Celebrating personal triumphs

Champagne Charity
Todd Nicholson wowed the room at the Canadian Paraplegic Association Ontario’s 5th Annual Champagne Charity Auction with his inspiring story of becoming a world-class sledge hockey player.

After being left paralyzed in a 1987 car accident on his way home from his high school prom, Mr. Nicholson followed his mother’s advice to never give up on his dreams. He went on to win bronze, silver and gold Paralympic medals with the national team, the crowd heard Wednesday at the Congress Centre.

Mr. Nicholson, a public servant and newlywed, plans to make the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Games his last (he is turning 40 next year, after all).

The gala, which raised $45,000, also heard from honorary chairwoman Penny Collenette and The Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre’s Dr. Jeff Blackmer, who specializes in spinal cord injuries.

In the audience was Manitoba MP Steven Fletcher, who’s taken self-promotion to creative levels with personalized all-star trading cards.

The four cards, which come in sets of three for swapping purposes, include details about Mr. Fletcher. The quadriplegic was told by doctors he would spend the rest of his life in an institution following his car accident.

“I don’t think they ever thought the institution would be Parliament,” he’s quoted as saying on the back of one card.

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