fulloflife
Buckmann Brings
“Broken” Lessons to Readers By TERESA HAMMOND
“B
roken to Brilliant” by first time author Gary Buckmann is the tale of a young man maintaining an attitude of optimism well into adulthood. The 209 area author takes readers on his journey through life with a can-do attitude through some truly trying times. A lifelong gymnast, Buckmann shares stories of lessons learned early through the eyes of both a gymnast as well as a coach. Yet it was his stint at Chico State which would truly test not only his mind over matter philosophy, but his strength, both physically as well as mentally. In February of 1972, at the young age of 20, Buckmann was severely injured during a vault exercise. Passionate for the sport and perhaps fearless to a fault, the former gymnast’s passion and drive resulted in a broken neck. An injury which resulted in paralysis in both arms, as well as his left leg. “For me at that point, I kind of went to college to do gymnastics,” he said of his passion for the sport, noting he had chosen Chico because of its excellent gymnastics program. “I did get a degree and a good education, but I kind of went to college so I could do gymnastics.”
As the incident proved, life can change in an instant. “I had just turned 20 years old,” he said of the day of the accident his sophomore year of college. As demonstrated in the book, the author is not one to quit or use setback as an excuse. He shared that he believes breaking his neck was probably one of the best things to happen to him, noting as a star gymnast his ego was a bit big prior to the injury. “Within weeks in the hospital, I got my left leg back by visualizing things so I could actually walk again, but still had no arms,” Buckmann shared of his recovery and mobility. “I figured in my own mind if it’s going all the way to my toes, it’s coming back to my arms.” Living with his teammates
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following the accident, in the book he shares a touching tribute to the support as well as tough love offered by his teammates that helped him persevere. “I could swing my arms from my shoulders; they would just flop all over the place. I would struggle
OC TOBER/NOVEMBER 2021
9/29/2021 10:46:02 AM
