer, but he's training to compete internationally in the near future. "I used to be an athlete....you know, wrestling and football," began Rollins. "I had a car accident and it left me paralyzed. So when I got to the hospital they was like, 'you are not going to be able to walk again.' I thought my life was over. Sports is where my heart's at, you know? I played sports. So I was kinda lost, you know. What was I gonna do?" Joe Fangman, a physical therapist at the Woodrow Wilson Rehab Center in Augusta County, remembered Rollins struggle during rehabilitation. "Tremaine worked hard in rehab learning his skills of transfers and bed mobility but he was missing that one little thing to kind of push him to get going back out into the community." So they tried something new. Rollins said, "So we tried the wheelchair games and it seemed like it was something I liked. When I put my heart into it and put my mind into it things got better." Then, Rollins revealed, "I got first place in the discus and fourth place in the shot-put and the javelin." But that wasn't the only reward for the now national wheelchair Olympian and the WWRC staff'. According to Fangman, "You've seen the commitment. It's changed Tremaine, our staff and it's given us something to look forward to everyday, to see him and get more people involved." And Rollins insists, "If it wasn't for this place I could be home laying down in bed. I wouldn't know nothing about none of this stuff. They treat you just like you're on your feet. Just because you got a disability don't mean life's over. It just makes you stronger." "If you want to play sports you know you still can do it...put your mind to it you can do anything," assures Rollins. If you would like more information on the Wheelchair Games or would like to participate, you can contact the Woodrow Wilson Rehab Center in Augusta County at 540-332-7000 or 1-800-345-9972. Reported by Ryan White