Trisha Meili to Receive Courage
Center’s 2005 National Courage Award
by Karen Quammen
Central
Park Jogger shares her story of hope, healing and possibility.
Since 1980, Courage Center has presented its National Courage Award
to individuals who have made a significant contribution to the health,
welfare and rehabilitation of people with disabilities. The personal
achievements of award recipients set them apart; through the lives
they live and the professional paths they pursue, award recipients
change perceptions, change laws and change lives.
This year’s National
Courage Award will be presented to Trisha Meili at the Medtronic
Celebration of Courage gala on Saturday, August 27, 2005 at Medtronic
World Headquarters in Fridley, MN.
On April 19, 1989, Meili
went for a run in New York’s Central
Park shortly after 9 p.m. Hours later, two men wandering the park
found her near death from a brutal beating and rape. In a coma, with
75 percent blood loss, a fierce blow to the head and severe exposure,
doctors at Metropolitan Hospital worried that this young woman might
not survive. The story seized the headlines, not only in New York
City, but also around the world.
Meili, known to the world as The Central Park Jogger, revealed her
amazing story of survival and recovery 14 years later in her best-selling
memoir, I am the Central Park Jogger: a Story
of Hope and Possibility.
I am the Central Park
Jogger is not a story of an attack, but rather, one of healing.
The horror of Meili’s attack brought an outpouring
of support and love from her family, friends, healthcare workers,
co-workers and strangers. As she relearned how to do simple things,
such as rolling over, telling time, buttoning her blouse or identifying
simple objects, Meili credits this support as part of the miracle
of her recovery.
Today, Meili gives her time
to organizations vital to her healing, including The Sexual Assault
and Violence Intervention Program (SAVI) at Mount Sinai Hospital,
Gaylord Hospital, where she did much of her rehabilitation, and the
Achilles Track Club that helped her run the New York City Marathon
in 1995.
Medtronic has been a long time supporter of the Courage Center and
their mission, and is honored to be hosting the gala where Trisha
Meili will be recognized with the National Courage Award.
