On Friday October 11, 2013, WHS students attended an assembly featuring guest speaker Tyson Dever. Dever’s story left Weatherford High School students inspired and motivated long after his exit.
Dever was in a car accident on March 11, 2005 and was paralyzed from the waist down. From that day on he knew he would never walk again, and it changed his life forever. His motto is respect, overcome, lead and live, or R.O.L.L. After the assembly Dever spoke with the Grass Burr about his experience at WHS.
GB: What is your ultimate goal as far as effect/impact after you speak with a group of high school students?
TD: I can only hope what I say leaves a lasting impression and motivates students to just be motivated and reach and accomplish everything they want to do. Don’t settle!
GB: You have mentioned wheel chair basketball. How have you adapted other activities to being in a wheel chair?
TD: Its been different. You know, your still doing the same activities…same sport just out of a chair. A lot of what I do is fish and play basketball, but it is everything I’d be doing if I was walking…just in a chair. You learn to adapt to just sitting down.
GB: How do you handle days that are harder than usual? The ones like you mentioned where you wake up and wish you could run 3 miles.
TD: Yeah, there’s days where you have good days and bad days, but my motto is try and have more good minutes than bad minutes don’t let a bad minute ruin your whole day. There’s still a chance to make it positive, and so I cant remember the last time I had a bad day. Of course there is times where I wish I could walk or I wish I could do this or that. It is what it is, and at the end of the day it’s the card that I was dealt.
GB: How did your accident and becoming paralyzed from the waist down change your relationship with your friends?
TD: It effected all my friends differently. Some friends I don’t talk to anymore just because I don’t think they understand how to respond to it. Some of my friends where right there throughout the whole thing, and more than anything it shed a light on how precious life is to them as well. I was doing everything I was supposed to do, and it put me in a car accident in which I almost died. I think my closest friends value life more.