Making smart choices: Speaker urges students to use their heads in matters of safety
By Sarah Sly, Reporter
What if the difference between walking and being bound to a wheelchair for life was as easy as making the right choice?
Voices for Injury Prevention speaker (VIP) Chad Thomas paid a visit to West Hancock High School Monday to get students thinking of exactly that. He told students they do have a choice to do the right thing when it comes to their safety.
Thomas, a personal injury survivor, travels to schools all over the state in hopes to educate students and promote injury awareness.
“The personal anecdote really got the students thinking,” said West Hancock High School Guidance Counselor Mary Clark.
Thomas, a recent graduate of Spirit Lake High School at the time, fell asleep at the wheel the evening of July 17, 1998. After the vehicle veered off the road and hit a field entrance, he and his vehicle were launched into the air, resulting in several rollovers.
During the time of the crash, Thomas was not wearing his seat belt, allowing his body to slam into the console. Thomas suffered a punctured lung, broken shoulder and a shattered spinal cord, which resulted in paralysis from the waist down.
“At the time of his incident, Thomas was a recent high school graduate like many of our students are about to be,” Clark said. “It's pretty realistic when you think about it.”
Thomas now serves as program director for Iowa Health System's “Think First Iowa.”
While at West Hancock, he discussed the risk in which most Iowans among the ages of 15-24 are at when failure to practice typical safety precautions occurs. As a survivor, Thomas' factual segment about his life-altering accident struck a chord with students in the audience.
Thomas went on to describe the differences in his life then until now. He described his typical morning routine takes nearly two hours now, as opposed to the mere 15 minutes he spent every morning 11 years ago.
“The bottom line was to always wear your seatbelt,” Clark said. “His injury was completely preventable, and he now knows what he could have done to prevent it.”
Thomas also used the unfortunate accidents of others and annual statistics to promote his purpose for speaking to students Monday. The notion that students have the choice to do the right thing was important to impress upon the audience, as Thomas spends a great deal of his career traveling to area schools promoting his desire to keep individuals safe.
But buckling up wasn't the main emphasis of his presentation however, as injuries also result in the when individuals fail to wear helmets, drive chemically free, avoid violent situations and check the depth of water prior to entry.
“It's just the little things that can make all the difference,” Clark said. “That was another area he hit hard on, because as we all know, it can only take a few seconds before your life is changed forever.”
More than 5,000 Iowans experience brain and spinal cord injuries every year Thomas said. Use your mind to protect your body was another emphasis within Thomas' presentation Monday, as most injuries are preventable It just takes a second to think about how to avert them that can mean the difference between life and death Thomas said.
For more information on Thomas or Think First programming, visit www.thinkfirstiowa.com.
Story created Nov 03, 2009 - 17:08:27 CST.
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