ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 15, 1996 TAG: 9603150067
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
Travis Roy took a deep breath and began to remember the fateful 11 seconds that left him a quadriplegic.
He remembered skating toward his opponent, missing the check, tumbling through the air, his head smashing into the boards, his body sprawled on the ice, his legs and arms unwilling to respond to the urge to get up.
``I remember my head was tilted out toward center ice and I sat there breathing,'' Roy said Thursday in Atlanta, where he made his first public statements since the Oct.20 accident, 11 seconds into his first game with Boston University. ``I noticed a puddle in front of me where my breath was melting the ice. I remember the players gathering around me.''
He didn't like being sprawled there for all to see. He wanted desperately to skate away.
``I believe I knew something was seriously wrong,'' he said. ``Paralysis did cross my mind when I tried to move my arms and I wasn't able to.''
Roy has been undergoing rehabilitation and treatment at Atlanta's Shepherd Center since Feb.5.
He has learned to live again, scooting around the hospital in a wheelchair that he controls with a breathing tube, painting with a brush in his mouth, scuba diving in the hospital pool.
Roy has been on several outings recently, including a visit to the Purolator 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race Sunday in Hampton, Ga., so he can begin to experience what life will be like outside the center.
Doctors hope Roy will regain some use of his right arm, which would enable him to feed himself, operate the wheelchair by hand and generally lead a more normal life.
LENGTH: Short : 42 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Travis Roy's girlfriend, Maija Langeland, comfortsby CNBthe former Boston University hockey player Thursday during his first
news conference since he was paralyzed in a game on Oct. 20.