My name is Roy Bowling, I began Taekwondo three years ago and I am a 4^th Degree Red Belt. Back in 1999, I got sick and had to be put in Vanderbilt hospital. I was brain-dead for 4 days. The doctors wanted my parents to take me off of life support and let me die. My mom would not let them take me off life support. I began having seizures and I was having them almost constantly. I also suffered from a stroke. This all happened while I was still in a coma. My brain continued to swell. After 4 days I woke up from the coma, but I had severe brain damage & was blind in my right eye. I couldn’t walk or talk. My parents had to teach me how to do everything over again. I was hospitalized 7 times between November 1999 and January 2001 & I had to have brain surgery to repair my brain. I have forgotten a lot of things from my past, and I am slow to remember things. The doctors said that I have lost a lot of brain cells that I will never get back. No one ever believed that I would be doing the things that I am doing now. I owe my progress to Taekwondo and Mr. Albright for being so patient with me and giving me a chance. He taught me that nomatter what your handicap may be that you can overcome it and make something of your life.