Extra Credit: Mark Zupan

When I first heard that Mark Zupan was coming to campus I did not know who he was or what message he was trying to get across. Then we watched Murderball in class and knew that this was someone that I wanted to see in person and hear firsthand what his story was.

                He started off by explaining what happened to him. He explained that he was injured when his friend, who had been drinking, drove home. But before he got home he crashed his truck into a pole, along with throwing Mark into a channel where he had to hold on to branches for over ten hours. In this channel were dangerous animals such as alligators, which at any moment could have ended his life.

                He then went on to explain his time in the hospital. He said that he never felt alone because there were always people there. The guests found a way to bribe the nurses with delicious food in order for them to be able to come and go whenever they wanted. Since there were always people around him, he never felt that depression that others may feel in his position that are alone in their rooms. He described his hospital stage as a somewhat positive experience.

                He was first introduced to the sport of wheelchair rugby when he went to the rehab center. He got to see that there was a sport for people who did not have capability in some of their limbs. While in the rehab center, he worked very hard. He mentioned how he never let the staff know that there was a problem. He never wanted to go back to his room because as he explained it, there was always something he could be doing. He always wanted to be active with working out or anything else he could find to do.

                A while after he got out of rehab and was able to go home, he decided he wanted to go back to school to get his engineering degree at Georgia Tech. Mark also decided to get seriously involved in the wheelchair rugby. He was putting most of his time in the rugby team and not much time in his school work. He soon found out that this wasn’t going to work. He then began going into a building on campus at all hours of the night in order to get his work completed; therefore he was able to play the sport that he had truly fallen in love with. He soon finished his schooling and got his degree in engineering, as well as becoming great at wheelchair rugby. He later made the Olympic team for the United States, and as we saw in the documentary, lost to Canada in both years. He would like to make the next Olympic team and then retire from the sport.

                Through all of his ups and downs he kept a positive outlook on life. This is what I will get most from him. He said something that really hit home with me; you only have one life, live it the way you want to. Yes, you may have obstacles that stand in your way or you may get injured and therefore have a whole new way of living your life, but you need to live it to the fullest each day. You never truly know when it will be your last, and personally, I would want my last day to have been amazing. Therefore make each and every day amazing!