Benefit to help paralyzed local man with can-do attitude
ORANGE CITY -- It was a dark road on an early January morning.
Joshuah Roy was driving his pickup home from a monster truck rally. He had just dropped off some friends when he fell asleep at the wheel. The truck went out of control, flipped three times, ejecting the 20-year-old Orange City resident and leaving him paralyzed from the mid-torso down.
At exactly 2:45 a.m. Jan. 26 on U.S. 17-92, Roy's life changed, not only physically, but financially.
While Roy has family support, the staggering costs of ongoing medical and living expenses have been a drain, so the family is inviting the public to a fundraising barbecue and auction Saturday afternoon at the Volusia County Fairgrounds.
"I remember only bits and pieces," Roy said, his tall, thin frame folded into his wheelchair. "I remember hitting my head real hard on the roof of the truck and then waking up in the hospital."
It took another 24 hours for the reality of paralysis to sink in. Then the DeLand High School grad decided he wasn't going to spend the rest of his life sitting down.
"I like challenges. Now, every day is a challenge and that keeps me going," he said. "I know I am going to walk again. It is just a matter of time."
Roy said there have already been some positive signs. Earlier this week he was able to move his legs slightly and then during therapy, he moved his toes.
"That was definitely a good day," he said. But he knows he is in for a long hard fight.
"I am taking things day by day," Roy said.
Such a can-do attitude has always been a trait of her son, said Lisa Roy.
When he was 7, he dived into the family pool after his younger brother, who had fallen in, and pushed him to the surface "like Shamu." He also helped his father, Kevin, in the family landscaping business from a very early age, an interest that sparked a desire to eventually return to school and get a degree in landscape architecture.
While such goals are on hold for now, Joshuah Roy said they are by no means gone.
He already talked to a co-worker about pursuing his career ambitions from a wheelchair.
"You can do almost everything digitally," he said.
His experience has changed Roy's perception of life. Before the accident, it was work and having fun, but now he said he knows there is more out there.
"This has made me realize what is important," he said.
In addition to offering emotional support and transport to and from thrice-weekly therapy sessions, his parents converted their garage into a wheelchair-friendly apartment for their son.
"One of the biggest lessons I have learned is family is the best thing you can have," he said. "They are always there for you."
The Roy family will have a benefit at 4 p.m. Saturday, at the Townsend Pavilion at the Volusia County Fairgrounds off S.R. 44 east of DeLand.
The event will feature live music and entertainment, barbecue, silent auction and drawings for everything from a surfboard to golf tickets, vacation packages and theme park tickets.
The ticket are available at the door at $6 per person.