A stupid decision 15 years ago cost Paul Martin his leg.

But it didn't cost him his spirit, or his future.

It fact, he argued Friday that it made him "one of the luckiest guys in the world."

Improbable as that might seem, the 40-year-old paralympic athlete from Natick, Mass., made believers out of the students and staff gathered at St. Elizabeth Seton School during two 45-minute inspirational speeches that lived up to their billing.

They also entertained.

"I'm not a bit bummed out about being a one-legged dude," Martin said early on in his appearance.

Members of the audience chuckled at that, as they did when he referred to the remainder of his left leg as "Stumpy." But they paused early in his presentation at a seemingly implausible assertion:

"Losing my leg was about the best thing that every happened to me," he said. "It gave me much more than it took."

That's saying something, because it took a lot.

Martin was a 25-year-old engineering graduate from the University of Massachusetts when he tried to drive home after drinking too much beer. He fell asleep at the wheel, crashed and was thrown from the vehicle onto the highway at 60 mph, suffering a concussion, internal injuries, a broken hand and profound damage to his left leg.

He spent nine days in the hospital, enduring a great deal of pain and six operations aimed at saving the leg before doctors amputated it below the knee. But Martin was so relieved to have the intense pain subside after the surgery that he was oddly accepting.

"Somehow, I think I had a good relationship with that from the get-go," he said.

After healing, he got a poorly fitting prosthetic leg and began working out. He eventually got better prosthetics and began to run, then race, then expand his physical challenges to include marathons, bike races and Iron Man triathlon competitions throughout the nation and then the world.

Martin earned a bronze medal in the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, Greece, and is currently training to compete for a spot on the 2008 U.S. cycling team for the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. The Paralympics follow the Olympic Games and are for the world's top athletes with physical disabilities.

Martin's accomplishments have earned him sponsors that include Nike, The Hartford insurance and financial services company and Ossur, makers of high-tech prosthetics that Martin uses for everyday and sports wear.

The Hartford is a founding partner of the U.S. Paralympics and supporter of a number of athletes with physical disabilities. Local Hartford representative Mark Vickers was Martin's host during his visit to Rapid City.

"He has such an inspirational message. I wanted him to share it here with our kids," Vickers aid.

Elizabeth Seton eighth-graders Lauran Feist and Caitlin Duffy were so inspired they bought Martin's memoir, "One Man's Leg," had it autographed and pledged to put his message to work in their own lives.

"As a teenager, it's kind of a difficult part of my life, and he showed I could face adversity and struggle and make something great from it," Feist said.

Duffy said Martin's mix of humor and inspiration made his message more effective.

"He was hilarious. And I think he connected well with the high-schoolers and the kids in middle school and younger," she said. "It made me want to go out and overcome obstacles in my own life and really accomplish something."

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com