Rules of Engagement: A Self-Help Guide for Those Overcoming Major Personal Trauma
By Scoba Rhodes
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About this ebook
I appreciate the militarys and the VAs efforts to provide funding for veterans to attend school, and there are many programs available. However, I was a veteran who served prior to September 11, 2001, and I had already used my GI Bill over ten years ago, and my injuries were not considered service connected. I had to seek out other avenues.
As I was discussing my predicament with my kinesiotherapist (KT), he mentioned a program called Swim with Mike. I did some research and found out some incredible information. In 1981, Mike Nyeholt, a three-time all-American USC swimmer, became paralyzed in a motorcycle accident. A fund-raiser was organized in order to provide Mike with a specially equipped van for his transportation. There was an excess of funds raised, so at Mikes suggestion, the remainder of the funds was distributed to other disabled individuals who were attempting to return to school. The following year, Mikes teammate Ron Orr (now the senior associate athletic director at USC) created Swim with Mike where Mike Nyeholt returned to the campus to swim laps in order to continue to raise money for disabled people attempting to return to school. Now, Mike swims laps at various locations over the country, including Hawaii, and has, to date, over five hundred participants.
To not be able to play the sport you love can be devastating, but my friend Ron Orr started Swim with Mike to prove there is a support system to moving on, especially when it comes to education, said Nyeholt.
I further learned that although this program is funded from USC, there are only seven students enrolled at USC while there are forty-two students enrolled at universities and colleges throughout the United States. In order to qualify for this scholarship, the applicant must have participated in an organized sports program at the high school or collegiate level and suffered an illness or injury that results in a life-limiting physical disability. The applicant must also meet the attending universitys admission requirements and maintain a 2.5 GPA while enrolled in the program. After learning about this program, I decided to apply.
I am proud to announce that I will be attending USC in the fall of 2012, and without the assistance of Swim with Mike, I am not sure that this would be possible. My life has opened in ways that I could have never even dreamed of since the day I was discharged from the hospital. I remember feeling so alone. Then I learned there were people before me who had suffered and overcome similar accidents and illnesses, and they had paved a path for me to follow, if only I could overcome my paralyzing fear and venture upon it. And now, two years later, it is I inviting you to venture out; realize life is not over and that a new beginning awaits if you are ready to move forward. All you need to do is discover your new passion, discuss with your counselor the appropriate major needed to fulfill it, request an application from USC or your desired university or college, download an application from www.swimwithmike.org, and start on the path toward your new life. And maybe one day, you too will swim with Mike.
So you seeor hopefully will soon seethat your life is not over. In fact, it is just beginning. You stil
Scoba Rhodes
Scoba Rhodes was born in Falmouth, Massachusetts, in 1966. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1987, earned an honorable discharge from the US Navy in 1994, and is currently striving for a master’s degree from the University of Southern California. In November 2009 he went in for a procedure to repair an abdominal aortic aneurysm and awoke paralyzed from the waist down, forced to live out the remainder of his life as a T-10 complete paraplegic. After serving in the navy—where he was selected as a battle station reactor operator and quality assurance supervisor, earning the Southwest Asia Medal for his service in Desert Shield/Desert Storm and an Admiral’s Commendation for his outstanding service—he underwent successful stints in direct sales, advertising, and logistics. When he was injured, he spent almost a year in the hospital, healing and rehabilitating and wondering what was going to happen with the rest of his life. One day, after he had dropped 115 pounds and was dangerously underweight, his wife pleaded with him to stop wasting his life and get back to being the man that she initially fell in love with. He then began a personal journey back from the depths of depression and restored the vibrant, successful, fulfilling life that existed before the accident.
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