Students Honor ‘True Hero’ Mayor Proclaims ‘Tom Higgins Day’ To Recognize Man Who Saved Boy From Sledding Collision

March 17, 2000, will forever be known as “Tom Higgins Day.”

Mayor John Talbott made the official proclamation at Salk Middle School on Friday, calling Higgins a “true hero.”

“He sacrificed himself to save the life of a small boy,” said Talbott, referring to the Jan. 1 incident when Higgins saved a boy from being run down by a speedy sledder in Holmberg Park. That effort left Higgins paralyzed from the neck down when he was hit by the sled.

“His act showed how important the safety and well-being of young people are,” Talbott said. “He became what we all desperately need.”

Talbott, 37, joined Salk students and staff, community members and out-of-town guests for a Hope 2000 celebration to honor Higgins, to thank the community for its support and to spread a message about the power of hope.

Higgins mouthed the words “thank you” again and again, but the sound was drowned out by the cheers and applause of a packed gymnasium.

After the room quieted, guest speaker Ron Heagy talked about life as an attitude.

“I woke up this morning breathing and said, `It’s gonna be a good day!”’ he said. Twenty years ago to the day, Heagy was in a surfing accident. He dove into shallow water and his neck snapped. When he woke up the next morning - his 18th birthday - he began life as a quadriplegic.

Being wheelchair-bound and dependent on others was not what Heagy had planned. He had a scholarship to play football at Oregon State University. And as he lay in his hospital bed, he thought his life was over.

But then, a boy in his room came over to Heagy and told him he loved him.

“I thought, `Hey! I’m still alive. I have purpose and potential. I just need the right attitude,”’ he said.

Never much of an artist before his accident, Heagy, an Oregon resident, now creates postcard-pretty paintings by holding a brush in his mouth. He also learned how to write and type by holding things in his mouth. He earned a master’s degree from San Diego State University, got married and two months ago, adopted a baby.

“No matter what your circumstance, there’s still hope,” he said. “As long as you’re alive, life is worth living.”

It was an important message for anyone to hear, but meant a bit more to Higgins.

“He has been where I am,” Higgins said afterward. “I drew in and listened to every word he said so closely. That attitude thing is so true. Sometimes I have trouble remembering that. That’s why my hope bracelet helps me so much.”

The whole Higgins family wears matching bracelets containing lettered beads that spell out “HOPE.”

Members of the Salk Higgins Trust Team have been working for months to raise money for the Higgins family (son Kris is a Salk seventh-grader). At the end of the assembly Friday, students presented them letters, poems, a banner filled with inspirational messages, and a check for $6,300.

Students marched up to Higgins, slid the check carefully under his right hand and gave him gentle hugs.

Kris Higgins read a poem of thanks, and again the gym rocked with claps and cheers. Those who could, stood. Many dabbed at wet eyes. The Higgins family was left trying to express an amount of thanks for which words simply aren’t enough.

“It was overwhelming,” Higgins said of the assembly. “To see a group of kids this age come together for one cause is incredible. I look at them and see stars in their eyes. They see me and not the wheelchair.

“To have people I don’t even know call me their hero - it’s incredible. We can never thank everyone enough.”

Added his wife Loretta: “They really are angels.”