Using 'Boney' the plastic skeleton Lisa Bard sat before an audience of third graders, and pointed to the spinal vertebrae that she injured.
That injury, she told students at Abingdon Elementary, is the reason she can't walk anymore. Bard, along with Geoff Hopkins, and Dan Lindsey, spoke to Abingdon third graders on Thursday, April 15, to emphasize outreach and understanding during this year’s Paralyzed Veterans of America Awareness week.
"Our veterans like to give back to the community by speaking to kids about disability issues, acceptance and inclusion. It’s important to raise awareness, said Sheila Skipper, coordinator of the event.
"Kids are so inquisitive," said Hopkins. "They have a thousand questions." Hopkins, associate director of the sports program at the Paralyzed Veterans, lost the use of his legs in a motorcycle accident, but said he refuses to allow disabilities to define his life. He told students about his continued interest in sky diving and biking.
Bard, a self proclaimed enthusiast and optimist, was injured during a reserve drill at Andrews Air Force Base in 1988. Bard's energy and social work background led to her elementary school visits with Paralyzed Veterans, in order to share lessons she’s learned overcoming her disability.
"It’s so important to keep your focus in life on what's right instead of what's wrong," said Bard. "Here we can show these kids what we can do, instead of what we can't." Can-dos include continuing her love and practice of dance, and playing basketball on two co-ed teams, and one all female team.
Dan Lindsey, a quadriplegic, impressed the children with his explanation of how he drives a car. "There's ways of doing things without using your hands, " he said. His van operates using voice-activated computers.
"I don't let my disabilities stop me from using the abilities I have," said Lindsey. He compared what happens to nerve impulses after a spinal chord injury to a bent water hose filled with water. Water stops flowing, children in the audience said.
Skipper coordinated the event with school counselor Janet Stockman. They wanted "to develop a program that would dispel myths about disabilities, as well as explain spinal chord injuries in a physiological way," said Stockman. "I'd been spending time with the third grade talking about the importance of accepting each other's differences."
"For some children," said Skipper, "this will be the first time they've seen someone in a wheel chair."
"They could do tricks and cool stuff," said Francis Flores, a 9-year-old from Arlington.
His friend Khory Moore, 8, said "People in wheelchairs can do sports!" He said, "If someone in my family was disabled, I know I would try to do stuff to help them out.