Location: Albuquerque, NM
Challenge: T8 paraplegic
Website: romanabq.com
Roman Castillo, a T8 paraplegic from Albuquerque, is the definition of strength.
He was injured in 2005 at the age of 37 in a home burglary shooting. "Getting shot four times is a trauma I don't wish on my worst enemy," he says. "And I was angry at myself for what? I don't know, maybe for living in that apartment," Roman adds. Roman's home was invaded by two unknown men who attempted to kill him. He adds "When he fired a shot, the gun misfired, which gave me a chance to fight."
One shot entered Roman's neck just to the left of his left shoulder. He adds "It pierced my lung, and a .38 bullet is lodged in my spine. Then I heard, 'Son, you have to finish him,' and he shot me point blank in the back of my head."
By some miracle, Roman survived.
What proved difficult was his psychological recovery. Roman was scared the intruders might come to the hospital to finish their job, and he was beginning to experience post-traumatic stress syndrome. He had to fight back hard on that. How did he do it? By thinking about his two young children and how they needed him.
He also worked hard to recover his drumming skills, being a professional musician pre-injury. His doctor even let him bring his drum set into the hospital. Roman says "Having my drums at the rehabilitation hospital allowed the technicians to see which muscles needed to be worked on most." And to play the bass line, he tunes his floor toms to sound bass-like.
Two years post-injury, Castillo went on to participate in a drum-playing competition, "shocking the world," he says, finally getting his groove back, and showing that paras can indeed play the drums just as well as anyone.
Drummer & His Salsa Trailer "The Roman V. Castillo Story".