By Marc Raimondi
The ride to Roosevelt Island was exactly how one would expect it to be: boisterous teenagers goofing off and joking around. There was plenty of laughing on the way to Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital and Nursing Facility April 16 as high-school basketball players from all over the five boroughs, Long Island and Westchester visited patients part of the criteria to play in the Wheelchair Basketball Classic tournament last week at Long Island University.
But the ride back was conspicuous in its silence. Players forgot all about the upcoming games. The only thing on their minds were the patients, some of whom were quadraplegics, some who were unable to talk or communicate with others at all.
“I think I speak for everyone when I say it changed all our lives,” Campus Magnet senior Nathaniel Wilson said.
For the last 35 years, Hank Carter, founder of Wheelchair Charities, Inc., has run the event to raise money to better the lives of paraplegic and quadraplegic patients at Goldwater. Carter, a Queensbridge native, started the organization after his friend Al (Tjader) Fogle, was paralyzed from the chest down after being caught in the crossfire of a shootout in the housing projects where both lived.
Since its inception, Wheelchair Charities has raised more funds over $21 million than any other organization in the United States for any hospital.
The Wheelchair Basketball Classic tournament is only one of the events the organization runs. The four-day-long tournament for boys' and girls' teams broken down into boroughs and regions raised $6,000 and had a profound effect on the players. Players were also required to write an essay about their experience at the hospital. Molloy's Kerri White and Edison's Allan Thomas were voted the best essay writers for the Queens squads.
“It makes me appreciate life more,” Mary Louis senior Kelly Puwalski said. “It definitely taught me not to take things for granted.”
The Queens/Long Island boys' team lost to Brooklyn in the third-place game April 23 and the Queens/Long Island girls' team fell to Manhattan last Thursday. But wins and losses didn't seem to matter after the hospital visit.
“Just seeing those people, just seeing the smiles on their faces even though they have to struggle to wake up every day was inspiring,” Francis Lewis senior Sylvia Davis said.
Said Holy Cross senior Blaise Ffrench: “Every kid should play in this game.”
Reach Associate Sports Editor Marc Raimondi by e-mail at mraimondi@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 130.
