When Jody Davis met Dawn Crawford, she said to herself, “I want to be like this lady.” Davis described Crawford, who has spent 23 years in a wheelchair, as fit, independent, and motivational.
Davis had been playing pickleball the previous year when she reached down and a bone chip entered her vascular system causing a spinal stroke. She initially lost the use of both legs; eventually, her left leg would return to 90%, but her right leg still causes a lot of trouble, and she has no control of her right knee. The incident resulted in her needing a walker but most often confined to a wheelchair.
“I’m like, okay, if she can do this, I can too. Dawn was an inspiration to me,” Davis said.
That initial meeting between the two took place in Indianapolis at the Schwartz Tennis Center at Purdue University while both were attending a tennis clinic, and they became instant friends. Davis had only been in a chair for 9 months and was already very goal oriented. After completing her 30 days at a rehab center, Davis knew she wanted to play pickleball and tennis again. The 70-year-old’s approach after her stroke was precisely how Crawford adapted when injured.
“When you’re in a chair and doing things, people are always inspired and think it’s wonderful we’re out and about and doing things. I appreciate that. I love that sentiment. But, I’m thinking I’m doing what I want to do. I’m not much different. It’s just that I have to do things differently,” Crawford said.
Davis was retired and a snowbird. She would spend the Indianapolis winters in Pompano, Florida. She discovered that her condo was just 7 blocks from Crawford’s mother’s place. When Crawford, who lives in northern Indiana, visited her mom, the two could meet up and bond further.
“I mean, it was unbelievable. So the first time that I did come down here, we would roll down to see each other and go down to the Pompano boardwalk area,” Davis said.
They were able to get to know one another better. Davis’ soon discovered that Crawford, who is 59, was only 36 when she suffered a terrible accident. Crawford, who spent many years in realty, was in a home under construction and fell. There weren’t basement stairs entirely in place, and since they were covered with fall board, she fell 10 feet, broke her back, and injured her spinal cord. Crawford pledged to remain active.
“My kids were so young, so they were the motivating factor. I wanted to be the mom that I was, as active as I was, and I didn’t want them to know that mom was much different. So they motivated me,” Crawford said.
Davis made a similar pledge to her husband, instructing him after her stroke that they would not cry about her new circumstance, but instead, she would remain positive and stay active. Meeting Crawford helped her to accomplish both of those things.
They begin to do things together. At first, it was tennis, but as time passed, Davis convinced Crawford to try pickleball. Crawford was worried that pickleball might detract from her tennis game, but Davis was persistent, and the pickle community and open play were a high selling point.
“The community is amazing. My group in Indianapolis calls themselves the Pickle Bells. Well, my shirt says the Rolling Pickle Bell. So they are fantastic and fun. And this group here, because I know the first day I rolled onto that Pompano pickleball court, they were like, what? But from minute one, everybody was very accepting,” Davis said.
Crawford can’t play as often as Davis due to her work schedule. She now owns a storage business, but when she plays, she finds the pickle community at home and in Florida fantastic.
“Up north, the group I play with had the parks department come and make me a handicapped spot, and they adjusted the gate so I could get in. That’s a nice feeling because so many times, people don’t realize how difficult it is to do things in a chair. Of course, they don’t realize it because they’ve never been in a chair. Also, where we play in Florida, they had three courts that they put a temporary fence up, almost a little gate only 2 feet high, so that the balls wouldn’t go to the next court. And I mentioned to the one guy that’s kind of in charge of things, you know, is there any way we can get to those courts? And he goes, oh, yeah, I never thought about that. So he took the zip ties off and put a little clip, and now it’s no big deal to swing them out and swing them in when we need to go to those three courts,” Crawford said.
Pickleball has become the primary sport for both Davis and Crawford, and Davis decided recreational play wasn’t enough. She decided to get involved in tournament play. Through Facebook she connected with a wheelchair player who played in the US Open, and convinced her to try it. She was nervous about her skillset but enjoyed the competition of tournament play. That led to Davis being persistent again and convincing Crawford to do the same.
“We will play doubles in the US Open in April. Thursday, we’ll play in the doubles as wheelchair players against other wheelchair players. And then Saturday, we play in what they call a hybrid. So basically, we play with a standing player as we do daily here. But for that tournament, my son is flying down from the DC area, and he will be my partner, so I’m very excited about that,” Crawford said.
The two believe and hope that adaptive pickleball will continue to grow as the sport does. They are glad to be part of the voice to help accomplish that, even if that voice is the two of them simply playing the game as hard as they can.
Photos provided by Dawn Crawford and Jody Davis.
If you have a story you think we should share, email us.
