Feb 19, 2019
Jerry Schemmel is starting his 10th season as a radio announcer for the Colorado Rockies on flagship station KOA in Denver. Schemmel is the author of the book Chosen to Live which chronicles his survival of United Airlines Flight 232 in Sioux City Iowa in 1989 and the effects that it had on his life. The book has been featured in Reader’s Digest, Hoop Magazine, Sports Spectrum and was also the topic of an extended feature piece on ESPN in 2009.
As you will come to find out, Jerry shares and incredible love of baseball with me but also turned to fitness after the traumatic events we will uncover in the next 30 minutes. Jerry used cycling not only as his outlet, but combined it with the platform of being a sports broadcaster to help raise awareness for many causes that are close to his heart. His successful completion of Race Across America as part of a two-person relay was subject of the 2016 documentary called “Godspeed.”
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In this episode, you will discover what PTSD looks like for Jerry and many others.
- Survivors guilt
- Anger
- Depression
A few of the things that helped Jerry move past those feelings
- Became a Christian
- Realize that it will never make sense why bad things happen to good people
- Battle it by talking about it - Share your struggle, there’s purpose in pain!
- “Physical Therapy” - as his Dad advised him, “Just keep moving!”
Throughout all of this we also come to see that Jerry’s takeaway message has evolved over the years and how that has impacted his overall outlook on life. Today, he shares that everyone has their plane crash, or “stage four” life event, but you can be better prepared for it than he was by building a foundation of values and doing things the right way.
Lastly, we get an outlook on the Colorado Rockies upcoming season and come to understand the importance sports and the Rockies have played in providing Jerry with a platform to help so many people in need.
For an interesting read, check out Flying B- 17 Fortress: Memories of Clayton Nattier