TEMPLE, Texas — The room in David Villarreal's house where he's set up shop for his podcast, 'The Jarhead in the Wheelchair,' is small, cramped and barely enough room for the four people inside of it.
The room is quiet. All you can hear is the hum of the overhead fan spinning on high to keep the air moving. The walls, painted yellow, are about to lay witness to the third episode of an idea to give back to others.
"There are so many people that are in wheelchairs that I run into and they stay home because they're in their wheelchair," Villarreal said. "I think of the Veterans who commit suicide. The 22 a day. It's not just veterans, but people who have had life-changing events."
Villarreal said he stays as active as he can, competing in all sorts of competitions through the Adaptive Sports Program at the Temple VA. He wants to be a voice for them in hopes of making a difference.
"If you want to die, lay at home. It'll come and get you. But live your life. Get out and do things. I want to be that person that goes around and talks to people and opens up and says, 'Hey, what do you have that can help people with disabilities,'" he explained.
As a veteran of the United States Mariners, Villarreal said a blow to the back of his head has caused him to suffer from blood clots, which have lead to five different strokes. The third stroke took place in his brain-stem.
"I've heard doctors say 'call his family, he'll be gone in two hours,'" he said. "I've heard doctors say when I had my third stroke which was a brain stem stroke, he'll be paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of his life."
Villarreal is a right side hemiplegic but said this diagnosis hasn't slowed him down.
"Dude, I'm a stroke dude that can barely talk sometimes but I want people to know that. Hey, I am a disabled person. I have disabilities and limitations which I love to go beyond," he said with a smile.
As he prepares to record his third podcast, Villarreal admits he had his own inspiration in the form of a friend named Jerry "Bull" Baylor.
"I saw that man race in a wheelchair around a track in a race one day," he said, a smile on his face as he recalls the scene. "I saw him race that day and, yeah, he came in last, but he was first in his age division and I sat there and said, 'No way am I ever going to feel sorry for myself.' That man, right there, is doing everything he can do to just beat himself."
It's that motivation Villarreal carries to be the best he can when he competes across the country. It's also that motivation he has within him as he sits down in his little yellow bedroom to record his podcast.
"I want to be that person for someone else," he said, referencing his friend "Bull." "I want, eventually, somebody to contact me and say, 'Hey man, it was just the one word you said that really really changed my life and that's all I care about."
David's podcast, 'The Jarhead in the Wheelchair' is expected to be released in February on PodBean. The official date has not been released.
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