THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 17, 1994 TAG: 9406160166
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 21 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: 940617 LENGTH: Medium
The 19-year-old Kempsville resident was born with cerebral palsy, the result of brain damage caused by being born two months prematurely. Fries has not only refused to let his disability stop him, he has used it to push himself even harder.
{REST} ``I owe a lot of credit to my mom. She never allowed me to give up, to lie around in bed and feel sorry for myself,'' Fries said. ``The staff at Salem, especially my teachers, deserves a lot of thanks and credit.
``There's lots of other people to thank, too,'' he said.
Fries thought he might miss his graduation ceremony last weekend.
He has used a wheelchair since the fifth grade. He had been able to walk until then. Then his rapid growth outstripped the strength in his legs and he has pushed himself around in a manual wheelchair since.
``I learned to go backward, pushing with my feet,'' Fries explained. `Couldn't do that at graduation. It would have been unsafe for me and the other graduates.''
Enter some compassionate people - people like Rosemary Julian, a physical therapist with Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, and David Varnadore who works with Sentara Home Medical, durable medical equipment department.
``They got a motorized chair for me to use. In fact, David reconditioned it, put in a brand-new battery, almost rebuilt it from scratch.''
Fries received the motorized chair Thursday night at 10. His graduation was the next day. He had a quick rehearsal to prepare himself for the procession.
``During practice for graduation, I got stuck coming down the ramp the first time. The second time, I got down OK.''
Fries sat in the living room of his home in Kempsville amid banners and balloons hailing his big day and talked about his past and his future.
Fries wants to work with computers, to be a data entry specialist for a government agency after he obtains a degree in computer science. He will start Tidewater Community College, Virginia Beach, in August.
``Maybe work for the FBI. I've always been fascinated with that kind of work, top-secret stuff,'' he said. ``I might work for IBM or MacIntosh, too.''
Fries has already begun preparing himself for a high-tech career. He has worked for the Tidewater Center for Technology Access during summer vacations and will start work there again in December.
The graduate had a typical response of mixed emotions:
``I cried a little, leaving my friends behind. We're all going separate directions now. But I'm ready to take up new challenges.''
by CNB