LAPD OFFICER KRISTINA RIPATTI, LEFT PARALYZED BY A ROBBER'S BULLET, IS SLOWLY REBUILDING HER LIFE. THANKS TO THE SUPPORT OF MANY, SHE IS NOW RIDING A ... WAVE OF THANKS.Byline: BRENT HOPKINS Staff Writer Officer Kristina Ripatti eyed the water at Bolsa Chica State Beach Bolsa Chica State Beach is a public beach managed by the California Department of Parks and Recreation. It is located in Orange County, city of Huntington Beach. The State Beach is a popular place for surf fishing. and sighed. The sun splayed out over the golden beach and a gorgeous set of waves rolled in -- long, slow and beautiful. Surrounded by friends, encased en·case tr.v. en·cased, en·cas·ing, en·cas·es To enclose in or as if in a case. en·case  ment n. in her wet suit, this was her element, a surfer chick's
paradise. She craned her neck, shook her spiky, blond hair and flexed
her fingers, readying herself.
``If I'm gonna drown, might as well do it in the early afternoon,'' she said, deadpan before adopting an inflated, news-anchor tone. ``I can see it now, `She survived the bullet, then the surfing killed her.''' Five months ago, a .22-caliber slug fired by a robbery suspect Noun 1. robbery suspect - someone suspected of committing robbery suspect - someone who is under suspicion chewed through her muscled body, stuck in her spine and left her paralyzed par·a·lyze tr.v. par·a·lyzed, par·a·lyz·ing, par·a·lyz·es 1. To affect with paralysis; cause to be paralytic. 2. To make unable to move or act: paralyzed by fear. . Hailed as a hero, transformed into an icon and a celebrity of sorts, Ripatti has had her life change on nearly every level. Even the most basic tasks have become complex. The ocean, where she felt so comfortable before, now seems vast and unpredictable. Her husband and fellow Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . officer, Tim
Pearce, broke into a grin at her joke, soon replacing it with a sober
look. Joe Meyer Joe Meyer was an American basketball coach. He served as head men's basketball coach at Xavier University from 1920 to 1933.• • , her partner back on the streets of the Southwest Division, nodded his shaved head. Time to go. Six cops -- five on foot and one in an oversized o·ver·size n. 1. A size that is larger than usual. 2. An oversize article or object. adj. o·ver·size also o·ver·sized Larger in size than usual or necessary. beach wheelchair -- all in a line. Ripatti's father, Jorma, still in his cowboy boots and scarf, kept to the side. ``Great, Tim, what have you gotten yourself into?'' Pearce thought. ``This is gonna be like some bad `Baywatch' episode.''' The tide lapping at their ankles, they pushed Ripatti into the water. Pearce gently lifted his wife from her chair and let her acclimate to the cold. Meyer, powerfully built but wary of surfing, stopped at the tide line, watching carefully as they made their way into the waves. Ripatti bobbed in the wash, her head disappearing in the foam and breaking through again. Before long, she called for a longboard A longboard generally designates a longer board variant in various .
Any of four species (genus Anas, family Anatidae) of sleek, long-tailed, long-necked dabbling ducks that are swift fliers and popular game birds. The common, or northern, pintail (A. Dewey Weber. A decent wave rolled in, and Pearce shoved her hard into the froth. She caught it. She rode it. She rolled, turned, hung on and madly made it all the way to the beach. A huge grin spread across her face until she slipped off in the shallow water See:
Meyer splashed his way over, reaching down to his partner. ``You OK?'' he asked, hand out and ready to grab her. ``Yeah,'' she sputtered. ``Get me out there again.'' And so she went, again and again, escorted by her brother officers, cheered by her family. Always on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of disaster, always skirting the danger and smiling. Competitive to the last. Shot by robber That was the spirit she took to the streets, the one that told her to jump from her patrol car and take off running after a suspicious-looking man near Leighton and LaSalle avenues June 3. As she caught up with James Fenton
James Fenton (born April 25, 1949, Lincoln, England) has been, at various times, a journalist, poet, literary critic, and professor. He earned a B.A. McNeal, who'd just robbed a nearby gas station, Ripatti grabbed him from behind. McNeal whirled, drew a gun and shot her in the armpit arm·pit n. The hollow under the upper part of the arm below the shoulder joint, bounded by the pectoralis major, the latissimus dorsi, the anterior serratus muscles, and the humerus, and containing the axillary artery and vein, the infraclavicular part , narrowly missing her bulletproof Refers to extremely stable hardware and/or software that cannot be brought down no matter what unusual conditions arise. See industrial strength. bulletproof - Used of an algorithm or implementation considered extremely robust; lossage-resistant; capable of correctly vest. The shot nearly killed her, then he fired twice more through her gun arm. As the blood gushed from her wounds, she struggled to get up, unaware how badly she'd been hit. The thief took aim at her head, preparing for an execution. Meyer ran up, pulled his pistol and shot the man to death. He saved his partner's life, first with the shot, then by falling to his knees and jamming his hand to her wound, preventing her from bleeding to death. Ripatti screamed at him, over and over, to get off, to let her up, to let her stand. Soon, she passed out and lost track of the blood-soaked scene. When she awoke in the hospital, Pearce and Meyer were by her side. Hooked to a ventilator, unable to speak, she pointed to her chest and then formed her fingers into a pistol. ``No,'' Meyer told her. ``You didn't shoot him.'' She extended three fingers outward, the sign of the Rollin' 30s Crips. Was McNeal a gangster? Meyer shook his head and said he didn't know yet, didn't know anything. Drive's still there Months later, relaxing at her Redondo Beach Redondo Beach (rĭdŏn`dō), city (1990 pop. 60,167), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1892. Once a commercial port for Los Angeles, it is a residential and resort city with a protected harbor and an excellent marina. home, they laugh about that day. Three bullets slowed her but could not snuff out that intense drive. ``No, `Are you OK, Joe? Did you get shot, Joe?''' he said, affectionately resting his hand on the back of her wheelchair. ``It's just, `Did I get a shot off?''' Together, they come across like a teenage brother and sister, needling each other at every opportunity. When she's not around, the soft-spoken former soldier reflects on how close they've become. ``We were friends, but we didn't go out all the time before,'' Meyer said. ``I went to her daughter's birthday party; we'd go out drinking, go to the beach. ``Now, I'd do anything for that girl. That friendship, that bond, I can't even describe it.'' Nor can she describe her relationship with him. Or her husband. Or her daughter. Or even herself. In this new life framework, so much has changed that their identities evolve daily. Before, they were all just regular folks with a tough job. Now, with her paralyzed and Pearce's dreams haunted by her injury, they've become symbols, a living embodiment of sacrifice and strength. Their newfound fame still seems to surprise them. Always her support In late September, when the Dodgers were in the thick of the pennant race, the team invited Ripatti to throw out the ceremonial first pitch The ceremonial first pitch is longstanding ritual of American baseball in which a guest of honor throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. . Sitting in her wheelchair, unable to use her body to generate the momentum of a windup, this proved to be an incredibly daunting daunt tr.v. daunt·ed, daunt·ing, daunts To abate the courage of; discourage. See Synonyms at dismay. [Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, from Latin task. Ripatti, Pearce and Meyer practiced for hours, working from a weak toss of a few feet to a solid throw that could cover the nearly 60 feet to home plate. Then just before they left, she threw too hard and knocked herself straight backward. Fearing an embarrassing repeat, she asked Pearce to kneel behind the chair and support her. As always, he obliged. When the trio took the field, all in Dodgers jerseys, the crowd cheered. When she lofted in the pitch -- a high, solid lob -- they clapped. And, when she raised her fist and waved, they stood and applauded in a manner usually reserved for the game itself, rather than its ho-hum opening ritual. As the three cops made their way up to their seats, a man broke off from his conversation of the pennant race and recognized Ripatti. ``Thank you,'' he said. ``Thank you for everything.'' The scene repeated itself once again several weeks later at the California Governor and First Lady's Conference On Women, where Ripatti appeared on the program alongside luminaries as varied as the Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (dä`lī lä`mə) [Tibetan,=oceanic teacher], title of the leader of Tibetan Buddhism. Believed like his predecessors to be the incarnation of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, 1935–, , home maven Martha Stewart <noinclude></noinclude> Martha Stewart (born Martha Helen Kostyra on August 3, 1941) is an American business magnate, author, editor and homemaking advocate. She is also a former stockbroker and fashion model. and writer Anna Quindlen Anna Quindlen (b. July 8, 1952) is an American author, journalist and opinion columnist whose New York Times column, Public and Private, won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1992. . Sharing the stage with Rwandan genocide The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass killing of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutu sympathizers in Rwanda and was the largest atrocity during the Rwandan Civil War. survivor Imacul(hrt)e Ilabagiza and Sharon Rocha, mother of the murdered Laci Peterson Laci Peterson, born Laci Denise Rocha (May 4, 1975–ca. December 24 2002),[1] was the subject of one of the most discussed missing-person cases in United States history, after she went missing while eight months pregnant with her first child. , the cop drew a prolonged ovation from the audience of nearly 1,000 women. Pearce, off to the side, began clapping, then stopped when he figured the cheers would die down. They didn't, so he began again, then stopped. The applause refused to cease. He went through three separate clapping sessions -- by the end, even the other panelists were on their feet, cheering his wounded wife. Standing ovation She told the story, one she's related many, many times, of her last night on patrol. When she coldly described how McNeal shot her, a woman exclaimed ``What a dog!'' As she continued to tell how Meyer pulled the trigger and saved her life, the audience cheered again, raucously. ``I lost my career, I lost my lifestyle, I lost my hobbies,'' Ripatti said. ``You lose your sex life, as you know it, with your husband. There's not been one thing that's been hard. There have been a lot of things that have been hard.'' When she thanked Pearce, who stood somewhat uncomfortably off to the side, for his support, the crowd stood up and saluted him, too. Afterward, woman after woman came up to pat his arm and tell him he was an ideal husband. Almost shyly, the normally gregarious officer shook his head and quietly thanked them. ``You know what's strange?'' he said afterward. ``In 10 years, I could count on one hand how many people came up and said, `Hey, thank you, officer.' It just floors me that people gave her a standing ovation. I just wish every officer got this.'' That steadfast modesty and deference in the face of newfound, unwanted celebrity goes to the heart of both Pearce's and Ripatti's character. They've become heroes to people who've never met them, something to hold up and cling to Verb 1. cling to - hold firmly, usually with one's hands; "She clutched my arm when she got scared" hold close, hold tight, clutch hold, take hold - have or hold in one's hands or grip; "Hold this bowl for a moment, please"; "A crazy idea took hold of , yet they never seem anything more than a pair of modest cops who happen to love each other. ``What drew me in was that they're both such compelling people,'' said LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. Chief William Bratton, who frequently calls both Ripatti and Pearce to check in. ``They're just good people. If there were ever two people who are able to deal with this, it's them.'' Ripatti and Pearce show such unrelenting verve, with her uncompromising push to stand up out of her chair, walk and one day run again, it's tempting to forget the gravity of their situation. She's 34 and her once powerful legs hang dead and useless. She cannot feel anything beneath her chest. Though fit and upbeat, she must work incredibly hard to try to regain the independence she once cherished. She piles hours of gym work atop physical therapy, supplementing it with trips to more radical rehabilitation specialists. Relearning re·learn·ing n. The process of regaining a skill or ability that has been partially or entirely lost. re·learn v. movement
Once a week, the couple drive up to Gold's Gym Gold's Gym International, Inc. is an international chain of co-ed fitness centers (commonly referred to as "gyms") originally started in California by Joe Gold. Each gym features a wide array of exercise equipment and personal trainers to assist clients. in Northridge, where Ripatti submits to a charismatic South African named Taylor-Kevin Isaacs. With his hair pulled back into a long ponytail, the wiry wir·y adj. 1. Resembling wire in form or quality, especially in stiffness. 2. Sinewy and lean. 3. Filiform and hard. Used of a pulse. therapist teaches her to balance, to stretch and to coax her body into movements that no longer come easily. Ripatti sat in her chair while Isaacs kicked workout balls toward her, lofting them above her. She glared at them, then at him. He was clearly toying with her. ``OK, you can just watch them go over your head,'' he murmured. ``I respect that.'' She growled angrily and began stretching upward. As he sent one after another, like David Beckham  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. booming in penalty kicks, Ripatti
began reaching the balls. She nearly fell from her chair with the
exertion, then, face red, pulled herself upright.
``All right, how would you describe that?'' he said. ``Hard, medium, mild?'' ``Hmmm ...'' she responded, eyes hard, but lips pulling back into a smile. ``Mild.'' Isaacs chuckled. ``Great,'' he said. ``I'll prepare an even harder program for you next week.'' She meets these challenges with relish, working through pain, frustration and complications. Her body is still adjusting to its new state, enduring blood clots Blood Clots Definition A blood clot is a thickened mass in the blood formed by tiny substances called platelets. Clots form to stop bleeding, such as at the site of cut. , infections and fatigue. She still suffers terrible chills, leaving her shivering on hot days. Psychologically, she's made huge adjustments, as well. When Ripatti came home from the hospital, their young daughter, Jordan, didn't react well to the wheelchair. When her toddler recoiled, the tough cop's heart broke. In time, Jordan came around and the 20-month-old now gets behind her mom's wheelchair to help push her around the house. Ripatti realized she could still be a mother, a wife, perhaps even a police officer. Each day, she learns more about how to adjust to her new life. And it's a vastly different life than she was used to. Strangers stop her at the gym to say thank you. The recent Calabasas Classic Run drew 1,400 participants and raised $5,000 for a fund to benefit her and another wounded officer. The Dalai Lama hugged her and bestowed his blessing. Community groups put on concerts, pass the hat and send checks. Home makeover Perhaps the biggest change yet came in October, when they got a surprise from ``Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.'' The TV show's volunteer crew sent the family off on a trip to Cabo San Lucas Cabo San Lucas (popularly known as just Cabo) is a small city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula at , in the municipality of Los Cabos in the state of Baja California Sur, Mexico. , then literally blew up their two-story home and built a stunning, Craftsman-style house for an episode set to air Dec. 10. That part of their life is comfortable. But Ripatti still falls down in her fancy new house. Pearce still worries for her safety. The attention, the fame, the ovations are nice, she said, but do not justify the price they've both paid. ``You can't get a big head because the reality of the injury brings you back every day,'' she said, leaning forward in her wheelchair. ``All these crazy things, all these neat experiences ... I'd trade them all to have my legs again.'' brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3738 CAPTION(S): 8 photos Photo: (1 -- color) At Bolsa Chica State Beach, Kristina Ripatti drops in on a wave for the first time since she was shot and paralyzed while on duty in June. (2 -- color) LAPD Officer Kristina Ripatti prepares to throw out the first pitch at Dodger Stadium • • [ as husband Tim Pearce looks on. (3 -- 5 -- color) Taylor-Kevin Isaacs works, top and bottom right, with Kristina Ripatti on her rehabilitation at Gold's Gym in Northridge. Bottom left, Officer Tim Pearce, Ripatti's husband, holds daughter Jordan before taking his wife, a dedicated surfer, into the ocean for the first time since she was shot and paralyzed from the chest down. (6 -- 8 -- color) LAPD Officer Kristina Ripatti speaks, above, at the California Governor and First Lady's Conference on Women in Long Beach. Above left, Officer Joe Meyer jokes with Ripatti, his partner whose life he saved, at her Redondo Beach home. At Bolsa Chica State Beach in Huntington Beach Huntington Beach, city (1990 pop. 181,519), Orange co., S Calif., on the Pacific coast, across from Santa Catalina Island, in an oil-producing area; inc. 1909. It manufactures aerospace vehicles, aircraft parts, optical instruments, and heat transfer equipment. , left, Ripatti looks out at the ocean after surfing for the first time since she was shot and paralyzed while on duty in June. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
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