My son Eddie McGee lost his left leg 5 years ago due to Osteogenic Sarcoma.
Needless to say that we were all devestated at the time.
We were veryfortunate to be approached by a man who played wheelchair
basketball forthe Long Island Express Wheelchair Athletic Club here on Long
Island. He
introduced my son to the sport of wheelchair basketball.
Through thiswonderful team of men and women, who were all adults (my son
was only 12 then) my son learned how to play basketball. He was also
introduced to
wheelchair racing, field events and swimming.
Since then, we as a familyhave made some wonderful friends all over the
country. Eddie particapated in wheelchair sports at Junior Nationals in
racing and basketball all overthe U.S. Through this exposure, he was
invited to particapate on an
international level in racing in Ireland and Australia and this past August
particapated on the Junior Mens World Cup basketball team in Canada.
Wehave been through some crazy times in the past four years, trying to
make
different meets in different states, mostly driving, who can afford to fly.
Out of all of this Eddie has achieved goals that at one time he had never
dreamed of and is now attending The University of Texas at Arlington on a
full four year wheelchair basketball scholarship.
If at anytime you feellost check out the wheelchair sports on the web,
maybe get involved, itopened a whole new world to my son and to us. Even
though Eddie is many miles away, my younger son and I still go to
basketball practice and games
and volunteer for the team as we have for the past 4 years. We have made
lifetime friends there.
It was not easy, driving my son two nights a week to practice, being there
for each game, driving to Oklahoma, Virginia, North Carolina, Wisconson,
Illinois, ect. Was it worth it?
You bet it was.
Eddie has grown up to be a fine young man particapating in a sport that he
loves and he is getting a free education besides. What more could we ask
for? Good Luck….. Denise McGee
