Courtesy Photo | Norma Cowell cheers her daughter Christy Gardner on during the sitting volleyball game...... read more read more
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By Annette P. Gomes
Warrior Care and Transition
CHICAGO - Over a dull roar in a packed gymnasium at the McCormick Center in Chicago, Ill., one person's voice stands out; Norma Cowell. Her daughter Christy is participating in the 2017 DOD Warrior Games.
"I don't know if words can express how proud of her I am. To see where she's come from to now is just indescribable. She has this spirit that everyone is drawn to," Cowell said.
The second of three children, Cowell knew her middle child was special.
"She's been independent since she came out of the womb. It was like "don't touch me,” I’m ready to conquer the world. I received daily calls from her kindergarten teacher and one day she remarked, she's going to take stubbornness out into the world and do great things.”
Christy Gardner did just that. Born into a military family, she joined the Army.
"I come from a military family. My dad was a Marine, my brother was as well. We would have Marine style breakfasts, so when she entered the Army we gave her hell," Cowell laughed.
But in 2006, while stationed overseas, Gardner sustained life-altering injuries while on a peacekeeping mission. She suffered multiple, traumatic injuries including spinal cord damage. Both legs have since been amputated. Her skull was fractured in two places, and the resulting brain trauma wiped out most of her memory. She lost her ability to speak and hearing in her left ear. She had to re-learn words, spelling, grammar and math from the third-grade level up while dealing with intense seizures. Two fingers on her left hand are missing.
"I can't tell you how hard it was as a family. Christy is an extremely private person and she wouldn't open up and share with us how she was dealing with these issues. I wanted to read the medical charts for Christ's sake. I would give my life for one of my kids," she said. Due to the extent of her injuries, Gardner's doctors supplied her with a list of limitations. She set out to prove the doctors wrong. Encouragement from her family was also a guiding force, Cowell, a career physical education teacher encouraged her family to participate in sports.
"I believe it was a Veteran that also continuously bugged her to try adaptive sports, the light bulb went off and she's never looked back. From snowboarding to sled hockey, she's tried everything.
As the wheelchair basketball competition wraps up, Crowell says the Games are about more than competition, they are a path back to living.
"These last few days have been incredible. I would be horrified if this program ended. I believe these Veterans need this. Christy describes it as being part of a family. Her teammates always say they have each other's back. What could be better than that?"
| Date Taken: | 07.02.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 07.04.2017 21:51 |
| Story ID: | 240064 |
| Location: | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 70 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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