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Sunday, June 1, 2008
Where Are They Now…..
Greater Reading, PA
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A tragic car accident ends an athlete’s pitching career and tests his courage.
Peter Shollenberger fell in love with the game of baseball as a little boy. From t-ball to little league, it was a constant source of joy for the Exeter resident. “I loved it,” he says with a smile. “I played all year ‘round. Inside the house, outside.”
His lanky build and fastball made him a formidable threat on the mound and helped the Exeter Eagles secure a division championship during his junior year. The lefty had a dream come true when he pitched in Veteran’s Stadium as part of the Carpenter Cup team in the summer of 1998. “Pete was a starting pitcher on the 1998 varsity baseball team which won the Berks I title that year. He had a tremendous season,” said Exeter baseball coach Justin Freese.
Just weeks before beginning his senior year, a near fatal car accident changed the course of Shollenberger’s baseball career and his life. While driving to work, his car was hit by another vehicle. A doctor who happened to be driving by the scene stopped to help. Because the injuries at the scene were so severe, Shollenberger was air-lifted to Lehigh Hospital. Ironically, his parents came upon the accident, unaware their son was involved.
Shollenberger spent three weeks in a coma with a double skull fracture.
The memory is still painful for his mom, Pat, to recall. She says it’s a miracle Peter, the youngest of her five children, is alive. Doctors had to remove a small portion of his brain on the right side, disabling much of the use of his left side. He spent over a year in a wheelchair and was never able to return to baseball. Shollenberger recalls the frustration and anger he felt when he was confined to a hospital bed. “I was freaking out; I totally lost my mind,” he says of the realization that his life was going to be dramatically different. “I didn’t know what was going on. I wasn’t used to living life this way.”
Shollenberger spent three months at Health South and had to re-learn everyday things like eating and walking. Initially confined to a wheelchair, he worked hard at rehabilitation, eventually gaining enough strength to move to a walker.
Today, Shollenberger, now 28, is able to walk without crutches or a cane. He continues to work at improving his gait and is trying to gain some use of his left arm. Through the same hard work and determination he exhibited as a pitcher, Shollenberger has overcome the odds. “He’s come a long way,” says Pat.
“He is a wonderful person and an inspiration to many in the Exeter Community,” Coach Freese said.
Almost ten years later, he has accomplished much more than his short-lived success as a lefty with a mean fastball. In 2001, he earned his high school diploma with the help of a home school teacher. Last winter, Shollenberger was inducted into the Exeter athletic hall of fame and given the first “Courage” award. With over 30 of his family and friends present, Shollenberger received the honor from Coach Freese.
Through it all, baseball has remained a constant. “I love it, loved playing it,” he says. “It is still my life. I definitely would rather be on the field…just the thrill of competition and the camaraderie.”
For the last seven years, Shollenberger has held several jobs in the community, including at the Sovereign Center and for the Reading Phillies organization. He still works for the minor league team as an usher on the third base side. It gives the baseball fanatic a chance to stay close to the sport he loves. Currently, he works as an aide with special needs students at Lorane Elementary in the Exeter school district.
He credits his family, his friends and his church for helping him get through the rough times. “I know the Big Man is looking out for me,” Shollenberger says. “I’m totally in awe of the situation. I’m blessed to still be here on earth, glad I’m still here talking about it.”
Shollenberger has become a symbol of perseverance and courage and his mom says they are constantly reminded of how much her son’s story has touched others. People have become fond of the former athlete whose personality wins them over.
“He’s famous around here,” laughs Pat. “We can’t take him anywhere where someone doesn’t know him.”
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