Sailor Overcomes Much To Compete In Warrior Games
(April 12, 2010) |
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Navy Seaman Judi Boyce slices cherry tomatoes for meals April
8, 2010, at the Pentagon. Boyce, a culinary arts specialist for the Joint Staff,
suffers from a rare condition that constrains blood flow to certain arteries in
the brain. She's expected to participate in the inaugural Warrior Games slated
May 10-14 in Colorado Springs, Colo., which will highlight disabled veterans in
Paralympic-style competitions. |
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WASHINGTON, April 8, 2010 – When Navy Seaman
Judi Boyce toes the archer's line at the
inaugural Warrior Games next month, she intends
to overcome her disabilities and set the tone
for the next chapter of her life.
Boyce is no stranger to adversity. She grew up
in foster care, and now is learning to live with
a rare brain condition that caused her to have a
stroke around Thanksgiving 2008.
Boyce said in an interview with American Forces
Press Service that she is approaching the
Warrior Games with a no-nonsense attitude.
Boyce also is eager to crush any doubt people
may have about her abilities and in particular
silence her harshest critic: herself.
“I still can't do a lot of things without a
doctor present, so a lot of these events are
going to be a great opportunity to just go out
and do them,” the 21-year-old New Jersey native
said. “I am nervous, but I just need to prove to
myself that I'm still capable.”
Along with archery, Boyce is set to compete in
track and field and swimming events, she said.
She's one of 25 sailors and Coast Guardsmen who
make up the Navy team participating in the games
slated May 10-14 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The games will feature track and field, as well
as swimming, cycling, marksmanship, and
wheelchair basketball and wheelchair volleyball.
Two hundred disabled veterans and wounded
warriors from all branches of the military are
expected to compete.
At first, Boyce was hesitant about taking part
in the games, she said. |
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Moyamoya disease, a condition that restricts blood flow to certain arteries in
the brain, has left the culinary arts specialist with blurred vision, short-term
memory loss and numbness throughout her body. She's also prone to
“mini-strokes,” she explained. |
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But when she learned archery would be part of the competition, memories of some
of the happier times in her life came racing back. As a child, Boyce spent
several summers at camp, where she took a liking to archery. As she became
older, she started teaching archery to the younger kids, she said.
“Archery is the big thing I'm looking forward to at the Warrior Games,” she
said. “I loved it at camp, growing up. It was such a blast.
“The [Warrior Games] is a good way to get back into the swing of things and
still be competitive,” Boyce added, noting that she hasn't been very physically
active since being diagnosed with Moyamoya disease. “It's also going to be fun,
because we're starting something new. It's the first Warrior Games, and we're
the group that's starting it off.”
The games will likely be Boyce's last hoorah in the military. She expects to be
medically retired from the Navy a few weeks after the games, something she's not
looking forward to, she said.
Learning to live with the condition has been difficult. She's learned to channel
her frustrations into cooking and other activities, but leaving the military is
the last thing she ever wanted. She loves being a cook, and is grateful for the
friends she has made. But the truth is, Boyce's three years of Navy service has
been one of the few constants in her life, she said.
Boyce's parents were deemed negligent by the state when she was 7 years old, and
she and her six siblings were placed in foster care. She was adopted at 14, but
after high school graduation, she was pretty much kicked out of her home because
the state child-care checks stopped, she said.
Boyce enlisted in the Navy shortly after, finally finding the family she longed
for. Despite the hardships, she has managed to keep a positive outlook. She
always seems to find the silver lining during stressful times, she said.
“Navy boot camp was easy, because of my childhood in foster care,” she said.
“Foster care made me who I am, and I'm very happy with the kind of person I've
grown into. Without those hard experiences, who knows where I'd be right now?”
Living with Moyamoya may be a new misfortune in her life, but it's nothing but
another hurdle, she said.
“There's always going to be a reason to give up on life, but you just have to
stay optimistic and ready to pick yourself up when you have to,” she said. “I'm
a very strong-willed person, and my disabilities are not going to stop me. I've
lived a lot of my life proving a lot of people wrong.”
Boyce is undergoing evaluations and occupational therapy in Bethesda, Md., at
the National Naval Medical Center. Twice a week, she cooks at the Pentagon for
the Joint Staff. | |
Article and photo By
Army SFC Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2010
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