DERIDDER, La. (AP) - DeRidder High School senior Cameron Cross suffered a gunshot wound in September and was paralyzed from the waist down. This May, he brought home two first-place medals from the state track and field meet.
“As unfortunate as this situation may be, Cameron represents the ’can-do’ spirit of DeRidder High School,” said Principal Harry Hooker.
After the Labor Day shooting, Chalonda Johnson, Cross’s mother, said her son was “shut down and withdrawn” while coming to terms with the news of his paralysis and his future without playing his favorite sport, football.
For two months Cross lived at Touro Rehabilitation Center in New Orleans and underwent aggressive rehabilitation, including daily physical therapy, occupational therapy and other exercise routines. Though the experience was grueling and painful, Johnson said her son persevered.
Cross attributed his change in attitude to his parent’s positive energy, which he said helped him regain his mental and physical strength as he prepared to return to a somewhat normal life.
When he was tempted to slip into depression, he said, his mother encouraged him by saying, “They didn’t take your life, and they definitely didn’t take your spirit.”
On returning to school, Cross said, it was difficult adjusting to the crowds and loud noises. Even at home, if Johnson made a loud noise while preparing meals, Cross said he would begin trembling from the “shell shock” of the shooting.
Cross was in and out of school due to emotional trauma, but like his parents, the teachers and staff at DeRidder High provided him with the inspiration to press forward. When Cross learned that the state track and field meet had a paraplegic division, the faculty rallied around him with support. His adapted physical education teacher, Dena Rushford, contacted a former professor, who showed her how to teach Cross the proper techniques for the javelin and shot put.
Rushford taught Cross how to use his arm strength as leverage for throwing in place of his legs. A specialty stand was needed for him to sit on during the events, so Kent Palermo, DeRidder High agriculture teacher, gathered the materials necessary and built Cross a gold “throne” for the competition.
Johnson said her son’s excitement over the new endeavor was a major turning point in his recovery. Cross came home from school “delighted” at the potential to become a track and field athlete and “he actually came home and filled out everything himself,” said Johnson. “It was a new outlet for him.”
Training was not an entirely smooth road for Cross. Initially, he was hesitant to make the transition from his wheelchair to his throwing stand, said Rushford. “He wasn’t so confident at transferring,” she said.
Understanding the emotional toll of the injuries, Rushford said she was “careful not to push” Cross. “Some days instead of training we would just play basketball,” she said. “I didn’t want to lose him.”
Eventually, his confidence grew and he mastered moving between the two seats, “a major accomplishment,” Rushford said, that led to the setting of more goals.
Goal setting was particularly important to the training because it gave him “excitement and something to look forward to,” she said.
After training for only a few months, he reached his goal of qualifying for the state track meet at Louisiana State University.
Escorted by Rushford and DeRidder High teacher Kimberly Courville, Cross wasn’t nervous about the field events but was apprehensive about the new faces he was surrounded by.
The close-knit community of the regional events was a stark contrast to the thousands gathered at the university for the state meet. He overcame his nerves, however, throwing the javelin 46 feet, 6 inches and the shot put 16 feet, 7.5 inches - both of which are close to the state record, Courville said.
“He’s my courageous lion,” Rushford said. Cross recently was presented with a lion’s head medallion at his high school graduation.
Prior to his injury, Cross envisioned life after high school as including football or a military career. While certain options aren’t out of the question, Cross said, he plans to steer his athletics in the direction of the Louisiana Games Uniting Mind and Body.
The GUMBO games provide competitive and recreational athletic opportunities to people who have a significant disability. In addition to participation in the GUMBO games, he plans to take advantage of the certifications offered to him through the Jump Start program. Johnson said she hopes to see her son “excel and become more independent as he moves forward with his life.”
Cross is now learning how to drive a specially-equipped vehicle, and the family is looking into accessible housing opportunities.
Despite the unforeseen hardship, Cross said the biggest lesson he moves forward with is the reality that “time is precious and life should be lived to the fullest.”
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Information from: American Press, http://www.americanpress.com
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