Deaf football player pens account of rock bottom and the climb back <\/p>\n
By Carol Cole-Frowe <\/p>\n
THE NORMAN TRANSCRIPT (NORMAN, Okla.) <\/p>\n
NORMAN, Okla. \u2014 Football gave so much to Eric Thunander. <\/p>\n
In high school, it gave the deaf young man a way out of a tough
\nchildhood and some normalcy despite his disability. In college, it
\ngave him identity, pride, a sense of belonging and a huge,
\ndiamond-encrusted ring from his gridiron contribution to the
\nUniversity of Oklahoma\u2019s 2000 National Championship team. <\/p>\n
But when it took away his dream, it almost took away his life. <\/p>\n
The former OU defensive end remembers what it was like to hit rock
\nbottom. <\/p>\n
After a head injury that ended his promising football career, and a
\npainful divorce, Thunander downed much of a fifth of Jack Daniels, put
\na single bullet in a revolver, put the gun barrel to his head and
\npulled the trigger. <\/p>\n
Click. <\/p>\n
There was no bullet in that first chamber. But if Thunander had
\npulled the trigger just one more time, it likely would have been
\nfatal. And he realized how far he had fallen. <\/p>\n
Thunander called his friend and the man who recruited him,
\nco-defensive football coach Brent Venables, who had believed in and
\nencouraged the young man who has 95 percent hearing loss in his left
\near and 92 percent loss in his right. With hearing aids, he calls
\nhimself \u201cvery hard of hearing.\u201d <\/p>\n
And about a week later, OU\u2019s head coach Bob Stoops called back. <\/p>\n
\u201cHey Thundercat! How have you been?\u201d Thunander remembers Stoops
\nasking, using the nickname Stoops gave him from an old cartoon strip. <\/p>\n
Stoops inquired as to what he was doing the next semester and offered
\nThunander a chance to return to OU on a football scholarship, a rarity
\nin college sports for an injured player. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have a second chance and a second lease on life and I almost
\nthrew it away,\u201d Thunander said. <\/p>\n
Thunander tells his story of despair, hope, tenacity and resilience
\nin his new autobiography, \u201cSilent Thunder,\u201d about how he created
\nsuccess for himself despite a childhood of chronic abuse and bouncing
\namong multiple foster homes. And he talks about turning points and how
\nhis OU \u201cfamily\u201d saved his life. <\/p>\n
Stoops and OU President David Boren wrote the forewords. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou may not appreciate just how great a victory he has won until
\nyou read the story, but trust me; he has endured tribulations that
\nwould have devastated many of us,\u201d Stoops wrote. \u201cCollege coaches
\nare often cited for the way they motivate others. Truth be told, it is
\noften these same young men that motivate coaches. Eric was that kind
\nof player for me. He has impacted my life in a positive way and I know
\nhe does the same for so many others.\u201d <\/p>\n
Thunander said he penned \u201cSilent Thunder\u201d for himself. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was caught in the past and I thought maybe if I write it down
\nand read it and put it inside so I can start moving forward \u2026
\nbecause I was kind of hanging here in limbo,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
But along the way, he found when he spoke to individuals and groups,
\nthey would draw inspiration from his experiences. And it gave him a
\ngoal of becoming a motivational speaker. He now has a bachelor\u2019s
\ndegree from OU in communications. <\/p>\n
\u201cBeing a motivational speaker to me is when I\u2019m in my element,”
\nhe said. “Even though it\u2019s really strange, with me being deaf, I
\nalways have this urge to talk.\u201d <\/p>\n
As a child, his hearing mother didn\u2019t want to learn sign language.
\nShe wanted Thunander to read lips and speak. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe would force me to talk,\u201d he said. \u201cYou know, it kind of
\ngave me a connection with the hearing world, but growing up with the
\nenvironment I was in didn\u2019t help much either.\u201d <\/p>\n
He went to mainstream schools in California and later in Lee\u2019s
\nSummit, Mo. <\/p>\n
But he also was a victim of abuse from two of his mother\u2019s three
\nhusbands, he said. He was moved from foster home to foster home. <\/p>\n
When he was 13, he saw a story about Kenny Walker, a deaf football
\nplayer for the University of Nebraska, who went on to play for the
\nDenver Broncos in the 1990s. And he thought football might be
\nsomething he could be good at. <\/p>\n
So play football he did, priding himself on working \u201cfive times as
\nhard as any other player.\u201d Thunander was ranked in high school as
\nthe 58th-best player in the Midlands by SuperPrep magazine. He
\nregistered 242 career tackles, with 90 tackles, two interceptions and
\ntwo fumble recoveries as a senior at Lee\u2019s Summit. He was part of
\nLee\u2019s Summit\u2019s mile relay team that set the state record. <\/p>\n
He was recruited by almost three dozen college programs \u2014 until
\nthey would learn he was deaf and somehow forget him. <\/p>\n
OU was the exception. Thunander was offered a scholarship and found a
\nnew home, something that surprised his Lee\u2019s Summit teammates, some
\nof whom said he didn\u2019t deserve it. <\/p>\n
But Thunander didn\u2019t believe them. He knew he\u2019d outworked almost
\neverybody for the opportunity to play university ball. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy (OU) teammates accepted me and I never had that in high school.
\nI found a family in the OU community,\u201d Thunander said. <\/p>\n
One day in his political science class taught by Boren, the subject
\nturned to welfare reform. <\/p>\n
Thunander shared his story with the class and how he had worked his
\nway past hard times. He told Boren and his classmates that he had
\nfound his family. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that was always his dream,\u201d Thunander said of Boren, a
\nformer Oklahoma governor and U.S. senator who said his primary goal
\nwas creating a sense of community at OU. <\/p>\n
He would learn that Boren sometimes used that story \u2014 of Thunander
\ntalking to his fellow students and uplifting them. <\/p>\n
In his foreword, Boren calls Thunander\u2019s story \u201can inspiring
\nstory of individual strength built upon a remarkable capacity to love
\nand to forgive.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is also a call for us to realize the difference that we can
\nmake in the lives of others through friendship and mentorship,\u201d he
\nwrites. <\/p>\n
Thunander found his faith about a year ago, which brought a new focus
\nand joy to his life. <\/p>\n
\u201cAfter I finally found God, everything started to make sense,\u201d he
\nsaid. <\/p>\n
As Thunander\u2019s hearing continues to fade, he is considering
\ncochlear implants. But there is a stigma attached to the technological
\nadvance and he\u2019s struggling with the decision. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe deaf community looks down on it. They think the cochlear
\nimplant is trying to kill their culture, with the sign language and
\nthe facial expressions. They look down on deaf people trying to speak
\nor wearing a hearing aid or a cochlear implant,\u201d Thunander said. <\/p>\n
But he also feels that one of his goals is to help bridge the hearing
\nworld with the deaf world. And he would like to work to update the
\nAmericans with Disabilities Act. <\/p>\n
\u201cI want to focus more on positive things for the deaf community.
\nAnd I want to help focus them on the way they think,\u201d said
\nThunander, who describes himself as a quiet guy who leads by example.
\n\u201cIf you want to be successful, here\u2019s what you need to do. You
\ndon\u2019t sit around and complain about it. You go out and do what you
\nsay you\u2019re going to do.\u201d <\/p>\n
What does he want to tell people? <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s how you pick yourself up and move forward. \u2026 If you put
\nyour faith in yourself, the only person who\u2019s holding you back is
\nyourself,\u201d Thunander said. <\/p>\n
Carol Cole-Frowe writes for The Norman (Okla.) Transcript. <\/p>\n
Link:
\nhttp:\/\/www.corsicanadailysun.com\/religion\/cnhinsfaith_story_118092703.html<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
BETTER IP RELAY – EVERYWHERE! i711.com makes all your relay calls better.
\nBetter web calls. Better wireless calls. Better AIM calls. Why settle for
\nordinary IP relay? Go beyond! Try http:\/\/www.i711.com for free today!<\/p>\n
NEW! Try out our Deaf Network of Texas Calendar! Go to
\nhttp:\/\/calendar.deafnetwork.com <\/p>\n
NOTE: deafnetwork.com does not endorse any of the products, vendors,
\nconsultants, or documentation referenced in this message or. Any mention of
\nvendors, products, or services is for informational purposes only.<\/p>\n
Powered by http:\/\/www.CrazyWebHosting.com<\/p>\n
If you do not want to receive any more newsletters,
\nhttp:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/list\/?p=unsubscribe&uid=23e6b0ac27edebd2b6f52f1354859234<\/p>\n
To update your preferences and to unsubscribe visit
\nhttp:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/list\/?p=preferences&uid=23e6b0ac27edebd2b6f52f1354859234
\nForward a Message to Someone
\nhttp:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/list\/?p=forward&uid=23e6b0ac27edebd2b6f52f1354859234&mid=1663<\/p>\n
—
\nPowered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com —<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Deaf football player pens account of rock bottom and the climb back By Carol Cole-Frowe THE NORMAN TRANSCRIPT (NORMAN, Okla.) NORMAN, Okla. \u2014 Football gave so much to Eric Thunander. In high school, it gave the deaf young man a…<\/p>\n