By Steve Balestrieri
Grafton News Sports –
At halftime of the Grafton football game last Friday night, town officials and the high school honored one of its own with a ceremony citing the efforts of Paralympian Chaz Davis. He was led to the football stadium complete with a police escort that was befitting of a young man of his stature.
Davis was a standout cross country runner for the Indians before enrolling at the University of Hartford. About midway through his freshman year, Davis was stricken with Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy a rare, incurable genetic disease that causes vision loss.
He realized in class he couldn’t see out of his right eye. Doctors were searching for answers and then his left eye was affected. Now legally blind, he can barely make out objects that are within five feet of him.
Davis recently competed in the Rio Paralympic Games that took place between Sept. 6-18, one of 66 USA team members, competing in the 5,000 meter and 1,500 meter runs. Davis finished 8th and 10th in the world during the games but his story is one of perseverance, dedication and love.
Speaking to the crowd at Grafton High and accompanied by his parents, Davis recounted his days of running for Coach Gleason and the Indians as some of his best memories. And then the shock of learning that his eyesight was quickly being robbed while a freshman at Hartford was devastating.
“I thought my life, as I knew it was over,” he told the crowd. He went into a depression and gained 40 pounds. But thru the love and support of his parents, family and friends, he persevered and thrived, despite his disability.
He took up running again and has never run better, having to re-learn his sport while dealing with his loss of sight. He graduated this spring with a degree in Criminal Justice and now that the Rio Paralympics is over, his education is still paramount. His idea for a career in law enforcement was derailed due to his blindness but it didn’t deter him for long.
He’s going to the Colorado Center for the Blind for a 10-month program to learn basic skills for unassisted living. Then it will be off to college again for a master’s degree in social work.
He told the crowd, “being able to realize this dream of going to the Paralympics, it was overwhelming…although I may not always live here,Grafton will always be my home.”
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