Rest in peace, Wayman
Published: 5/21/2009 8:43 AM
Last Modified: 5/21/2009 8:43 AM
Jim Kerwin, an assistant to Billy Tubbs at Oklahoma, tells the story...
"When Wayman lost his leg in August, I called Tommy Tubbs. I said, 'Tommy, how's he doing?' Tommy said, 'You should call him.' I said, 'Geez, Tommy, I don't know. It just happened yesterday. Maybe I should wait a couple days.' But Tommy said, 'Really, call him.'
"I called him at five o'clock in the evening and left a message. I get a call back at 10 o'clock at night, and it's Wayman. He says, 'Coach, I just got your message. Sorry it took so long to get back to you. I'm doing great. I lost this leg, but I've got my mind and I'm feeling good. I'm so positive about things.'
"I said, 'Wayman, how long are you going to be in the hospital?' He said, 'A couple days. You should come up and see me.'
"The next morning, my wife and I go on up to Mercy Hospital (in Oklahoma City). When we went into the room, I had my hand out to shake. But you couldn't shake hands with him. You had to hug him. He hugs me, hugs my wife. We end up spending an hour with him, from nine to 10 that morning. I walked out of the room and looked at my wife, and I said, 'Who lost his leg, me or him? We come here to cheer him up, and he was cheering us up.'
"Before we left, one of the nurses told us, 'You can't believe Wayman. We came into his room and said, 'Wayman, there's this high school girl three doors down from you who's going to lose her leg tomorrow. She's feeling pretty bad about it. Would you stop by and give her a little encouragement?' The nurse said he stopped by her room and spent 45 minutes with that girl.
"That's Wayman. That's the kind of person he was. I was very fortunate to have been his friend."
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
