In the past six years, I have traveled to both TIRR in Houston,
TX and the Center for Spinal Cord Injury Recovery in Detroit, MI several times
for physical rehabilitation. Both are
amazing facilities that have essentially kicked my butt, helping me to become stronger
and more independent, but what makes them both such great facilities are the
people inside…and I’m not just talking staff members, but the other clients as
well.
The first time I walked into CSCIR in Detroit I saw a
picture of a girl standing with her leg braces on. I instantly looked up to her…I
had no clue who she was, but I looked up to her and I wanted to be able to do
just what she was doing. A few days into the program, I met that girl in the
picture, and it was Miss Stevie Beale.
Over the past few years, I have gotten to know Stevie and
let me tell you she is one of the strongest, most caring, hard-working, and smartest
girls I know. She has been through so much in such a short time. In 2006, Stevie
was a high school senior and athlete with a bright future, until a horrible car
accident changed everything. The car Stevie and 4 of her friends were riding in
hit a tree at 75 mph. Stevie sustained life-threatening injuring, including her
paralysis from the waist down, and her best friend Charlie died in the
accident. Since then, Stevie has made remarkable strides. She kills it during
therapy every other day, recently graduated from college with a pysch degree,
lives on her own, and is competing in the Ms. Wheelchair Ohio pageant this
weekend!
Please keep her in your prayers this weekend as she goes
through the pageant process. I know she’s going to do great. I hope to see her
in August for the National competition in Rhode Island!
Good Luck Stevie!!
Stevie was recently awarded with the Courage Award at the DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan Gala. Here is the video they played before she accepted her award.
So, is Stevie going to be in Rhode Island? How did her pageant go?
ReplyDelete