Donna Schwald
Here in SaddleBrooke we frequently hear of friends getting knees, hip, or shoulders replaced, which could affect golf or other sports they love. At our stage of life, they might resume their sport after intensive physical therapy with little or no sign of their initial ailment. Then there are the amazing things we witness—things that are so exceptional they have to be shared with others.
Last year one of our new MountainView Lady Niners members, Donna Schwald, had a hand injury that caused her to stop golfing for most of the year. We were all hopeful that eventually she would return to the course as good as new. Donna recently returned as an enthusiastic guest of our recent Bring A Friend event, but not quite as “new” as we had hoped. When we asked her how her hand was, she said that it has permanent nerve damage that affected how she could grip her clubs. We wondered how she could possibly manage to golf. As we watched her at the first tee, she completely surprised us as she used one hand to drive the ball and did it exceptionally well. Her passion to overcome her injury, plus determination, taught her how not to grip her clubs with two hands! Instead, she mastered a beautiful, one-handed swing with remarkable results. She merely guided her injured left gripping hand with her good right hand and drove the ball better than many of us. Some might have seen this done on TV, but to see it up close and personal took our breath away. Donna has just rejoined our MountainView Lady Niners league, and we look forward to her for inspiration.