| Life is notorious for the curveballs that it can sometimes throw at us. There are those that we anticipate and so, we step up to the plate and prepare to swing hard. Sometimes we hit those life altering, unforgettable homeruns. Other times though, it really is not as simple as stepping up to the plate and giving it all you have got. Sometimes life's curveballs may just as well take us out of the game before we even get a chance to take a swing.
In 1988, John Wroe, a teacher in Akron, Ohio thought he might be taken out of the game for good. A day that he thought was going to be a regular school day turned out to be the day that would change his life forever.
Wroe was proctoring before homeroom when a fight broke out among the students. He became a victim of assault, and suffered a severe head trauma. Five and a half years later he suffered a stroke that was directly caused by a weakened blood vessel from the assault. The stroke left the entire left side of his body paralyzed.
You've probably heard it said, "When life gives you lemons. make lemonade." Well, Wroe would tell you, "When life throws you curveballs. play golf instead!"
Following Wroe's stroke, he was transferred from the Akron City Hospital ICU to the Edwin Shaw Hospital. It was there that Wroe met Ron Tristano, the Director of Challenge Golf. Challenge Golf is a program whose mission is to assist patients through rehabilitation in order to recover to their fullest and return to a high quality of life. Tristano became interested in helping Wroe use golf as part of his physical therapy; which would include helping him with his balance and coordination while still developing Wroe's golf skills. Tristano commented that he has had the pleasure of knowing Wroe for over ten years and has developed a great deal of respect for him. Tristano said "I began helping him improve his golf, teaching him to play using his one good right arm to swing the club. He was soon hooked on golf and practicing as much as possible."
Wroe didn't think he would be able ever be able to do something as simple as drive a car again let alone swing a golf club. He was wrong. Not only did he learn to drive a car again by driving a golf car around the Challenge Golf course, he became an avid golfer who has not one but three holes-in-one! With the help of the Challenge Golf, program under the direction and instruction of Tristano, Wroe was able to use golf to improve his thinking skills, balance, walking ability, and most importantly, his desire to improve himself physically and mentally. Tristano said that "Wroe has undergone a lot of therapy that has helped him regain his ability to speak and walk again, which is amazing, but what I am most proud of is that Wroe gives credit for his participation in the Challenge Golf Program for inspiring him to relearn to drive a car!" Tristano added that he is also very proud of the fact that because of his experiences, Wroe has become dedicated to volunteering and mentoring other golfers with disabilities.
Today, Wroe is an advocate of the Challenge Golf program and for golf's potential to change the lives of individuals with disabilities. Because he is aware of the unique and true value of the Challenge Golf program, Wroe has decided to help others discover and develop an interest in golf. He is dedicated to help others benefit from the many activities, friendships, and support available to them. Wroe has logged more than 4,000 volunteer hours with Challenge Golf.
Challenge Golf has been a USGA supported program since 1992. In January of 2007, it received a grant to support a new program that will be offered this spring, and will be attended by Wroe. This program will provide a 26-week session geared toward transitioning participants, who like Wroe, are considered to be the program's "graduated" or "more advanced" participants, from the 3-hole accessible golf course located at the Edwin Shaw Hospital, into playing on their own, on regulation courses. It provides a new way for participants to progress in their golf games, instead of always playing on a 3-hole golf course. Participants of the Challenge Golf program have otherwise not been given this sort of transitional training opportunity. Wroe has said of this new opportunity, "I think this new program is an excellent idea. We need extra support to help us transition to a regular course. This program will help us so much."
Challenge Golf provides at least fourteen golf programs for individuals with disabilities, but it is not only the variety of opportunities that Challenge Golf provides that sets it apart. What makes Challenge Golf so valuable is the feeling of hope that the participants are given. Wroe commented on the environment of Challenge Golf saying, "there is a true spirit of hope and opportunity that is ever present." It is impossible to think negatively about one's situation, because participants of Challenge Golf are surrounded by many others, who are at all levels of recovery. Participants are there to encourage and to support other golfers as well as to fight their own way towards success.
Most of the time, the Challenge Golf participants surprise themselves with their own ability. Wroe said, "It is the quality of golf is what is most inspiring, because it exceeds what most people would expect from themselves or from the other participants." Wroe, for example, has not only had three hole-in-ones but he has also won four Club Championships. He has even been able to play at a regulation golf course, Firestone Country Club, where he shot an 86.
How about that for life altering, unforgettable moments? Well it gets better. Rather than letting life's curveballs take him out of the game, Wroe decided to not only step up to the plate, but to hit as many homeruns as he could. Driving a car? Check. Playing golf? Check. Winning a Championship? Check.
Walking your youngest daughter down the aisle on her wedding day? Check. Wroe's proudest moment came when he was able to escort his youngest daughter down the aisle on her wedding day, without the use his cane. He attributes this feat to his physical therapy of golf, at the Challenge Golf program. Thanks to his involvement in the Challenge Golf Program, and because of the game of golf, Wroe has been able to improve his overall confidence, quality of life and take part in many unforgettable moments.
Life is never easy, but it is in overcoming adversity that one can look back and say, "I did it!" In reflecting on Wroe's story it is easy to say that even the worst of events and circumstances can present the best of outcomes. Wroe, is only one of the many inspirational stories that have come from the USGA supported Challenge Golf program. He is one of many stories that begin with the hopelessness of never being able to play again, but end with the decision to take a swing anyway. this time with a golf club. |
