West Newsmagazine 6-13-18

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WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM
June 13, 2018
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
I OPINION I 3
RANDOM THOUGHTS
A Community Conversation
EVERYTHING
MUST GO!
This week, West Newsmagazine
talks with Michael and
Sarah Flamion. Their names
were not familiar to most West
County residents two years
ago. That situation changed
in a tragic way in early July
2016 when Michael, a Ballwin
police officer, was shot during
a routine traffic stop and left
paralyzed from the neck down.
Since then, Michael and Sarah
have become familiar to many
due to the publicity surrounding
efforts to help them, including
the new “smart home” built for
them through a program sponsored
by the Gary Sinise Foundation.
For anyone who doesn’t know you well,
what thing do you think they would find
the most interesting or surprising to
learn about you?
Sarah: We actually aren’t comfortable
being in the public eye as we have been.
Interviews aren’t easy for us, for example,
and talking to people we don’t know is
something that we have needed to get used
to. The community has been so awesome
to us, though, and it’s not like we want to
push anyone away. When we are out and
about and people come up to us – and it
happens quite a bit – we don’t mind that.
But it’s not something that’s part of our
personality or something we feel we are
good at.
Michael: We really are what you would
call private people and tend to stay to ourselves.
If you could travel to any place in the
world, where would it be?
Michael: I’d have to say Italy. No particular
reason other than the fact that it looks
like an interesting place to visit.
Sarah: I would say Ireland. All the
pictures I’ve seen just make it look gorgeous.
What is something you never have done
but would like to do?
Michael: I must say that I’d like to scuba
dive. I’ve seen it on TV and it looks like it
would be a lot of fun … all the things that
you can see underwater.
Sarah: I’d like to go parasailing. We’ve
actually talked about it, but I’ve never
done it.
Sarah and Michael Flamion
As a kid, what did you want to be when
you grew up?
Michael: I wanted to be a Navy SEAL.
That’s what I would be whenever we were
playing.
Sarah: I had two things that I wanted
to be and they may seem completely
opposite but they’re really not. I wanted
to be a clown and help people feel good
because people do feel better when they
are laughing. But I also wanted to be a
doctor. A doctor’s goal is to help make
people feel better. So a clown and a
doctor may seem very different but yet
their goals are similar – making people
feel better.
What are the things that make you most
happy?
Sarah: Spending time with family and
friends. Looking back, those are the happiest
times that come to mind.
Michael: I was thinking the same thing
and wondering how to word it. But Sarah
really hit the nail on the head with what she
said. We like to laugh and joke with each
other, too … from the time we get up until
when we go to bed.
How would you like your life to be
remembered?
Michael: I guess I’d like to be remembered
as a fun and caring guy. I’d like
to think people had fun when they were
around me. And I’d like to think at work
that people were glad to have me there.
Sarah: I’d like to be remembered as a
good friend, someone who was helpful.
As a couple, I would hope we would be
remembered as pushing forward with life
and not letting anything get us down.
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