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There are amazing athletes all across mid-Missouri, but there's one you might know about. Derrick Helton from Tucumbia has truly made the most of an unfortunate situation, and one tells KRCG his story.
TUSCUMBIA -- Derrick Helton grew up in the country just outside Tuscumbia. He now lives in Arizona, living a life he never expected. He is a member of the national wheelchair rugby team.
His journey started about five years ago.
"I just finished high school and me and some friends were going to go join the Marine Corps," says Derrick. "I went in to do the whole processing thing and all that. And I found out I had a little partial hearing loss in my right ear. So they sent me off to a doctor to try to get a waiver so I could go head and join."
That doctor figured out it was a tumor causing Derrick's hearing loss. An MRI revealed two other tumors, one on his pituitary gland and one in his neck. When doctors removed the tumor in Derrick's neck, he got more bad news.
"There was also another tumor in my mid-spine that we didn't know about," says Derrick. "So when a spinal cord swells and the other tumor was there, it pinched off blood supply, partially paralyzing me."
Derrick was an athlete in high school and after his prognosis, he quickly searched for a way to be active. That's when he found wheelchair rugby, often referred to as murderball.
And in the last four years, Derrick has become a shining star in the sport. He is a ballhandler and plays for the University of Arizona. Derrick was also named the first alternate for Team U.S.A in the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. He is now again a member of Team U.S.A., sporting his lucky number 13.
Derrick hopes to be on the floor in London for the 2012 Paralympics.
But Derrick says wheelchair rugby, with its smash and grab way of play, has taught him more than how to play with the best of them.
"I used to think it was just a small world that ended at the fence," says Derrick. "Its opened my eyes to so much more that I didn't know was out there."
I asked Derrick why he never felt sorry for himself and how he stayed so positive. His answer is simple: things could be worse.
"Within my first couple weeks in rehab, I met some people who had smiles on their faces and were a lot worse than me," says Derrick. "And I was like, 'I don't have anything to complain about.'"
In a couple weeks, Derrick is off to train with the other members of Team U.S.A. in Alabama. In October, the team will travel to Argentina to compete against teams from Canada and South America. After that, its off to the World Championship Games in 2010, the precursor to the 2012 Paralympics.
