Keep Moving Forward

Interview and article by Heidi Hill

It was June of 1981 and Roger Bowman was looking forward to a big move. For a guy whose motto is “Keep Moving”, this was a good time in his life. Having just graduated from college in Oregon, he was due to start a job on the 29th of June at UNC United Nuclear Industries in Richland, WA. As if that wasn’t enough to get a young man looking ahead, he’d also just met a special woman, Joyce, a few weeks before.

He didn’t think anything would stop his momentum. He was wrong. A logging truck did. On June 26, 1981, while riding his motorcycle, he had a collision with a logging truck that left him paralyzed from the chest down.

During the first week after the accident, someone realized Roger was supposed to have started his job. A family member called UNC and explained to them what had happened. A month later, Roger received a letter from the company informing him that he had been hired for his brains, not his ability to play basketball (Roger is 6 feet 10 inches tall, so this comment was fitting). They assured him that when he was ready, they would have a job for him.

That special woman he’d met? While Roger spent the next six weeks in the hospital, and four months in rehab at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland, OR, Joyce would drive 35 miles each day after work to be by his side. A week after leaving rehab, Joyce and Roger married!

Almost a year to the day after his original start date, in the exact same job he had interviewed for, Roger started out at Richland’s N reactor in June, 1982.

The next years were busy and full ones for Roger and Joyce. They adopted a two year old boy in 1992, and in 1996, they had quintuplets—four girls and one boy (to those of you doing the math, that means they now have five 13-year-olds at home as you read this article!). While Joyce was hospitalized in Spokane for several months during this pregnancy, Roger and other family members were invited to live and visit in a closed wing of the hospital that was opened just for them. Roger was able to “tele-commute” to work during this time, having staff meetings by phone.

Roger spent the next 20 years in Engineering and Management positions thru May, 2005. Due to a health condition that had developed in his spine requiring multiple surgeries, Roger retired from work in 2005. However, he is not a retiring kind of person…Roger believes that “staying physically fit is important; you must always strive for more strength.” You know—keep moving!

For the last 25 years, an important part of Roger’s life has been the Columbia Basin Disabilities Unlimited (CBDU) group (website: www.cbdu.org). Roger participated in the early formation of this group in 1984 and is the current president. The group’s purpose is to bring people together who are affected by disabilities and open doors for varied recreational activities—tennis, chess, bowling, skiing and basketball are but a few examples of CBDU activities.

Another important feature of getting together in groups is socializing and connecting. Roger believes that it’s “good to socialize with others in the same situation. Good for them, good for you. You may not be alone in your life, but there may be someone out there who is. It’s important that you stay in touch. Reaching out benefits both parties.” Because Roger and The Neurological Resource Center (TNRC) both believe that people should not be left alone to deal with a neurological disorder, Roger has agreed to be the Support Group Leader for The Neurological Resource Center’s new Spinal Disorders Support Group beginning Wednesday, Oct. 14, from 5-6:00 pm here at TNRC.

Roger lives his life by his motto. When discussing opportunities to look forward to, Roger shared, “You have to make them happen. They aren’t just handed to you. There are opportunities out there, but YOU have to make them happen.”

Moving forward? He’s still doing exactly that.

<back to The Neuro Transmitter home>