these athletes are as competitive
and determined as any. It's only
necessary to see one practice to re-
alize that.
"Once you do it for awhile, you
don't see the chairs anymore," said
Dr. Pierce. "You just see a bas-
ketball game. They just want to
be thought of and treated like ath-
letes — elite or otherwise."
One of the elite members of the
Thunderbirds is Kris Lenzo,
whose legs were cut off by a card-
board compactor in a 1979 indus-
trial accident. Lenzo, 37, had
played recreational league bas-
ketball in college.
He has been a part of two Na-
tional Wheelchair Basketball As-
sociation championship teams
(1985 and 1995) and has partici-
pated in track and field at the
Para-Olympics. He's competed in
wheelchair races at every distance
from 100 to 5,000 meters, spe-
cializing in the 100, 200 and 400.
He's also done road races from
10 kilometers to marathons.
After his accident, "I think I did
a lot of grieving early on," said
Lenzo, who lives in East Lansing.
"When I was in the hospital, rd be
upset about it all the time. But as
time went on, I met other people
with disabilities and people with
disabilities like mine. And I found
that the things I really liked to do
I could still do."
It's likely that Lenzo has the
same affect on any newly-disabled
people he encounters because of
his outlook on life.
"I think I kind of have a posi-
tive attitude and people can tell
I'm happy, for the most part," he
said. "And people realize, had
a tragedy and he lived through it.'
"It's not a one-time process. It's
an ongoing process. You're dis-
abled, you stay disabled."
Athletes Unlimited has become
the sole local chapter ofAmerican
Athletes with Disabilities. The
parent organization has commit-
ted funds to help Athletes Un-
limited with fundraising.
"My success is to promot,e more
people," said Dr. Pierce, "to let
people know that people [with dis-
abilities] are not different. It's just
an adjustment." ❑

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For information on volun-
teering time, money, services
or participating, write Athletes
Unlimited, P.O. Box 250942,
West Bloomfield, MI 48325.

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Please Let Us Know

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in college, high school or recreational
sports? We'd like to find out and let all the
Jewish News readers know about it.
Please send information about the ath-
lete along with the phone number of a
contact person to Alan Hitsky at The Jew-
ish News, 27676 Franklin, Southfield, MI
48034, or call 354-6060 during business
hours.

I

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