“Be the best you can possibly be,” Travis Roy, who sustained a spinal cord injury in 1995, told physical therapy students and faculty members at UND recently.  The motivational speaker, author and fund-raiser told students to “approach your patient with a smile and a positive, optimistic outlook.”

On Oct. 20, 1995, Travis Roy, of the Boston University (BU) hockey team, was injured in a game against UND.  Only 11 seconds into his first game as a BU player, Roy was slammed into the boards. His fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae were broken and he sustained severe spinal cord damage, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. Yet, in the aftermath, by working with his physical therapist, he has since regained use of his right bicep and can move his right arm.

This fall, Roy, a motivational speaker, author and fundraiser, visited UND and gave a talk, “A Change in Plans — Setting Goals and Establishing Values to Make Them Come True,” for the public at the Fritz Auditorium.  He also took time to speak with UND physical therapy students and faculty about how to handle patients dealing with severe injuries.

His message to the physical therapy class:  “Be the best you can possibly be” in the physical therapy field, otherwise it’s a disservice to patients. He recalled a physical therapist who concentrated on having him try to flex his right wrist and fingers, but only patients who have broken the sixth vertebrae and lower are able to move those.

The physical therapist should have known this and, by not focusing on his right bicep muscle, which Roy could move, she was not making the most of their time. With insurance being as it is, he said, maximizing therapy time is key.
 
Setting clear goals for the patient is also very important, Roy said. A physical therapist with whom he had a good experience told him they would work on strengthening his right bicep so he would be able to feed himself and operate the joystick on his wheelchair. 

The more a patient is “clued in about why you’re doing what you’re doing,” he said, the more effective and easier the rehabilitation process.
 
Little things make all the difference, he stressed. Roy talked of an experience he had at a hospital where images of butterflies and flowers were painted on the ceiling. For those who have to lay on their backs most of the day it is a huge relief, he said, from staring at plain white ceiling tiles.

A good attitude is also important. No matter how challenging or negative a previous patient may have been, it is imperative to move on to the next patient with a smile and a positive, optimistic outlook, he said, because it rubs off on the patient.  Always educate patients on new technologies, he added, because, even if they can’t afford it right away, they know it’s there and can work on a way to get it.
 
In 1997 the Travis Roy Foundation was established to help spinal cord injury survivors and to fund research for a cure.  More than $2.5 million in individual grants has been distributed across North America.  Funds have been used to modify vans and purchase wheelchairs, computers, ramps, shower chairs, and other adaptive equipment to help paraplegics and quadriplegics live their lives.

In 1998, Roy’s book about his life, “Eleven Seconds,” was published by Warner Books.  He lives in Boston.