By Alex Dalton
Staff Writer

The Seidemann family came to Coppell with two disabled parents and were just expecting a great school system; but were greeted with a warm community of neighbors and friends as well. Surrounded by some amazing people and great opportunities, they have finally found a place that helps them overcome their daily struggles while celebrating the unforgettable life they’ve felt they had the good fortune of stumbling upon.

Sam Seidemann can still recall the day that he broke his back in the 11th thoracic vertebrae; the injury forced upon him on May 17, 1980 that made him paralyzed from the waist down. 

On an off day in the Navy, where he had been an enlistee for six years, Seidemann was riding dirt bikes with old friend Jim Elliot in San Ysidro, California. Riding fast, Seidemann’s bike flipped over a stump, causing him to go along with it and land on his back on another near by stump.

“To put it cleanly I knew something had gone terribly wrong. When I was laying on the ground I tried to look up and saw my legs down there just flopping all over the place,” Seidemann said. “The guy I was riding with didn’t see me wipe out but he came back
looking for me. He couldn’t find me but I heard him yelling for me so I had to take my helmet off and throw it up several times until he found me.” 

At the ER Seidemann experienced a surgery without anesthesia, searching for internal bleeding. Getting cut open on his abdomen, Seidemann could feel every touch of the knife. But after his excruciating visit to the ER, Seidemann says his first couple of weeks of learning how to do things were the hardest of the whole experience, only soothed by the support of his fellow Navy men.

“In the beginning everything was a struggle. It was transferring into a wheelchair, learning how to drive again with the stick that you move up and down instead of your feet,” Seidemann said. “The way my body changed, having skinnier legs because of little use, and stronger arms because of my dependence on them. I also had a lot of skin issues that were caused by being in the chair so much, like welts and blisters. I had to learn to deal with them all in such a short period of time.” 

Being in a wheelchair provides higher health risks because many fall prone to urinary tract infections, pressure sores and poor circulation because of the constant seated position, those in a wheelchair have to be very conscientious about their physical health.

Sam Seidemanns’ mother, Mary Ruth Seidemann, described her son before the accident as an energetic boy who loved to play football and waterski. She was always proud of her son, but says her proudest moments were during his transition.

“He was very courageous throughout his transition. We were in the Naval hospital and some of the boys were not doing well in therapy but my son worked very

hard. My husband and I were amazed at the way he was working,” Mary Ruth said. “He accepted his situation. The other boys couldn’t accept that they were wounded but he knew that being paralyzed wouldn’t stop him.”

Seidemann’s greatest fear is that he would not be able to make it to the age he is at now, so, for a few years, he lived a fast paced life, carefree and filled with partying.

Luckily for Seidemann, he found resurgence in physical activities.

“I first started biking in 1987 in Copeville(Southeast Texas) after I was married. One of my fellow basketball players had a used hand cycle that he wanted to sell, so I bought it,” Seidemann said. “There were a lot of country roads out there and you get to see things you normally wouldn’t see in a car. It is a much different perspective and, it’s just a lot of fun.”

Mary Ruth Seidemann says that she thinks his physical activities proved to be the best for her son, because with the tools her learned while being active,  her was able to work and have the life he wanted for himself.

“I think my son adjusted well. The fact that he has done that and made a life for himself in a wheelchair is wonderful,” Mary Ruth said. “He’s so active, playing tennis and basketball. He’s a pretty wonderful guy.”

Although physical activity is a great coping mechanism, Seidemann feels that his wife Lynn Seidemann, 50, is his rock and one of his biggest supporters.

After meeting at the Dallas Wheelchair Tennis Club just seven years after his accident, Seidemann claims she was the reason for his ability to look positively about his disability.

Dating for three months before marriage, Sam and Lynn Seidemann said ‘I do’ at a justice of the peace on March 18, 1987. After their initial marriage, they married another time for celebrations and once so their first child Nick could be baptized in the Catholic Church. Both being debilitated,  it has left both of them to talk about anything. A openness like that has made for the best adventures including  including scuba diving in Grand Cayman.

His wife of 26 years, Lynn had a similar sporting accident while skiing at the young age of 21. While skiing on spring break in Colorado with some of her college soccer teammates, Lynn fell and hit a tree breaking t11 in her back.

“When the doctor from Colorado called to tell me the news I was shocked, in complete disbelief,” Lynn’s mother, Joyce Ellis, said. “I couldn’t comprehend all that was being said to me so I just handed the phone to my husband and he heard what was said. I was so shocked I couldn’t think of much of anything.”

Ellis described Lynn before her accident as sports-minded, outgoing and someone who always just wanted to have fun. Ellis does not believe that changed, with her accident, but it was put on hold for a while after her accident.

“I’m sure it was very difficult for her because she was in rehab for quite a while; she missed one semester of school. I’m sure that that there were many times that she was depressed about things. That’s really common among people who are disabled because of an accident of some kind,” Ellis said. “Most of the time she was pretty up beat, but she admitted later that she had had thoughts of suicide. Fortunetely she did not follow through on that. It was a drastic thing for to go through, there were all kinds of downs but she would think that she’d get to walk eventually. Eventually she came to the realization that probably wasn’t the case.”

Wheelchair bound as well as her husband, Lynn also found resolve in physical activities. 

“After all this time, [being in a wheelchair] is more comfortable. You learn how to do things by being around other people with disabilities and just living,” Lynn said. “Being around other people who were very active and successful with living with their disabilities made a difference on me adjusting. Sports like tennis and horseback riding have been some of the things that I’ve found the most fun.”

Although Lynn was able to find her way to a great life with her disability, she still had to go through the first struggles. 

“My biggest struggles were figuring out how to do things. It’s how do you fit through the door in a wheelchair? How do you go to the grocery store? How do you change your clothes?” Lynn Seidemann said. “The rehabilitation doctors show you how to do it, but it’s different once you’re on your own; it’s all the little details. Everything is a little difficult.”

But those things did not hold Lynn back from going to the 1992 Barcelona Paralympic games for tennis and then Sydney, Athens and Beijing games for dressage. In her paralympic career, she has won two silver medals, one in tennis and another in dressage and became the 2003 World Champion in Belgium for dressage.

Ellis believes Lynn’s mindset is the reason she was able to achieve such great heights.

“She’s an amazing woman. She’s done many, many things she probably would not have done if had not been injured. She’s done a lot of things in the sporting world; competed at very high levels. She holds down a job and is very enthsiastic about whatever she undertakes,” Ellis said. “She has the attitude of ‘I can do everything but walk’. I think that’s the only thing she can’t do; walk. I think that’s what drives her.”

Lynn’s main objective was not so focused, she recalls that her main goal was being active and staying happy.

“I just wanted to be around people who were active so I could learn to be more independent. Going to the paralympics wasn’t something I ever planned or particularly wanted,” Lynn Seidemann said. “I was able to qualify for the trials and just decided to go for it, but it wasn’t something I set my sights for.”

Lynn says that without her initial accident she would not have been able to travel the world or represent her country, and she is glad she has had opportunities open to her that probably wouldn’t have been available to her otherwise. 

But to Lynn and Sam, the biggest opportunity their eyes were ever open to was the volunteering they both now do for their community, and have done throughout their residency in Coppell.

“I wanted to volunteer and help out somehow, because the community has been really good to me,” Sam said. “For all my country has done for me, I felt like I needed to give something back.”

Sam is an ardent volunteer for Meals on Wheels, the copy room at Coppell High School and Girl Scouts. As a parent, he volunteered for recess duty when his youngest child,  junior Jena Seidemann, was in elementary school.

“When Jena was in second grade and I would have recess duty, all the kids would go up to me and I’d pop wheelies and there would be five or six kids on my chair,” Sam said.

Every Monday morning, Sam comes to the CHS copy room and makes copies for teachers who request them, following specific directions.

While Sam is busy helping out the community, Lynn does her part by being a full time Oracle business analyst at the security company ADT. Although she spends some time in Florida for work, Lynn says this did not hold her back from being there for her kids whenever they needed her.

Raising their children was not much different in the Seidemann household, both Sam and Lynn agree. They wanted to have a family like everybody else. Their first child, 2011 CHS graduate and Texas A&M University junior Nick Seidemann, was born via artificial insemination. Their second child Jena was adopted from China and is now a junior.

“It was a difficult process, we had to go to a fertility doctor several times before it actually worked. Doing that was really hard on my wife because she had to do additional injections,” Sam said. “We wanted a second child, a daughter, so we decided to adopt overseas. The first adoption agency did not even want to deal with two people in wheelchairs adopting. So we found somebody else who would be able to work with us.”

At the time there was prejudices against people in wheelchairs, and this left Sam and Lynn Seidemann devastated beyond belief. Their rejection did not let their spirits down, though. After their joy of adopting in 1997, the Seidemanns knew that the let down was  toning but a test to see if they would stick through.

After successfully adopting, Lynn and Sam say that they solved simple issues by things such as putting the kid in overalls so they could pick them up from the floor. The only difference Sam says there was was a large amount of lap riding.

The only thing that Jena Seidemann had to say about disabled parents is that occasional stares could be aggravating.

“I’m so used having disabled parents that sometimes it bothers me when people look at them like they aren’t normal; but they are,” Jena said. “They’re just my parents.”

One thing that is slightly different in the Seidemann household is the way things are physically arranged. Tables and surfaces are lower, areas under sinks are cabinet-less, doorways are larger and the wall behind the stove is covered in downward pointed mirrors so that they can see what they are cooking. These are necessary to make everything easier to access in their chair.

“I’ve made the best of my situation, generally think my life has turned out pretty well. If I had not gotten hurt, I would not be where I am today,” Sam said. “Coppell has been a great place for my family and I’m happy this is where we ended up.”

Lynn agrees that her ‘could-have-been’ life might be lackluster when compared to the one she has now. Without her accident she wouldn not have met her husband, had her son or thought to adopt overseas. She says that her positive energy that sprouted from her accident is the reason for her appreciation.

“You can look at life two ways; feel sorry for yourself or enjoy that you have a  life and that you have opportunities to do things,” Lynn said. “I choose to enjoy life to the fullest.”