[Sportsandrec] "A life reinvented: InnerView: Greg DeWall finds peace, success after troubled teen years"

[Cervenka, Stacy (Brownback)]

>From the Chico Enterprise-Record

Photo 1 Caption, "Greg DeWall, 29, won the bronze medal in judo at the
Paralympic Games in Beijing, and in the spring, he will graduate from
Chico State University. (Bill Husa/Staff Photo)"

Photo 2 Caption, "Greg DeWall spent his first years of blindness with
Macbeth, his seeing eye dog. Macbeth is now 9, retired and the family
pet. (Bill Husa/Staff Photo)."

A life reinvented: InnerView: Greg DeWall finds peace, success after
troubled teen years By MARY NUGENT - Staff Writer Article Launched:
11/06/2008 12:00:00 AM PST

CHICO - Greg DeWall will graduate from Chico State University in the
spring. In September, he returned with a bronze medal in judo from the
2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China.

Of course, he said, he'd hoped for a gold medal. "But I was glad to get
the bronze, it meant a lot. I'd like to go back and try again."

DeWall, 29, said his family traveled to Beijing for the event, which
features athletes with disabilities competing in Olympic events.

"My family was very supportive ... If my mom and my sister have anything
to say about it, I'll be at the Paralympics in 2012."

At the Paralympics, he was a brown belt in judo. He has since achieved
black belt, first rank.

The Paralympic success is an example of how DeWall has spent the last
decade reinventing his life.

He said as a high school senior in 1997, his expectations were
unrealistic when he made a life-altering choice. "I describe it as a
self-inflicted gunshot injury," he says.

"At the time, I was overwhelmed. But I should have dealt with it in a
better way." The attempted suicide left him blind.

At 17, his concerns were those of a normal teenage boy. "All I really
cared about was my truck, my girlfriend and the next wrestling
tournament. But I was graduating in six months and I had decisions to
make. I had a lot of good options - the military, college or work.

"I put so much pressure on myself. I really thought I needed to know
what I was going to do with the rest of my life."

He has learned that at 17, most high school students don't know, nor
should they be expected to know. "Today I tell kids, go to junior
college. Take the time to find out what you really want to do."

DeWall had always been an athlete. After undergoing reconstructive
surgeries and adapting to a more sedentary life, he found himself
gaining weight.

His doctor suggested judo, because it's a "blind-friendly sport,"DeWall
said. He began taking judo at Haley's Martial Arts. "I took to it right
away, it felt very natural. I didn't plan on competition, but as a
physical outlet a couple of times a week. And I lost 25 pounds."

He became a member of the Chico Judo Club, the Blind Judo Foundation and
the U.S. Paralympic Judo Team. He liked the competitive aspect.

"We fight sighted people. In judo, there is no striking - no punching or
kicking. It's about technique and speed."

He also placed fifth in the 2007 International Blind Sports Federation
World Judo Games in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and won a silver medal the same
year at the Para Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

"I will always be involved in some way with judo. I know what judo does
for me, the balance of body and mind."

DeWall has made new friends, and has traveled to attend various
activities with them. "There is a small blind community in Chico, but I
have many blind friends."

He remembers a trip with other blind folks to Washington, D.C. "We went
tandem kayaking on the Potomac River," he said.

He recently attended a convention for the blind in Dallas, Texas.

"There were 2,500 blind people there. I spoke on a panel as a blind
athlete."

This spring, DeWall will receive a degree in recreation administration,
with a focus of therapeutic recreation.

"I'll probably have to go to a big city, at least for a while, because
there are more jobs ... What I'd really like to do is work with kids in
a hospital cancer ward. I would definitely like to work with kids. They
have a way of helping you, way more than you help them."

There is a side bar to the article entitled, "In a nutshell"

Name: Greg DeWall

Hometown: Chico

Age: 29

For fun: "If I'm on the water, I'm happy. I like fishing, waterskiing,
wakeboarding. I'm a woodworker. I started that before I lost my sight.
Mostly now I make shelves and jewelry boxes. At an independent living
center in Albany, they had a wood shop and it was great. I'd like to
make furniture, bigger things."

At the invitation of teachers, he speaks to students about suicide: "I
tell them, things change day to day. You can be having a really bad day,
and the next one can be awesome. You never know. If you're thinking
about suicide, wait one more day.

"That's what I tell them: Wait one more day."

Staff writer Mary Nugent can be reached at 896-7764 or
mnugent at chicoer.com.