Siskin fundraiser highlights Paralympian
Inspiration filled the Chattanooga Convention Center Tuesday as three-time world champion and two-time Paralympian Melissa Stockwell shared her story of triumph after becoming the first female American to lose a limb in combat in Iraq.
“There is life after disability,” said Stockwell, who won a bronze medal in triathlon at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Stockwell was the speaker at Siskin Hospital’s annual fundraiser called
Possibilities: Celebrating life beyond disability.
Money raised at the event supports families who come to Siskin but have no insurance or not enough to fund expenses.
Stockwell showed the audience a photo of a pool of blood spread on a dirt road near her vehicle. The picture was shot in April 2004 after a roadside bomb exploded and severed her leg. It used to pain her to look at it. Now she displays it as a sign of triumph.
Stockwell said that during times when she felt like giving up, she remembered the other soldiers near her at Walter Reed Hospital and knew she had to continue. Many of them lost multiple limbs or their sight, but they were still fighting to live again. So she, who lost one limb, had no excuse, she said.
Siskin showed a video before Stockwell spoke that set the tone for the luncheon.
Lee Ann Womack sang “I hope you dance,” as Siskin shared the story of Peter Wilkerson and his wife, Samantha.
They were a young couple in their mid 20s. Peter was an assistant basketball coach at Covenant College and they were engaged to be married when he was struck with an ailment that robbed him of his ability to walk, talk and swallow. The disorder, called Guillain-Barré syndrome, is a rare but serious autoimmune disease involving the nervous system.
His recovery was initially slow, but Wilkerson kept working. His then-fiancée remained at his side. Facing what could have been a tragedy, they moved up their date to marry and wedded in a room at Siskin, where they spent their honeymoon.
Wilkerson was in a wheelchair for their wedding and there wasn’t much fanfare, but he continued working with his therapists.
And for their first month anniversary, Peter surprised his wife by getting out of his wheelchair to lead her in a dance.
Siskin Hospital President and CEO Carol W. Sim touted the attributes of Siskin Hospital, which she said treated more than 3,000 people in the past year.
Those people had heart attacks, strokes and brain tumors, she said. Most of them never saw distress coming, but there was a team of highly trained doctors and nurses waiting for them at Siskin Hospital, she said.
People at Siskin were 10 percent more likely to go home than if they had chosen other rehabilitation hospitals across the country, Sim said. And they were 30 percent less likely to go back to the acute care hospital for medical treatment during their stay.
Stockwell challenged those suffering tragedy to fight through difficulties, to believe in themselves even when they doubt, and to nurture the team around them, encouraging people to find their supporters and use them to achieve their potential.
Despite her injury, Stockwell married, had a child and is now pregant with their second child.
The Wilkersons are expecting their first child. Siskin presented them with a gift topped with a teddy bear at the luncheon.
WRCB-TV 3 anchor Cindy Sexton emceed the event and concluded with a challenge.
“This is not just the day of possibilities,” she said. “This is the day of no excuses.”