The Moment Harlon Matthews Decided That His Life’s Purpose Is To Help Others

Editor’s Note: After a major accident, illness or life-changing catastrophe, we have to find out who we are, who we are going to become and how we will get through life differently than originally planned. A wise person asks these questions and diligently searches for the answers to them. Some find the answers quickly, but for others, the answer takes longer. However, the answer is always there for those who seek it. Part 4 of a 5 part series.

Harlon Matthews’ motivation to help others is contagious!

Matthews was encouraged by two world class athletes. Randy Snow told him that he was a natural born athlete and Karin Korb became a positive mentor. However, Matthews’ view of life completely changed after one significant moment at the sports camp in Warm Springs. ”We played rugby at this camp,” Matthews explains. “This sport is primarily for quadriplegics, but paraplegics played too, so they could at least see what it was like. On my team was a boy named Nate, who was in a power chair that he operated with a head rest. We were substituting in and out during the game, and I said to another player on my team, ‘Let’s give the ball to Nate.’ I got the ball and put it in Nate’s lap. Nate couldn’t move his arms at all, and the ball fell out of his lap. I picked up the ball and wedged it between his arm and his leg rest, so that it couldn’t fall out. Then, the rest of the team and myself started blocking for Nate. Nate got through the traffic and scored. You could tell this moment was huge for him. I realized I was a part of his success and enabled him to score. In that one moment when I saw Nate’s face and saw what an accomplishment this was, I realized that’s what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”

Harlon Matthews is always reaching out to others with a helping hand.

Matthews’ path in life was not about what he didn’t have, but what he could do for others to help them meet their potential. He learned that his life was about what he could do for others. He was a natural born athlete, a compassionate person and someone who was willing to help others. 

Today Matthews is the Wheelchair Sports Coordinator for Parks and Recreation in Henry County, Georgia. Matthews explains, “What was really cool was sports, which I’d always loved, were the tools that created this transformation in me. I had a rebirth of energy, and I now knew what my life was all about, and what my purpose in life was. As I look back over my life, I now see that everything I’d experienced from day one of my disability was moving me toward this sports camp and this learning experience. All the times I suffered through with my disability were being used to mold me into the person I am today.”

Next: Harlon Matthews Says Don’t Fight Your Disability, Use It To Your Advantage

About the Author: For the last 12 years, John E. Phillips of Vestavia, Alabama, has been a professional blogger for major companies, corporations and tourism associations throughout the nation. During his 24 years as Outdoor Editor for “The Birmingham Post-Herald” newspaper, he published more than 7,000 newspaper columns and sold more than 100,000 of his photos to newspapers, magazines and internet sites. He also hosted a radio show that was syndicated at 27 radio stations; created, wrote and sold a syndicated newspaper column that ran in 38 newspapers for more than a decade; and wrote and sold more than 30 books. Learn more at http://www.nighthawkpublications.com

Quadriplegic Ashleigh Justice’s Adventures In Rehab And Rugby

Editor’s Note: Fifteen year old Ashleigh Justice of Phoenix, Arizona, was driving her family vehicle when tragedy struck and changed her life forever. She explains that, “The one glimmer of hope in this world when I was injured physically and mentally and having to adjust to family problems, housing problems and school problems was rehab.” Part 4 of a 5 part series.

The first 2 weeks of rehab I couldn’t do anything for myself. I was still moving very slowly, because of my brain injury. I was in a mental fog and had a very difficult time thinking. I also had a broken collar bone and shoulder blade  I couldn’t do anything on my left side. However, when that part of my body began to heal, I started learning how to do transfers. I never will forget what a big accomplishment being able to make that first transfer from my wheelchair was. Being able to transfer myself was my first real triumph since the accident. My next triumph was when I was able to write my own name, since I had limited mobility in my hands. Next, being able to lean over in my wheelchair and being able to pick something up off the floor was my next big accomplishment. When I could pick up my hairbrush, I felt like I was really getting better. When you lose all your physical abilities, including your bowel functions, and life breaks you down that much, then when you start to have little successes, they become major triumphs. You appreciate the little triumphs too and start to love them. I developed a love for everything I could do. I feel like even now that I’m always recovering. But, my initial recovery took about 3 years. That’s when I began to accept who I was and started participating in wheelchair sports.

Ashleigh Justice wasn't able to do many day to day things in rehab, but she pulled herself out of that hole and made many accomplishments.

One of the major benefits I got from wheelchair sports was that I didn’t feel guilty or self conscious for being in a wheelchair and having to rely on others to help me. Wheelchair sports allowed me to express myself and to regain the personality I’d had before my injury.  I finally loved who I was. My favorite sport was wheelchair rugby, which was one of the few sports that a quadriplegic could do. I had some mentors from the hospital who played wheelchair rugby, and they encouraged me to try the sport. I went to a rugby clinic and fell in love with it. I was able to learn so much from my rugby teammates. Nationally only about six or seven girls played wheelchair rugby, and I was the only girl on my team. Rugby was challenging enough to allow me to feel like I was really accomplishing my goal of getting better.

Rugby made Ashleigh Justice feel great!

The competition was level enough that I didn’t feel like I was being overshadowed by the boys. I was a player – I wasn’t just a girl or just a quadriplegic. To be honest, I really enjoyed knocking the boys down. When I could knock a guy out of his chair, I really felt awesome. But, most of the time, they knocked themselves over trying to get to me. My being able to snatch the ball away from a guy or passing the ball over his head really made the guys angry, and then they’d come after me. They didn’t back off just because I was a girl. The day before I met my husband was the last rugby tournament I ever played.  

About Ashleigh Justice
As a 10-year veteran of SCI and TBI,  Ashleigh has lived with her injuries (the result of a rollover car accident) since she was 15 and has overcome many challenges, including most recently, becoming a parent. She has spent many years mentoring other people with SCI and has discovered that with the right attitude and the right amount of knowledge, nothing is impossible. Today, Ashleigh writes a blog for brain and spinal cord injured individuals (quadriplegia mainly) called The QuadFiles, sponsored by AdvisaCare.  It’s a compilation of resources, stories and motivations – see www.theQuadfiles.com for details. 

Next: Life After Wheelchair Rugby With Quadriplegic Ashleigh Justice

About the Author: For the last 12 years, John E. Phillips of Vestavia, Alabama, has been a professional blogger for major companies, corporations and tourism associations throughout the nation. During his 24 years as Outdoor Editor for “The Birmingham Post-Herald” newspaper, he published more than 7,000 newspaper columns and sold more than 100,000 of his photos to newspapers, magazines and internet sites. He also hosted a radio show that was syndicated at 27 radio stations; created, wrote and sold a syndicated newspaper column that ran in 38 newspapers for more than a decade; and wrote and sold more than 30 books. Learn more at http://www.nighthawkpublications.com