I don't think anyone who got to see the press conference Travis held today
either in its entirety or in pieces could not have been moved by it.
 
Travis showed a great deal of courage and heart as he made his first public
appearance since October.  He began by reading a statement for about 6-8
minutes and then he answered questions for nearly a half hour.  One of the
questions dealt with what he remembered from the accident, and he went into
great detail, taking perhaps 10 minutes to recount all of his memories and
feelings.  At times he was overcome by tears, especially when talking about
what Jack Parker has done to support him and his family, but his girlfriend
was right there to wipe the tears away and he moved on.
 
What struck me was the way in which he was quite honest about what has
happened and is clearly aware of what lies ahead of him and what challenges
face him.  Never once did he display any kind of resentment or anger.  He
didn't make any excuses or ask "what if" or why it happened (although no
one could blame him if he did so privately).  Rather, he sounded like he is
a person who has accepted his situation and intends to move forward and do
everything he can.  He really is an inspiration, because he is so positive
and upbeat.  One of the news clips showed him eating a donut and he turned
and made a face to the camera, showing that as he said in his statement,
one thing that hasn't changed is that he is still the same person he was
before the accident.
 
Also, several times he thanked all of the people in the family of college
hockey who have helped out and supported him.  He said that the cards,
notes and letters all helped and that he appreciates them.  He went on to
talk about all of the negative things that you see when you turn on the
news and that you never hear about the good things, and it clearly means a
lot to him that people expressed their support for him in all of the ways
that they did.
 
Travis also mentioned once or twice that he hopes to do whatever he can to
raise awareness about spinal injuries and he knows he can and wants to be
involved.  If what we saw today was any indication, he will be a great
spokesman and will do a lot of good.  We are lucky to have someone like him
as a member of our college hockey family.  Let's make sure we always keep
him in that family.
 
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                   [log in to unmask]            *HMM* 11/13/93
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