He became a world-class disabled athlete competing in wheelchair tennis and rugby in two Paralympics, Greece in 2004 and China in 2008. Poppen was born in Long Beach in 1973 and attended Bixby Elementary, Stanford Middle and Millikan High. But I tell them: No, I would not change anything because, if I did, I would not be here with you today.” “Most students would guess my answer to be yes. “When I give classroom presentations, I ask the students to pretend they are me and answer this question: If I could go back to the day that I became paralyzed and change what happened, would I?” Poppen said. Poppen, 42, said his sudden transition into the life of a quadriplegic taught him “to live for today for tomorrow may not come or it may come but not as planned.” On Monday and Tuesday he will be speaking to students at Victoria Elementary School in South Gate.
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