He did it! Roy Henson walks for Relay

Hundreds cheer as he leaves his wheelchair to sprint down Central field

By DONNA HICKMAN
Daily Journal Staff Writer

PARK HILLS — The game between Central and St. Vincent Friday was a squeaker. Central won 13-12.  And what happened after the game kept these sports fans cheering. Roy Henson took the field.

Throughout the night, announcer Harvey Faircloth had told the crowd about Henson’s pledge to leave his wheelchair and walk as far as he could down the football field as a way to raise money for the Relay For Life of St. Francois County. For weeks, Henson has been taking donations and pledges for every yard he could walk. He’d sold T-shirts at the game that read, “Roy’s 50-yard Challenge.” By the fourth quarter, he said he’d raised about $5,000 in donations and pledges. But he was getting nervous.

“If I ever say I want to do anything like this again, shoot me!” he told a friend who came to wish him well.

Henson, born with Cerebral Palsy, will turn 39 on Sept. 13 and he has spent almost all of his life in a wheelchair. He got the idea for the fundraiser one day recently when he got out of that chair and walked a few steps as he wore a Relay For Life T-shirt. He’s been working out to strengthen his legs and practicing on the field ever since.

As the end of the game grew closer, the crowd grew larger.

“There’s a lot of people here tonight who aren’t here to watch the game,” said Aaron Murray. “They came to see Roy.”

Murray was one of a number of former and current students at Mineral Area College who came to watch Henson. He’s the Assessment Room Supervisor at MAC and dozens of his co-workers were there as well as more than a few people who said they read about the challenge in the Daily Journal.

“I went to high school with Roy at North County — class of 1988,” said Chris Brenon. “He never ceases to amaze me. When we were in school together, he was at every practice and every game. He was an inspiration to all of us.”

Henson kept a wary eye on the scoreboard clock as his friends rallied around him to determine the best path for him to take across the field. All the rain from the previous week had made the field slippery in some spots.

As the buzzer sounded and the Rebels claimed their victory,  it seemed as if nobody was going home. After a few minutes for the football teams, referees and coaches to wrap up, Tom Gibson pushed Henson to the center of the field. The two teams that had been rivals just moments before, gathered along either side of the path Henson would take. Hundreds of others crowded onto the field to line the route chanting “Roy, Roy, Roy!”

They applauded in rhythm as they chanted. Some shouted, “You can do it, Roy!” and “You Go Roy!”

A group of kids yelled, “We believe in you, Roy!”

Finally, after some words of encouragement from Gibson,  Henson carefully got out of his wheelchair and sat for just a few moments on his knees. The crowd cheered louder. Then, with all the determination he could muster, he rose to his feet. He quickly put one foot in front of the other in a dash down the field. Cameras clicked. Video cameras rolled. The cheers and applause grew even louder with every step.

He made it all the way to the 38-yard line before he collapsed to the ground. He hadn’t quite achieved the yardage he had hoped for, but nobody seemed to care. He had walked. In just over a minute, he had walked farther than most people ever dreamed he could.

“It may have been only 38 yards, but to the rest of us, that’s like walking 100 miles!” said a jubilant Gibson. “He’s something else.”

His cousin, Ellen Tripp, who had helped take donations during the game, was too overcome with emotion to speak.

His mother was elated.

“I’m one proud mama,” said Linda Henson, who had seen her son walk farther than he had in years. “I think he’s wonderful! I think he’s great!”

The crowd swarmed around Roy — offering congratulations and more donations. St. Vincent’s coach brought a contribution from his team.

“I think it’s so appropriate he did this on the night when the American Cancer Society is sponsoring ‘Stand Up To Cancer’ on TV,” said Arlene Jones, a member of the Relay For Life committee.

Dave Bahr, who graduated from North County with Roy, is also the chairman of the 2009 Relay For Life. He stood nearby, watching all the adulation for his friend, and said Roy has set the bar pretty high for raising money for the event.

Henson’s walk lasted a mere 85 seconds, but the memory may stay with the crowd for a whole lot longer. 

Roy will still accept donations, hoping to eventually bring his total to $10,000. Checks made out to the American Cancer Society may be sent to him at Mineral Area College, c/o Roy Henson, P. O. Box 1000, Park Hills, Mo. 63601.

The next Relay For Life will be in July.

 

Donna Hickman is a reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact her at 431-2010, ext. 138 or at dhickman@dailyjournalonline.com.

 

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