Through it all, Dublin’s James keeps pushing on

By CHRIS MILES

James, an inspirational speaker, is also a quadriplegic who has only 25 percent of the strength of an able-bodied person. But her willingness to try just about anything and be successful at it has turned the 39-year-old’s home into an athletic shrine full of trophies and medals.

“I think the best gift God gave me was determination,” James, a 1988 Dublin High School graduate, said. “That’s one of the biggest things I illustrate in my speeches. To have a disability like this, just to live life is hard, and so if you’re not determined there are so many things that can stop you.

“I’m a quadriplegic. It means my whole body is affected. Just because I can push my wheelchair doesn’t mean I have full strength.

James has competed in and finished 13 marathons since the swimming pool accident that changed her life back in 1991. She’s hoping to be back on the road again this fall when the Columbus Marathon takes place.

While not a serious athlete prior to her accident, James has found athletics in her post-injury years to be a way of meeting people and a way to get those competitive juices flowing.

She’s claimed the Outstanding Female Athlete award three times at the Ohio Wheelchair Games (1999, 2003, 2005) and has amassed more than 240 medals and trophies in wheelchair track and field, swimming, weightlifting and air rifle.

“People have different personalities,” she said. “Some people are competitive and some people aren’t. I think I’ve always had that competitive desire. I remember in sixth grade that if you got good grades, you got an award; things like that have motivated me.

“I was on the honor roll in (high school) and dean’s list (in college). I saw something I wanted and I worked really hard to get it. I’m a hard worker. If I see something, I like I go for it.

“That’s what I like about wheelchair sports. It gives me a chance to do something competitive. There are a lot of things I can’t necessarily do, but this gives me the opportunity to compete, to be active, meet people and have fun.”

Success hasn’t been limited to the athletic field for James. She was the 2002 Ms. Wheelchair Ohio and second runner-up Ms. Wheelchair America that same year. She’s also co-authored a pair of books and hopes to continue to be an inspiration to those around her.

“I like to tell newly injured spinal patients that there are still things you can do that can give your life a lot of variety,” James said. “Just because you’re in a wheelchair doesn’t mean you want to sit all day, you want to be out and be active.

“As an inspirational speaker, I use a lot of things I’ve learned in life in my speeches.”

One of the most significant was finishing her first New York City Marathon more than a decade ago.

“Somebody encouraged me to do it,” she said. “I didn’t think I was strong enough and I didn’t have a racing chair. I was also a little afraid of NYC. But I thought I could try, so I started training and seven months later I found myself in New York City.

“In all my training up to that point, I had never gone more than 12 miles, so I knew it would take me forever.”

It took the first-time marathoner, who was accompanied by her mother Helen, 111/2 hours to finish, but it turned out to be an eye-opening experience.

“I really wanted to quit,” James said. “I remembered the finish line, I remembered someone telling me everyone that finished got a medal and I wanted that medal.

“When I finished I said I would never do it again, but that empowered me and I started to ask myself, ‘What else can I do?’ ”

Inspiring others and living a full life despite her disability has James focused on the future.

“People have a lot of obstacles in life and you need determination to get through those. That’s what I illustrate — whether it’s starting a career, or pushing through the down times in life — you got to keep pushing.”

James can be reached at her website: meetstacyjames.com.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 at 3:20 pm and is filed under Stacy in the News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.