The 4th Annual Turkey Tracks Hunt is coming up in April 2012. Eric Corey, who has Lou Gehrig’s Disease, has been instrumental in organizing a turkey hunt each year for handicapped hunters. Along the way he has met numerous people who have taken advantage of his generosity.
One of those people is motivational speaker LaDonna Brock, from Richmond, Kentucky. LaDonna got her first turkey last spring in this hunt and is back now trying to get her first deer.
LaDonna has been wheelchair bound for 17 years. She talks about the incident that led to her paralysis.
“It was a Monday morning and I was leaving for work and I had plans to go to a shooting range with one of my co-workers after work,” she said. “I was carrying the gun underneath my arm, which was a pretty careless and thoughtless thing to do, and when I sat down in the car, that gun fell, hit the pavement, discharged and went through my kidney and through my spine.”
In time, she has become an avid hunter.
“My family has always hunted and it was never really an interest of mine. I had a friend and fellow church member that kept asking me to come out and see Wheeling Sportsman is all about. I did and I was hooked. I didn’t see a turkey at all but I heard them and I was hooked so I’ve been back every year.”
Although she had been out many times trying to get that elusive turkey, it wasn’t until last spring that she got her first bird.
“Harry (Rust) took me out and definitely put me in the right spot to be able to do that. That was after three years of turkey hunting. That was pretty cool.”
Now she’s back with the guide who helped her get her turkey, Harry Rust, and now she’s trying to get her first deer.
“So far this year, I’ve been to three different Wheeling Sportsman hunts and I’ve seen some dead deer that other people had and killed, but as far as me, it hasn’t been a successful year, but being around the people makes all the difference.”
LaDonna has spoken to thousands of people about her handicap and is available to speak to school and church groups. To reach her, call the Doug Corey family at 772-5567.
