This is a story about tenacity. Yesterday I attended the funeral of my cousin who died after being hit by two cars while crossing the street in her wheelchair.
When Susan was in grade school she was hit in the head with a baseball bat and lost a lot of motor control. Ever determined, she decided to become a figure skater. She learned how to skate and spent 6 hours a day on the ice. She and her mom moved to Houston to train. In 1979 she won the regional figure skating competition and became an Olympic hopeful. Later that week she went home to Chicago for Christmas.
There was a house fire which killed her sister and put Susan in a coma from smoke inhalation. She was confined to a wheelchair. Susan then went to high school and college. Moving to Tempe, she lived in her own apartment and ran the scoreboards for the Phoenix Suns and the Diamondbacks. In 2001 she was there when the Diamondbacks took the World Series. No one could best her in sports statistics. And now she's gone.
So sorry for your loss. Susan was an amazing woman and by telling her story on your blog I'm sure she will inspire and touch many.
Posted by: Toby | 04 January 2006 at 05:38 PM