 Travis Roy, a now-paralyzed former BU hockey player, spoke on his accident, recovery, and life.
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He lived his lifelong dream for only 11 seconds. Travis Roy, quadriplegic, motivational speaker, and former Boston University hockey player, spoke to hundreds of Boston College students on Tuesday. The event commenced with a video of Roy's childhood, his accident, and his life now. The event was sponsored by several campus organizations, including the Emerging Leader Program, the Office of the Dean for Student Development, the athletics department and the Presidential Scholars Program.
On Friday Oct. 20, 1995, Roy experienced both the best and worst time of his life. One of Roy's foremost goals in life was to play college hockey. After receiving numerous offers from the University of Michigan, Harvard, and Maine, Roy chose to attend BU on a hockey scholarship. He was one of six freshmen on the 1995 team and was slated to play in the first three games of the season. After BU scored in the first two minutes of his first game, "I felt the tap on the shoulder I'd been waiting for my whole life," Roy said. Ready to enter his first college hockey game, Roy skated onto the ice, ready for face off. After only 11 seconds of play, Roy prepared to use his shoulder against an opponent. "I angled myself just right, and as I followed through, [the opponent] moved out of the way," Roy said. "I lost my balance, which was ironic because I was a good skater." His body crashed into the Plexiglas and the way his body was angled caused him to fall head first into the boards, then to the ice. Roy lay face down on the ice with his head tilted to the side. "Out of the corner of my eye, a red and white glove came towards me," Roy said. "It was on my hand but I couldn't feel it or move it, and it was at that point I knew I was paralyzed."
His father came down to the ice, telling him to get up and continue playing. Roy, though, knew the extent of his injury and its seriousness.
After the accident, Roy required a ventilator to breathe for over two months, and used blinking as his only means of communication. "I wondered if this was what the rest of my life was going to be like," Roy said.
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