Students learn the importance of taking only risks that are smart
By Bill Rea

Glen Barnes presented himself from his wheelchair as one who took a risk that was not so smart, and ended up paying a heavy price.

It's never too early to start using one's head when it comes to taking risks in life.

Students at King City Secondary School recently heard from a man who made a bad choice once, and he'll likely be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his days as a result.

The school was visited by a program known as Smartrisk Heroes.

"Teenagers, blessed with the bravado of youth, believe they are immortal," stated an information and activity sheet from Smartrisk.

King Township Fire Chief Bryan Burbidge told the students he graduated from KCSS in 1989. "I had some decisions to make," he recalled, "some choices, some of them tough."

The students also heard from Steve Thomas, whose 20-year NHL career included three seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He grew up in Markham and he recalled a number of people at the time taught him the value of being focused, working hard and having a goal that he could attain. His goal was to play in the NHL, and he did.

He also commented on the importance of leadership, pointing out a leader is one who can make decisions in adverse circumstances.

"I wouldn't be here today if I didn't make the proper choices," he remarked.

But it was Glen Barnes who drew most of the attention, from his wheelchair, which is where he's been confined since an injury in the summer of 1992 left him a quadriplegic.

He was 23 at the time, and had just started a high school teaching career in Mississauga.

"A lot of people don't think about injuries because they just don't want to," he observed. "I know for a fact that it could happen to you."

"Only you can be the only one responsible for your life," Barnes added, pointing out that in most cases accidents are both predictable and preventable.

His accident occurred on a hot summer day when he was with some friends and decided to dive off a garage roof into a swimming pool and ended up breaking his neck.

Even after he had been hospitalized, Barnes said he didn't realize all the implications of his condition. He assumed he'd never walk again.

"Oh well, no big deal," he thought. "I'll just play wheel chair basketball for the rest of my life."

He changed his mind some when he came to understand just what being a quadriplegic meant.

"I began to realize that a little silly thing I had in my head of playing wheel chair basket ball for the rest of my life just wasn't going to work," he said.

Barnes added the one of the hardest things he had to cope with was the loss of bladder and bowel control. "Bathroom routines for me were now that, routines," he commented.

He also recalled his time in a rehabilitation hospital, remembering being stuck into an electric wheel chair. "They literally taped me, with rolls of tape, so I wouldn't fall out."

His learning to drive one of these devices had some amusing sides, he recalled, as he bumped into things, etc. But it was when he drove to the cafeteria and saw hundreds of other people, all in wheel chairs, that the reality sunk in.

"It finally clicked," he recalled. "I am one of these people."

Barnes said he started to get depressed, and had thoughts of ending his life. But with just limited movements in his limbs, there weren't many methods of suicide available.

"I couldn't think of anything," he said, adding he decided to figure out ways to start living.

He realized things could have been worse for him. At 23, he had already had part of an adult life.

"I decided I was going to carry on my life the best that I could," he declared.

He also said he was aided along the by a guide dog, who was with him until his recent death. The dog was a good companion for him. "He was a great chick magnet too," Barnes added.

Smartrisk stresses the point that students need to understand that in order to live healthy and active lives, they need to practise smart risk-taking behaviour. That means recognizing risks are part of life, existing in every situation. They have to be able to assess the degree of risk involved and choose their risks in the smartest way possible.