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- ONE DAY AT A TIME
I take the pain and weakness day-to-day while attempting to do some of my favorite things My name is Brittany and I was born with Spina Bifida (L4-S1). Unlike most, I was born able to walk. Now, my legs are weakening and I use a wheelchair about 85% of the time. That number is only going to increase. It's a hard pill to swallow, but this is round two of not being able to walk much. Ten years ago I was diagnosed with Arachnoiditis and Mom was told I'd be paralyzed within a few months. I used a chair, but could still walk short distances. I was gutted at the time but am better prepared mentally these days. Despite the new changes, I'm enjoying what I've got by volunteering at my elementary school and helping homeschool two of my buddies. I also love sports, so have taken up WCMX, enjoy playing basketball and have completed several 5K's. I also went surfing last month thanks to Life Rolls On Foundation- what a blast that was! I take the pain and weakness day-to-day while attempting to do some of my favorite things.
- A LIFE FREE OF MS
I fundraise for MS Research Australia so our sons and daughters may live a life free from MS Hi, I am Kerrie and I was diagnosed with Progressive Multiple Sclerosis in 2008 and used a wheelchair fulltime after 4 years. I fundraise for MS Research Australia so our sons and daughters may live a life free from MS. I create a range of candles for the Kiss Goodbye To MS campaign and I donate the profits. I spend most of my time at home and I am grateful that this venture allows me to keep in touch with people.
- THE ACCIDENT MADE ME STRONGER
Naturally, cross-fit wasn't on my list of "let's try this" activities Hi, I am Kristin. Both my legs below the knee were amputated after a horrible car accident on May 5, 2014. I was stuck in my car for 6 days before I was found. I was trying to move forward and advance in my life, but I have 4 kids, was overweight, and was now missing 2 limbs. Naturally, cross-fit wasn't on my list of "let's try this" activities...However one day I did and I was hooked. I never thought I would be doing the physical activities I am doing now. The accident actually has made me stronger both mentally and physically and I even completed the Spartan Military Sprint just shy of 2 years on prosthetics.
- Krembo Wings Summer Camp - EMPIRE!
We had a blast at Krembo Wings Summer camp 2016 at the Golan Hights In Israel Krembo Wings is the only inclusive youth movement in Israel for children and youth with and without disabilities, providing weekly social activities for young people with all types of mental and physical disabilities together with their able-bodied peers. Established in 2002, Krembo Wings operates tens of branches across Israel, and welcomes thousands of young people aged 7 to 21 from all cultural, religious and Socio-economic backgrounds. Krembo's mission is to create a wonderful world of friendship and fun and a meaningful place for everyone. This year all the national chapters joined in a 3 day fun camp combining activities of arts, crafts, music, pet play time, outdoor & water activities. parents also enjoyed their time with interesting speakers that shared their empowering stories showing that you can really do anything! Erez, our family & his fellow Krembo friends had an amazing time, showing that you can really do anything. that accomplishments can be achieved through little things & socializing. making everyone feel important & focusing on their capabilities and personality. It was awesome, Erez had a great time & so did we. Thank you to all of the Krembo team and donors, can't wait for next year & as the call of the camp goes: "Come On Krembo, Krembo The Empire"!!
- DON'T TELL ME I CAN'T
The doctors told me I would never walk again, but I have never let anyone tell me I can't do anything My name is Dylan. 2 years ago I was in a serious car accident where I broke my c6 and c7 vertebrates leaving me an incomplete quadriplegic. The doctors told me I would never walk again, but I have never let anyone tell me I can't do anything. So far I am able to walk 800 metres with assistance. I have now found a new love for quad rugby and am training hard to pursue a future in the sport!
- Impossible is Nothing
Her smile can light up a room Brooke aka "Brookie" is a beautiful 5 year old little girl who has Spastic Quad Cerebral Palsy. Like many little girls her age she likes to play with dolls and be around her many friends. She idolizes her older brother Tyler and has a spirit that is contagious. Her smile can light up a room and she has a Facebook page called "Smiles for Brookie". Her motto is: "Impossible is Nothing"!
- MAKE IT COUNT
You only live once My names Mike and I was born with Spina Bifida. I started doing jiujitsu about a year and a half ago. I also do wheelchair basketball and participate in marathons. I was really reluctant to do these things in the beginning, until I realized a few things: 1. You only live once, make it count 2. The only limitations you have, are the ones you place on yourself 3. I really enjoy inspiring others and 4. there's a ton of other adaptive athletes out there!
- THE DISNEY CHAMPION
I smashed my personal best from training and I was crowned the female wheelchair champion Hi, I am Bethany. I started experiencing difficulty with walking at the age of 16. I spent about 2-3 years going too and from different hospitals before being diagnosed with Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia. I struggled with the fact that my fast paced life seemed to come to a sudden halt, and that's why about 2 years ago I started looking in to wheelchair racing. I thought the cost of the sport would hold me back, but then I found the motivation wheelchair. I started signing myself up for races and I noticed what a difference the sport was having on me both mentally and physically; I was starting to get out of the house and seeing the world. I have so far completed 3 10Ks and a half marathon with 2 more half's lined up in the next 6 months. I also do a timed 5K every Saturday morning at my local Parkrun. My greatest achievement so far was the half marathon at Disney World because not only did I finish it, I smashed my personal best from training and I was crowned the female wheelchair champion! I'm heading back next year to defend my title!
- SUPERHERO
My mummy says that I am her little super hero and she is so proud of everything I do Hi, I am Thomas and I was a premature baby born at 26 weeks. I suffer from a condition which is called hydrocephalus and global developmental delay plus mild cerebral palsy. I have faced many challenges in my life - from learning to walk (finally walked on my own at the age of 3 and half) to having no speech or communication skills. I have communication cards which help me express what I want as well as using basic sign language. My mummy says that I am her little super hero and she is so proud of everything I do no matter how big or small it is.
- MY LOVE FOR MUSIC
I hope to be a successful musician and to reach out to people from both near and far I'm Jerome Jackson and my love for music started at a very tender age. I taught myself to play various musical instruments, such as the keyboard/piano, guitar and the drums. However, I was more connected to the piano, and was able to communicate musically through the sound of the keys. I was born with "gifted-hands” meaning that I have two hands like most of us, however I was born with a special rare right-hand where I have only a palm and my fingers are not fully developed. Despite this uncommon condition, it did not stop me from fulfilling my dreams. When I was just nine years of age, I started to successfully play the piano. In my case, I managed to play the piano with both hands, despite the distinctive right hand. From then to now, I remain inspired and continue to live out my dreams with the hopes of being in the company of great men and women, from past, present and the future. I hope to be a successful musician and to reach out to people from both near and far with my musical talents
- NURSING HELPS ME TO INSPIRE OTHERS
I have only recently became aware that I have the ability to help and inspire others Hi, I am Nicky. I was born without my right arm. It never slowed me down and my mom always joked that I purposely sought out the most impossible challenges, then tackled them like a rockstar for the pure shock value it would elicit from nay-sayers (she may have been correct!) I am a nurse, mother of 2 Laikyn (13) and Landon (10). I have been married to my wonderful husband Jacob for 4 years who is also a right arm amputee. I have only recently became aware that I have the ability to help and inspire others. Odd I know, but I was completely oblivious to the impact I had and all the good I could have been doing. Although I never held back when reaching for and achieving goals, for many many years I was ashamed and self conscious of my arm, so I didn't talk about it. Since becoming a nurse I've really embraced my ability to help others in every aspect including how I not only live and function, but thrive missing an arm.
- Mexico
Wherever my travels may lead, paradise is where I am Dealing with challenges and confronting obstacles is a daily proposition for one with a spinal cord injury, and as an 18 year veteran of life as a paraplegic, my resolve has on many occasions, in ways large and small, been put to the test. On Friday I was confronted with a new dilemma, though, and it nearly got the best of me. My mom and I had arrived at the Grand Bahia Principe in Tulum, Mexico and found out - after five hours of stall tactics, negotiations, pleas, phone calls, propositions, suggestions, requests, and bogus, insincere attempts to help - that they didn’t have a wheelchair accessible room available in spite of the reservation I made on June 9. This was not a “we requested two beds but only got one” inconvenience. It was a colossal disaster, expletives included. Our only option was to find another resort that could accommodate us. Enter the Barcelo Maya Palace. The Barcelo complex is about 15 minutes north of the Principe resort, and even though they had an accessible room available, the initial hours there, too, were fraught with difficulties I was not prepared to fight. More than anything else, I wanted to pack my bags, board the next plane bound for Washington - regardless of cost, and return to my home where I could curl up in bed and wrap my arms around Ocho. Hugging my dog was the only comforting thought I could produce. I was desperate. And tired. And hungry. I decided to go to sleep and re-evaluate things in the morning. I woke up on Saturday and reluctantly agreed to give the day a chance. We went to breakfast and then stopped in the Guest Services office to use the internet. While I was on the computer, mom began talking with a woman who is the assistant manager of the resort. She showed mom the beach wheelchair they provide for guests and said we should let the staff know when we wanted to use it. I had no idea the resort even had a beach wheelchair. I started feeling more optimistic. After discussing our options for how to spend the day, we decided to get a cab to Tulum so we could visit the Mayan ruins. As soon as we arrived and got out of the cab, it began to pour. We sat through torrential rain for an hour, and when it stopped and the sky began to brighten, we hired an English speaking guide and began the mile long trek to the walled city. The first half of the journey was no problem. I was pushing my wheelchair over a paved road, and although there were occasional large puddles the depths of which I did not know, for the most part I was doing fine. Then we got to the point where the surface is pocked with cobblestones that pitched my front wheels in either direction as I slowly bumped over them. There were half-assed ramps that I couldn’t negotiate on my own. Some we went down backwards. Some we went up. Some we went down forward. There was always someone right behind or beside me trying to figure out how to pass us. Gnarly mangrove trees crowded in from our left. Suffocating heat and humidity beat down from above. It was a cluster, and the only way out of it was to keep going through it. So we did. When I rolled through an arch in the 20’ thick wall that surrounds the city on three sides and found myself sitting among the famed Mayan ruins, I entered another world. I was overcome with a sense of wonder and awe, and although I have pictures to show what I saw with my eyes, there will never be a photograph or video that depicts the feel of the place. I understand now that visiting Tulum was not simply about “seeing” the ruins. Visiting Tulum was an experience that I felt in the core of my being. On Sunday I used the beach wheelchair. We spent the day relaxing under a palm tree and snorkeling in the warm, turquoise Caribbean. We counted the water’s different shades of blue (there were four). With each minute that passed, I became more and more convinced that staying in Mexico was the right decision. When we were invited to the beach to witness the release of 53 sea turtle hatchlings on Monday evening, I marveled at the reversal of our fortune. I went scuba diving on Monday and Tuesday mornings, and when we saw an adult turtle nibbling at something on a stalk of coral, we hovered a few feet above it and watched contentedly. On Wednesday and Thursday we again staked our claim to the beach wheelchair. While we were in the water on Thursday morning another adult sea turtle joined us for an extended swim. He passed inches beneath me while I was treading water with my arms, made a large circle behind me, and when I turned around to find him, he gracefully raised his head from the water. It was a magical moment that I would have missed if I had thrown the towel in when I wanted to on Friday night. Voltaire, you’re right - “Wherever my travels may lead, paradise is where I am.”












