Boston’s spinal injury victims get to live lives beyond their wheelchairs thanks to Jerry Donovan ’79 and the deal he made with God.
To Jerry Donovan’s mind, a spinal injury shouldn’t prevent a person from living their best life. He knows this because lying in a hospital room with a broken spine fighting for his life he made a deal. “It was crystal clear,” he recalls. “I saw a priest come into the room and escort my mother out. I knew he was coming to give me my last rights. And I said to the Lord, ‘If you keep me alive, I promise I’ll do some good stuff for people who get hurt like me.” True to his word, Donovan has spent the last 25 years helping the newly paralyzed at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Charlestown understand that no matter what, life is for living.
“I go into victims’ rooms and talk to them about regular stuff. I show them that I’m somebody in a wheelchair with a smile on their face.” For a person at the lowest point in their lives, seeing someone who has been through the same fate can make them understand more than any doctor or even family member because of a common bond: they’ve escaped death.
One day while visiting the center, Donovan saw a golf machine at an adaptive sports day expo. “I really didn’t golf much,” says the former CM hockey player, “…but got on the machine and I started swinging the club. Next thing you know, I’ve got a landscape trailer with the machine on it going to veterans’ clinics to show it to paralyzed vets.”
It wasn’t long before Donovan’s enthusiasm provided the opportunity to use golf as the tool for his good works. He became one of the co-founders of Golf For All, a Massachusetts-based non-profit helping people with special needs and military veterans enjoy life through golf. “Nothing makes me feel better,” smiles Donovan. “When I’m leaving after a day helping people hit balls; I’m like, wow, I had such a good time.”
If Donovan is making good on his promise to God, then getting him to the point where he could act on his intentions wasn’t easy for him or his family. After his injury, money was tight. “I’ve always had good friends from Catholic Memorial,” says Donovan. “I found out that a buddy of mine, Timmy Hoey (’79), had proposed a grub day where kids could wear whatever clothes they want for five bucks. And they raised $1,500 for my family fund. At the time, I really needed that money. I had been out of Catholic Memorial for 20-odd years, and they remembered me when I got hurt. That gesture was overwhelming.”
During his years with Golf For All, Donovan estimates that thousands of people have benefited from being able to be on a machine, have it stand them upright and learn how to swing a club and be outside, whether it’s hitting balls at the driving range or playing actual holes on a course. “We help Special Olympics, veterans, people with autism. We even help blind golfers. We don’t say no to anybody.” Because “no” wasn’t part of the deal he made, all those years ago.
Click here to learn more about Golf for All.