An excerpt from article, as published in the Spring 2013 issue of TrackSide magazine (tracknation.com). Link at bottom to continue. The accompanying video on David Prince, world record holder in the unilateral amputee 400-meter dash, is shown on the right.
Where there were drugs, now there is drive.
Where there were drugs, now there is drive.
Where there was a lower right leg, now there is a
prosthetic device.
Where there was a life on the brink of disaster, now
there is hope.
On March 14, 2002, David Prince’s life changed
forever. Speeding on his “crotch rocket” motorcycle while racing a Honda Civic,
pockets loaded with marijuana, Prince mishandled a turn and flew off his bike,
breaking his foot cleanly off in the process. When he came to, there may have
been an element of trauma and shock, but one would think that his first concern
would be for the location of his newly missing appendage. Instead, the first
words out of his mouth upon regaining consciousness only echoed the seriousness
of how dark and desperate his existence had become.
“Where’s the weed at?”
It was a matter of making a life readjustment.
The journey was long and bumpy; in fact, it would be
18 more months before Prince, with suicide on his mind, and garbage bags
carrying all of his possessions strewn across his mother’s front yard, had hit
bottom and finally made the statement that set him on the right path.
As he recalls now, it was as simple as honestly
admitting, “I needed to do something different.”
To continue reading, please go to page 36 of TrackSide magazine, found at http://trackstar1.tracknation.com
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