A week and 25 years after he was paralyzed while on his first shift as a Boston University hockey player, Travis Roy has died of complications from his paralysis. He never wanted to be a burden, and he never was.

from Kevin Cullen of the Boston Globe,

As Oct. 20, the 25th anniversary of the hockey injury that left him paralyzed, approached, Travis Roy received some bad news.

He had to go in for surgery, for complications arising from his being a quadriplegic all those years.

But last month, shortly before the surgery, when we met for what would be the last time, at his Vermont home overlooking Lake Champlain, he didn’t want to talk about that.

He didn’t want people to worry about him. Not the paralyzed people and their families whom he had counseled and helped. Not the young hockey players, boys and girls, who had met and been inspired by him.

After so many years in a wheelchair, getting through and healing from such surgery posed many serious risks to his health. He wanted to engage in this fight with only his family and closest friends knowing of the threat it posed to his life.

continued