Rhea talks about drinking and driving
Ashley Mefford/Activities Reporter
Issue date: 9/13/07 Section: News
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For Joe Rhea, that day was Sept. 11, 1984. On that day, Rhea was paralyzed during a football accident.
Rhea spoke in the Grand Ballroom of the Union on Wednesday night.
Sometimes there are defining days for people and for Rhea Sept. 11 was defining for him.
With Sept. 11, 2001, the idea of a defining day made even more sense. The fact that his accident happened on a Sept. 11 also tied into it.
When an event like one of these happens, life takes on a different meaning then before.
"There are life and death situations when life takes on a greater meaning, one can learn and grow from a catastrophe," Rhea said.
Purpose is also given because of events such as these.
"For 23 years after my accident, I had questions," Rhea said.
For the most part, Rhea's main question was "Why did I have to break my neck?"
Rhea began speaking with the foundation called Think First in 2001. The main purpose for Think First is to get prevention about drinking and driving out to the public.
The age bracket of 16-25 years old is when people have the biggest chance of getting a brain or spinal cord injury. Car crashes are the place where injuries are most likely to happen.
Too many people have a "not me syndrome," Rhea said.
"This is why I do this - it happens everyday," he said.
Throughout the presentation, Rhea gave multiple examples of college-age students who had gone through similar experiences as him.
One such person was named Troy.
Troy was an athlete and had a full ride to Texas Tech. His whole future changed in an instant when he was in a car accident resulting from alcohol.
Troy stayed out until 2 a.m. after a party one night and ended up being thrown 25 feet into a creek. He broke his back and was in the creek for two days after his accident.
"Often times we forget how our decisions affect our family," Rhea said.
Troy had to hear his cell phone ring while he couldn't move after being thrown from the car.
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Joe Rhea
posted 9/13/07 @ 3:40 PM CST
It was an honor last night to speak at EIU. I had tremendous feedback from the students at the end of my presentation. I do want to clarify what I mean when I speak about my recovery and why I say "almost" anything is possible. (Continued…)
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