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Rocky Clark's battle with quadriplegia, insurance companies goes to TVSep 24, 2011 (Chicago Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The story of a quadriplegic south suburban man's perseverance and his efforts to influence local leaders on health care will be part of a national cable TV broadcast Sunday. Rasul "Rocky" Clark, 27, of Robbins, was paralyzed in 2000, injured in a high school football game. Even when his fate has seemed uncertain, Clark has used his story to inform other high school athletes, inspire other quadriplegic people and to try to influence politicians as they make decisions about health care, he said. "I want people to know my story; I want people to know what happened to me," he said. Clark and his struggle with health insurance was profiled by the Tribune in March. On Sunday, his story will be told in an episode of the show "Will to Live," on the cable network TV One. The show typically chronicles the true stories of African-American survivors of violent crimes, but it is taking a different approach this week in highlighting Clark's life, a network representative said. "Rocky's story and the other stories are voices from a segment of our society that don't get heard," said Robyn Greene Arrington, the senior director of programming and production for TV One. "Here is a young man that survived the odds. He has come through an unbelievable life-or-death dance." In August 2010, Clark was informed his $5 million health insurance had reached its maximum and would no longer cover his medical needs. Since then he has relied on Medicaid. "In my situation, a lot of people would give up," he said from a hospital bed in Harvey, where he is being treated for problems with his lungs. "This is not the end of my world. I'm still in my right mind, and I still have purpose. I'm able to do what I can." [email protected] ___ (c)2011 the Chicago Tribune Visit the Chicago Tribune at www.chicagotribune.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |