Mental toughness, adapting, and goal setting were some of the key takeaways from Warren and Chantelle Grafton during the 9th Annual Legacy Night hosted by the UNBC Timberwolves last night (Thursday) from the Coast Inn of the North.
Five years ago, Chantelle was injured in a mountain biking accident in Valemount that left her paralyzed from the neck down.
After living in Vancouver and Edmonton while she was rehabbing, the couple was able to move into their new home in PG with the help of friends, family, and clients.
Warren says they will be forever grateful to the people of the northern capital who also raised $140,000 through a GoFundMe campaign.
“It just ratifies everything we have said about Prince George. You won’t see that in Vancouver, you won’t see that in other big communities. This is our home and for that reason, we will always be here and always trying to give back just to pay back that debt.”
Warren and Chantelle, are both black belts in Karate and have been longtime members of the Nechako Karate Club stated the message of their story was quite simple.
“Mental toughness, learning where to set the bar, adapting, setting a goal and shooting for it as hard as you can and don’t always accept no for an answer.”
“I know a lot of them who are reaching the end of their athletic journey, when you retire as an athlete it’s tough. That’s your identity and it’s over – hopefully sharing our story might be able to give someone a little bit of a push on setting a new goal,” added Warren.
Warren noted during his wife’s recovery, there were many points along the journey where those in the medical field cast doubt on the likelihood of a full recovery.
“I think constantly being told it’s not going to happen. We were very regularly let down by people saying our goals were not attainable.”
“That was the hardest thing for us is that we would get hope and people would take it away from us.”
The Timberwolves Legacy event serves as a major fundraiser for UNBC Athletics, with every dollar raised going directly towards scholarships and bursaries for student-athletes.
Last year’s event raised a record $140,000.