814-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 9, 2000
Spina Bifida Doesn’t Stop Garrison From Shooting Buck,
Playing Basketball, Weight Lifting, More
LOU ANN GOOD.
Lancaster Farming Staff
MANHEIM (Lancaster Co.)
Sixteen-year-old Garrison Whit
myer joined thousands of hunt
ers in search of an elusive buck
during deer season.
On the first day of hunting
season, Garrison took one shot
and landed a three-point deer.
While hunters each have their
own story to tell, Garrison’s is
most amazing, because he was
born with a handicap spina bi
fida. The birth defect results in a
split spine and paralysis and con
fines him to a wheelchair.
Because his dad Gary is an
avid hunter, it is understandable
that Garrison yearned to share
the excitement of a big hunt.
Through research and planning,
the family discovered that a six
wheel all-terrain vehicle with
hand controls was the solution to
scale rocky cliffs and rugged
mountainsides. These vehicles
are allowed on hunting grounds,
only with special permits given
to the handicapped.
Garrison drove the vehicle
outfitted with a special gun rack
for his 300 Savage. He drove to a
20-foot tree stand erected on a
relative’s property in Tioga
Garrison with his mom Rita and siblings Gabrielle,
12; Gavin, 10; Regina, 6; and Gideon, 5.
County. With sheer amoi strength
and some assistance from- his
dad, Garrison was able to Ijeave
himself into the tree stand. I
“We call it the ‘condo,’” Gar
rison said of the tree s|and,
which has four walls, a roof, and
even some furniture. Although
the family had been going to the
condo for years, the first day of
hunting season was the final day
the condo could be used for
hunting because the land has
been sold.
At 9:30 a.m., the four guys
huddled in the condo saw deer
running beneath them. Because
the deer were running, it was dif
ficult to determine if any were
buck.^
A whistle caused the deer to
halt and sniff out the danger.
The three-second pause was
all that was needed for Garrison
to get a clear view of the buck
and aim.
Garrison said, “After I shot it,
I saw it run about 50 yards, but I
couldn’t tell if 1 had hit it.”
The hunters waited in the tree
stand about 20 minutes before
searching for a blood trail.
Gary discovered the fallen
buck, but it was Garrison' who
hauled it back to camp qp his.
six-wheeier.
Neither his dad nor the other
relatives who were hunting with
them saw any other deer that
day, making Garrison’s trophy
even more memorable.
Garrison and his dad butch
ered the deer themselves, making
mostly steaks, roasts, and burger.
While his hunting excursion is
unusual considering his handi
cap, Garrison has long been
known for breaking medical
While his hunting excursion is unusual considering his handicap, Gar
rsion has long been known for breaking medical limitations despite -
some major setbacks.
limitations .despite some
setbacks.
When he was first born, doc
tors told his parents that spina
bifida was often associated with
mental limitations. The possibili
ty seemed even more probable
when the operation the doctors
performed when Garrison was
only seven days old caused pres
sure to built up in his brain and
resulted in hydrocephalus. Garri
son still has a shunt in his brain
to drain the fluid, but from the
start, Garrison showed mental
alertness and accomplished ver
bal and tactile skills above his
age level.
Doctors had said that he
would never walk because he was
bom without hip sockets and
with club feet. But to their
amazement, when fitted with leg
braces, he is able to walk short
distances with crutches.
He has had more than 15 sur
geries to correct his feet and re
place the brain shunt.
In 1990 Garrison was named
the Lancaster County Easter
Seals ambassador. His determi-
Popping wheelies gives Regina and Gideon a thrill.
At left, on the first day of hunting season, Garrison
bagged this deer in Tioga County. The six-wheel all-ter
rain vehicle enables Garrison to safely maneuver over
rugged mountainsides.
nation and achievements have
been an encouragement to many.
He excels in swimming and
even plays on a wheelchair bas
ketball team. Garrison said
members of the team, called the
Chariot Express, range in ages
from 15-40 years. They travel
over the Northeast playing other
wheelchair teams. More mem
bers are needed for the team. For
more details about wheelchair
Ijor
basketball, call (717) 270-5696.
A sophomore at Elizabethtown
High School, Garrison’s favorite
activity is weight lifting. Last
year, he received the school
award for outstanding accom
plishment in bench pressing. His
goal is to break the school record
in bench press before he gradu
ates. The school record is 170
pounds and Garrison presses
150.
During the summer months,
Garrison works in merchandise
sales for Hershey Park. He banks
his earnings consistently to save
for a car. Although he wants to
drive, it costs thousands of dol
lars for the required evaluation
and six hours of training.
Garrison’s braces extend from
his toes to his armpits, which
puts him at risk for skin adhe
sions.
When asked about his career
dreams, Garrison jokingly replies
that he wants to go into law en
forcement so he can give tickets
to the many people who abuse
handicapped parking spaces.
While many strides have been
made to make areas handicap-
pcd accessible, Garrison said,
that most people don’t realize
that many places are still off
limits to people like him. '
While public place* are re
quired to have bathrooms for the
handicapped, often the doorways
are too narrow for a wheelchair
to pass through, which in effect
renders the bathroom useless but
in compliance with the law.
Garrison enjoys computers
and #ftV^ay s guitar,
electric guitar, ptapo, and key
board, and stags a bit. He also
wrote a song, which is sung at his
church where he active in the
youthgroup.
The live within a
quarter of mile of state game
lands and are pleased that some
sections are handicapped accessi
ble. Garrison had a special per
mit to use a crossbow during ar
chery season.
The family says they have a
small zoo on their IS-acre prop
erty, which includes 6-20 mini
lop rabbits. Zebra finches, pygmy
goats, fish, African frogs, a ham
ster, an Australian herding dog,
and 35 Aracanna chickens, a
Mexican breed that lays different
colored eggs, from mint to olive
green. Eggs from the free-range
hens are sold to a local natural
food cooperative.
Garrison charts rabbit prices
weekly to help his mom de
termine the best time to market
them.
Garrison’s siblings include Ga
brielle, 12; Gavin, 10; Regina, 6;
and Gideon, 5.
Garrison uses a cross
bow for huntihg on the
family acreage and on
state gamelands within a
quarter of a mile of the
Whitmyer’s.