A doctor told Adam Page’s father that his son would never walk and that he would likely be blind and possibly retarded. Page was born with spina bifida; his spinal cord was growing outside of his body. Luckily, Page defied the doctor’s assumptions and he is already competing for the U.S. team in ice sledge hockey in the Vancouver, BC Paralympics, according to a Buffalo News article.
The U.S. team is off to a hot start, having defeated South Korea 5-0 in the debut preliminary matchup on March 13, and taking care of the Czech Republic with a 3-0 win on March 14. The U.S. continues preliminary action today in a late match against Japan.
Page is playing hockey while seated on a sled he moves with forearm crutches. He will make use of two cutoff hockey sticks with the U.S. ice sledge hockey team. The team hopes to win the gold that the US hockey team failed to bring home in the recent Winter Olympics also held in Vancouver. Page told the Buffalo News, “Since both U.S. teams lost, I feel one of us has to win.”
Page turned 18 last week. He expressed excited anticipation at his Paralympic debut. He attends St. Mary’s High School. He said, “I’m definitely excited, but I’ve told myself not to get too hyped up, to keep a level head. I’m telling myself it’s just another tournament. We’ve been playing the same teams all along,” in the article. When Page was younger, he practiced karate, riding horses, baseball, and joined the Skating Association for the Blind and Handicapped before he chose sled hockey as his sport of choice, Buffalo News reported.
When Page was born in 1992, he emerged into the world 7 weeks early after a challenging delivery. Since then, he has endured 10 surgeries. He can now walk through his own house without the use of crutches. His mother Sandy Page said, “Over his lifetime, he has questioned very little about his disability. He has never felt sorry for himself,” the article said. Page spent much of his youth training and trying out for various teams. When he was 13, he just missed making the junior national sled hockey team. At age 14, he missed making the adult national team. Now, Page has triumphed and will compete for the gold with the best players in the world.
We wish Adam Page and the U.S. sled hockey team all the best in their quest for the gold. Good luck!
References:
Warner, Gene. (March 5, 2010) “Paralympian from Lancaster going for the gold.” Retrieved on March 5, 2010 from the Buffalo News Web site:http://www.buffalonews.com/2010/03/05/977467/paralympian-from-lancaster-…