19,000 and Counting: The Steve Fetrow Story

Steve Fetrow, like all of us, has experienced his share of highs and lows. However, this former professional athlete -- and business leader -- says that it’s what happens in between that really matters. “It’s the everyday experiences that define a person,” he explains.

In 1981, a young and ambitious Fetrow was home from college, enjoying his hometown in sunny central Florida. He and fellow students looking for work during the summer months were known to log in time at the nearby phosphate mines, often pulling sixteen hour days.

On one particular day, during the early morning hours, Fetrow, who had already worked an eight hour stint, stepped onto a piece of steel grating that unbeknownst to him had been previously compromised. The floor beneath him quickly morphed into a trap door. He fell three stories, landing facedown.

“It took only a few seconds for the fall…I remember saying to myself as I was falling -- This can’t be happening, I’m just working here for the summer, this is not supposed to be happening.”

Fetrow awoke in six inches of water, knowing immediately that he had a spinal cord injury. Dragging himself out of the water, he waited thirty-minutes for a co-worker to discover him.
Initially hospitalized in Lakeland, Florida, Fetrow underwent an initial surgery, and was then transferred to Orlando for an additional series of surgeries over the next four months. However, he missed only one semester of college, and found himself back at school, determined to complete his degree.

“It was a beautiful campus that sat on a lake that was about three miles around, with a paved running and jogging path around it,” fondly recalls Fetrow. “While I was in the hospital I had become acquainted with several guys instrumental in wheelchair adaptive sports, and they were racing. As a cross-country runner in high school, I got involved in wheelchair racing from the start.”

Training every day around the lake, the town was soon forced to erect a speed limit sign, a testament to his athleticism. “It had a symbol of a runner, a roller blader, and a guy in a wheelchair…I was quite proud of that one,” he laughs.

Fetrow quickly got to know some of the best wheelchair athletes of the times, such as George Murray, who was the first wheelchair athlete to be on a Wheatie’s cereal box. His training paid off -- Fetrow began to travel the U.S.with multiple teams, racking up national and international accolades. “We were athletes, we weren’t made out of egg shells -- that was important to have that portion of my self-esteem returned,” says Fetrow. “Getting involved in wheelchair sports right from the beginning brought out a sense of my identity that I had lost.”

It was this same dedication that led Fetrow during these years to also excel at wheelchair tennis, and to eventually help lead groups such as RAD Sports (Richmond Athletes with Disabilities) and to assist in starting Sportable, an adaptive Sports & Recreation program.

While developing a reputation in the sporting arena, Fetrow began to craft a long and impressive career with General Electric, serving as a top sales representative, product trainer and process improvement leader. “At GE,” explains Fetrow, “disability was not even an issue…you had to perform and produce as much as the next person, and there was no getting around that. They wanted a good employee and they didn’t’ care about your background, or what you looked like, as long as you met their goals.”

Earning respect and admiration from peers, Fetrow says that his story is really about simple, everyday life. He explains that there is often a tendency within the general public and mainstream media to focus on what he calls the “super gimp” or a paraplegic as a super-athlete, stories that tug at your heart strings by depicting people with disabilities as inspirational charactertures with super human capabilities. Fetrow says that instead it’s “working and gutting it out day-to-day and going through the grind” that is key to understanding successful people, with and without disabilities.

“I think that whatever accomplishments we achieve in life, it’s the ones that you have to fight for that stay with you and give you the most satisfaction,” he opines. “When you have had a spinal cord injury and dealt with diversity, it helps to put all other issues into perspective, and really make it through whatever comes next.”

Today Fetrow provides such advice to the Old Dominion Chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association on a volunteer basis. As the president of the thriving chapter, he leads the nonprofit organization and its 300-pluse members in an effort to provide information and support resources for individuals with spinal cord injuries or disease, their families, health professionals, policy makers and other interested parties. He says that his mission is to enable people with spinal cord injuries and disease to achieve their highest level of independence, health, and personal fulfillment.

“I always say that before my accident there were 20,000 things that I could do, and after my accident there are now 19,000 things. Do I dwell on the few that I can’t do? Or do I go after all the ones that are possible?”

Despite an impressive career and growing list of credentials, Fetrow insists that he’s most proud of his wife and his home in Goochland County, brimming with picturesque rural acreages that he maintains. “For me, it’s just about being a good husband…I’m also an amateur photographer, I enjoy the heck out of music, I collect art, and I enjoy fishing and hand cycling. If you asked somebody to describe me -- the wheelchair part would be way down the list. It’s just one facet.”

featured story

Sara Ruh has always had big dreams. Today, she is paid to travel the world to talk about them. At 21 years of age, Ruh, who has Down syndrome, has appeared on magazine covers, educated legislatures, and effectively advocated for people with a wide array of disabilities around the globe.

>> LEARN MORE

>> MORE STORIES

breaking news

Virginia Still Is Playing Catch-Up in Disability-Rights Arena
"Each Virginian with a disability deserve to enjoy the same benefits of society and freedoms of every day life that Virginians without disabilities enjoy."
- Gov. Tim Kaine
>> MORE

College Bound 2009
College Bound 2009 Registration deadline May 31, 2009
>> MORE

>> News Archive