lost,” says Bell, who spent 15 years in the
military prior to sustaining his injuries. “I
didn’t know what to do with my life.”
Despondent and traveling down a way-
ward path, Bell discovered the Wounded
Warrior Project and, through that organi-
zation, was connected to a clinic operated
by Sylvester and the FGA.
“It helped me get back into the game
and start enjoying myself,” says Bell, who
has since completed the adaptive golf
instructor training and now serves as
the FGA’s Wounded Warrior coordinator.
“The biggest thing about EQ is he didn’t
let his struggles and dramatic changes in
his life get him down. When I see someone
like that, who continues to walk around
with a big smile on his face, it’s inspira-
tion. Just being around EQ makes you feel
better about yourself.”
Golf, explains Sylvester, is therapeutic,
both for its physical and mental benefits.
Among those the FGA has helped are Bell
and Miller, plus a 10-year-old boy with
multiple sclerosis named Abraham, whose
parents described the day he first hit a
golf ball as one of the happiest of his life,
according to Sylvester. A nine-year-old
girl named Ashanti, whom Sylvester had
met in physical rehabilitation, came bound-
ing toward him at an FGA “caring for kids”
program and soon learned to putt with
two prosthetic hands. John Marrone, who
became a paraplegic after a car accident
more than two decades ago, rediscovered
golf through the FGA, when his wife, Penny,
brought him to a clinic.
“Penny wrote us a thank-you note,
telling us about how John had been on
the sideline for 20 years and he can now
play golf with his son and his best friend,”
says Sylvester.
There are dozens of similar stories, and
they are what drive Sylvester to push for
“
“
Just being
around EQ
makes you feel
better about
yourself.
Sylvester shows off his adapted swing.
– Phil Bell
Wounded Warrior project
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