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Show 4 Vernal ExfoH Fridoy, MorA 14, 19S6 sspii,e!i(5in& Maintaining health, -'A Fine Line By Merle Young Exprsss Society Editor "I am tired of seeing kids with their lives ruined by injured spines in accidents that could be prevented. It just takes some simple precautions and good thinking," stated 27-year-old Dave Rowe in an assembly at Uintah High School. Rowe, who was the victim of an accident ac-cident that left him paralyzed from Er 1 t ' J lihi rft . 41 'A LmU DAVID ROWE pulled no punches in his descrip- called, "A Fine Line," he told his story and tionof how easy it was to get himself into an ac- answered questions from the high school cident that left him paralyzed from the arm pits students, down. Besides showing an award winning movie & A r' i ' J g3 :'s t'a si a' V 5 ? Vtt " a rYiEAKTSRfiilnrT""cliicKE"M FM.ET luncheon steak DINNER DINNER "iSS" 2-7f: si go rST S3.Q9 S2.99 MM ,ur..,,y,!c hvw Uv7. sn nq 1 HH-- s5 gg the armpits down, is one of six young adults who speak to thousands of people each year delivering their message on staying alive and healthy by keeping out of harms way. The group represents the Stewart Rehabilitation Center of McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden, Utah. Each of them has received treatment at the center. They joined together with their common bond of physical handicap han-dicap as, a catalyst for wanting to keep others from the same fate. t 1 , V'. . ? - 1 f. Calling themselves "A Fine Line", which gives two connotations; the spine and the narrow line between a healthy body and an injured body, the group has some agonizing stories to tell. Rowe's story is one of drug and alcohol abuse and poor judgment, judg-ment, although, he pointed out that these injuries can happen even without the body being full of harmful harm-ful substances. One morning Rowe and his friend decided to take a hunting trip. On the t- -'. . ' m S' . H Personal creativity encouraged A lot of new talent for creative rilins end tharpcr oirrvaUon have Urn drawn from many ! al Mu5e-nU thafcX to the work of M.rron Lu'.hl. lf'.ht, hu ha a fare? family of hrr rn. u a mulll la!rn!cd arfet tl.) ha a t- brack of wotkifij thmlfrn. has tn-rfl invohrd i a tt.rrt-,l in Iht art pm:f am tf lh 6 sUlcl anJ Has tjrcfl trad ins many tfrj-gfciful cbci m Ue tknwntary M (4 tl cn-Ud j!h the at UAH 6ft-,-i;r4 ar f t'Vre hy V k J:U8ats (4 Um:iMf tlsafaclm tfi hicfi Ue Hsom bt4 :?.,'rr,,.!4 ImjU tRtf, fva'4 .jf t;as.?s err a . tl ir.)-: t'rA'Ai )a f4'fl iS $'tr4 I lft3fi1! tfv:rJ(i-4 way to the hunt they stopped at a bar where they did some "heavy drinking." drink-ing." Despite being very drunk, the two bought two more cases of beer, left the bar and headed for the hills. They were using marijuana along with the alcohol. "I had no business driving nor even being around guns. I was doing some stupid shooting that day. We had a small electrical fire in the Blazer but managed to get it out. At first we thought about staying out over night but we didn't have any equipment for the cold weather. I talked my friend into letting me drive saying I was not too drunk to drive. As we started toward town I leaned down to see if the heater still worked after the fire and my friend told me to look out, I was going to hit something. Without even looking up I pulled the wheel over quickly and the Blazer went out of control and crashed. "I was not wearing a seat belt and the force of the windshield hitting me pushed my head back and broke my neck. I didn't feel any pain and at first thought that it would be like the other accidents I had been in; I would walk away. Then I finally realized I was in serious trouble. It was twelve hours before someone would stop and help us. My friend kept trying to wave people down but I don't blame them for not stopping. He was covered with blood and probably looked like a crazy man out there waving his arms," Rowe said. After telling his story, he invited the students to ask questions. "Don't be bashful. Ask anything you want. I am not hear to lecture or bore you. I just want you to realize how easily you could become injured. A seat belt would have kept me from being hurt and I know that I would have had better bet-ter judgement if I hadn't been drinking." The students asked Rowe if he ever asked, why me? He said he had done a lot of seraching at first to find someone so-meone to blame besides himself. When asked about his friend who was Involved in the accident with him, Rowe said it took 150 stitches in his head to put him back together. He added ad-ded that it would have been much worse if he had been responsible for his friend being hurt like he was and he felt very fortunate that his friend was all right. Other questions were: Question: Were you using drugs at the time of the accident? Answer: Yes, we were tprctor Doesn't Cart, an Introduction to journalism using no pmonal feeling, feel-ing, only the facU; fled I'lum Lane, a rvion of music and poetry and the fourth cteu. It's Your World, Charlie Brown, U oo krrping personal journal. jour-nal. Luthi hat had four ytart training thrwigh the State of L'Uh working with physically and mentally han dicapprd children. She hat also t-nt right year allmding varimii child development workshop. She uyi the purple of hrt tUm h U fpefl up the joy of the child and help fach child rraliJ their ahilily of prfTMmal JM-lftxpiTsioft thmigh creative w riting, Itef afl, ftfltieTt, actflmpanicj hrf lo some e the ctas.tr and p!a)i the rie of the tnrdor in the claa on jrKiThahsm. She Iho work the ikr,ij have been dtirg U OwUiaft' dirg end fete plana la px.t mxh of it lr,!j a r fotm. 'TN-y nimpJy maf me," she Mclaimpd. "I hat-t Kfi rty fmn-ed hy lf-e pfms and thnHH bx of lhif wriiirg tl is am:;-r4 an4 lhnieh!,rl end klia l M a?it f ach irwli i5 jal child.' irir f tfct ckiMrrn's mi KM l f r1w rf i t t i1 -k ln efyid r i e:rl $ lani a H i r,d a t 'I 7 If ?m 5 trie -,tt fVi-? gi E ? 8r? tt iai 1 1 e-t rd "7i e'rf t ti fr-.1 I l-si 4-1 f'-.c-. tl.if r fV-:, e-.i t e ' tl f ?l a'h'fk smoking pot until we ran out. Question: Ques-tion: How did your wife react to the accident? Answer: I caught hell when I got home. I had defied her to go hunting and because of the drinking. drink-ing. We are now divorced. Question: Did you ever think about suicide? Answer: Yes, I came very very close to killing myself. I had lost my legs, my physical ability, my wife and thought I had nothing to live for. I don't like to think about it. Question: How did your kids react? Answer: My oldest girl had a hard time with it because she knew me when I was all together. My youngest didn't remember me pre-wheelchair so it was easier for her. They say they forget that I am in the wheelchair. The tough adjustment has been getting get-ting used to people staring at me when we are out in public. I just tell the girls that people are curious. Question: Do You drink anymore? Answer: Very seldom and very little. I have a little wine now and then. I have discovered you can have fun without booze. Rowe added that he began drinking at age 12. He now works at Stewart Rehabilitation Center part time and spends a lot of time doing "A Fine Line" presentations. He is also a student stu-dent at Weber State College. Rowe said he would have never attended college if the accident hadn't happened. happen-ed. "I got into a lot of trouble in high school and finally dropped out, then I got married." He had worked with 1 hardwood prior to his accident and made his living building and designing design-ing things. Rowe concluded his presentation by telling about his social life, "I date as often as I can," and about his unusual experiences water and snow skiing and driving his specially equipped car. Others in "A Fine Line" include: Todd Henrie, 22, who hit a telephone pole at 100 MPH while under the influence in-fluence of alcohol and drugs. He is paralyzed from the waist down; Rich Archuleta, 21, was hit from the side by a drunk driver in a sports car while on his motorcycle. He is paralyzed from the waist down; Corey Cor-ey Burton, 24, was 18 when he was driving his truck from Evanston, fell asleep and rolled the truck. A seat belt would have prevented his injuries; in-juries; Lori Cottam, 23, sustained a spinal cord injury while riding a ihould have bot In them. I really hope everyone will cooperate if thia happen. I really think it would be unfair un-fair to have a hoy team and not a girl team, or 1 girl team and not a boy team. Jilt Sire flbarg Other editorial me nlkmed lhif.i Ike girU can play ai U ai bm. and ihry d.m'1 Ja all the lime l.ke tyl think, Sime of the fi thmtcht It was alt right for pirU to play in thnf ipntt if they didn't cry when they hurt, but rnwt et not favoraUe of th (M4rm' Mf fpel fir ad 3 ah"t it. The ?paf? ,yM!e Uew up white it was p tl started up ard Vttt Wai an ftp'- l j re f'y cs 4M ft UW tS tssr .f 1 f tl motorcycle in the foothills. She fell wrong and is now paralyzed from the waist down; and Rudy Schlickeiser, 22, had been drinking heavily all day and was driving a truck on New Year's Eve. It was a foggy night in 1983 when his truck left the road and went over a 30 foot embankment. It was two hours before he was found. He is paralyzed from the arms down. The entire group appeared at a parent and youth conference last week in Salt Lake City. Their presentations presen-tations leave a lasting impression, according to the youth who were at the conference and Uintah High School students had the same reaction reac-tion from Rowe's message at the Tuesday assemblies in Vernal. hfZ v. JUDY BUCHANAN is an employee of Stewart's Rehabilitation Center and an escort for those who give "The Fine Line" presentations. Here she is introducing Dave Rowe to Uintah High students. by Luthi elementary idweU, "Volunteer motheri may call me at Tna Mid Luthi. Lr- 1:: A a :h. 1 J" If. A . r' V |