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HandiCapable Fitness My name is James Norris with HandiCapable Fitness. HandiCapable Fitness is something I started close to a year ago. My mission is to motivate and inspire others by not only sharing my story but also the story of others who are faced with challenges but don't let that hold them back from living life to the fullest. Here is a little bit about myself and my journey. Why I Have Cerebral Palsy I'm 32 years old I was born in Southern California but have resided in Boston, Massachusetts for the majority of my life. I was born "normal," and at the age of four months I had hernia surgery. During the procedure, the tube that goes down your throat was not taped to my mouth. I moved during the surgery and the tube came out depriving me of oxygen for five minutes. At the time it was unclear if I was going to survive, and if I did the doctors were uncertain what my quality of life would be. By the grace of God, I survived but I was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. There are many different types and severity levels when it comes to Cerebral Palsy, but mine in particular effects my legs and my left arm so my balance isn't very good and I have very limited use of my arm. As a child, I had many surgeries on my back, ankles, hips, and hamstrings. The reason for this was to try and loosen the muscles giving me more range of motion and flexibility. Living with Cerebral Palsy I’ve never had self-pity or asked the question … why me? Sure, I've had my fill of tough days and I still have them occasionally but I have always been ok with my circumstances for a few reasons. First and foremost my faith, and second how I was raised. My family never treated me any different. In fact they held me to high standards because they knew what I was capable of doing. Let's be honest, having Cerebral Palsy is the only thing I've ever known. Where I am Now in my life & Why Fitness is so important I currently live in Malden in a two-family house, and my family's apartment is on the second floor and my bedroom is on the third floor. After climbing the stairs, I found myself huffing and puffing and I knew I needed to lose weight. So, I joined a gym and now it's such a big part of my life for many different reasons. Not only did I lose 50+ pounds which in turn gave me more confidence but it also allowed me to meet so many great people. One example is my new friend Rodney who came up to me at the gym one day and said that I inspired him- he asked if I would speak at his charity event. It was a privilege because so many people came up to me afterward and thanked me for sharing my story because it really helped them. To me, there's no better feeling than that. I now train at Mike Boyles Strength and Conditioning where I focus on building up my leg strength and the fundamentals of walking. I am proud to say I'll be getting braces and a walker in a few weeks and I'll be able to WALK!

לחייך את החיים דצמבר 2012 שינה את חיי. הייתי מעורב בתאונת דרכים קשה. הנוסע במושב הקדמי נהרג והנהג סבל מנזק מוחי חמור. אני ישבתי מאחורי הנהג ושתי רגלי נמעכו. אפשר לומר שיצאתי בר המזל מזה. נדרשה קטיעה כשהוטסתי לבית החולים "ווסטמיד". החלו סיבוכים כשלא יכלו לעצור את הדימום הבלתי נשלט. השתמשו בכל אספקת הדם ונאלצו לחפש בדחיפות אספקה ​​מבית חולים אחר. כמעט מתתי באותו יום... כמעט, אבל אני כאן כותב את הסיפור הזה כדי להראות שלא משנה מה שקורה בחיים, הרימו את עצמכם והסתכלו קדימה. אל תעצרו את עצמכם על ידי חשיבה מה יכול או צריך להיות. עמדו איתנים וחייכו כי החיים כל כך יקרים ואנחנו לא צריכים להשתמש באנרגיה שלנו על ההיבטים השליליים. חייכו :) Smiling Through Life December 2012 changed my life. I was involved in a severe single car accident. The front passenger died and the driver suffered severe brain injury. I was seated behind the driver and had both of my legs crushed. You could say I was the lucky one from that perspective. Amputation was required when I was flown to Westmead Hospital. Complications arose when they couldn't stop the uncontrolled bleeding. Using up all of the blood supply, they had to urgently seek supply from another hospital. I almost died that day...almost, but I am here writing this story to show that whatever happens in life, you pick yourself up and look forward. Don't hold yourself back by thinking what could have, should have been. Stand tall and smile because life is so precious, and we shouldn't use our energy on the negative aspects. SMILE :)

The first Day of the rest of my life: Becoming An Amputee The 31st May 2009 sits as one of the most fundamentally life-changing experiences of my life! Shortly after returning from Afghanistan I was involved in a Motorcycle RTA. The day before I had been involved in a major review of The Queens Birthday Parade, I had managed to get the final two tickets for my father and Grandmother, this was the only time any of my family had seen me ride on parade. May 31st was like any other Sunday working routine, I had finished my duty at 1300 and handed over the Guardroom to the oncoming guard, I noticed the dining hall was closed for the afternoon and so realised I had missed lunch. I decided to go out on my bike to grab something to eat at The Ace Cafe and have a ride out with some mates before returning back to my barracks at St. Johns Wood, London. On the way back, however, a series of events unfolded which to this day, I still have no memory of. I was travelling along a dual carriageway (A41 South Bound, The Hendon Way) in the outside lane going around a long bend; I knew there was a blind slip road joining and traffic lights shortly afterwards, It was one of my favourites corners having been around it hundreds of times before but, something happened (which I will never know) whilst going around the bend, I slammed my breaks on so hard that the back wheel came up in the air and the bike threw me into the central reservation at around 50mph. I was woken up two days later in hospital, where the doctor informed me of what had happened and also of my entire injury load; Two broken ankles, a severe left arm compound fracture and the amputation of my entire right arm and shoulder. I had hit the barrier that hard I had torn the stitching open on my leathers but the jacket was still zipped up, my body hit the barrier with so much force it bent the fencing barrier outward which, considering this was made of steel gives a rough idea of the forces involved. I hit the barrier where two fencing panels joined in the middle, shoulder first, this in itself ripped my arm and shoulder from my body I landed in the road essentially on my heels which broke both my ankles (Bi Lateral Talus Fractures) landing on my left arm snapping both the Radius and Ulna in about 3 or four places, this almost resulted in the loss of my left arm. The shocker really came when the doctor informed me that after an initial 6 hours of surgery we were unable to save your right arm.... and shoulder! I don't remember much from the hospital (being heavily sedated and topped up with morphine does that I guess) but one thing I do remember quite vividly, in fact, was looking over to my right and where my shoulder should have been but was only a white hospital pillow; This is the only time I've ever been upset about my situation. The second thing I remember is the following, I asked probably what any other 23-year-old man would ask; "Is the plumbing still there and working?" This got a few laughs and at the answer of "yes that's fine," I responded with a resounding "well, nothing else matters then." I guess it's true what they say when the chips are down a British Squaddie always seems to find humour in the bleakest of situations! Not only did it lighten the mood, it got a few laughs but I had just accepted what had happened to me and that this is my new life. Everything was looking good I spent two months in the hospital (1 month in The Royal London, Whitechapel and another at The Great Western Hospital, Swindon). I began my rehabilitation at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre Headily Court , It was during my time here that I started goal setting, they were only small goals, thing's that I could achieve like , It was during my time here that I started goal setting, they were only small goals, thing's that I could achieve like "today I'm going to feed myself" or or "Today I'm going to write my name", being right hand dominant I was going to have to learn everything left handed (I'd never used my left hand for anything before other than clapping!!) but more importantly, above anything else I just wanted my independence back. Little did I know, at the time, of how goal setting would profound effect on my later life. Needless to say, I can not only tie a tie and it's various knots but also, tie my own shoelaces, chop food and various other tasks that I took and still take for granted and cooking is one of my hobbies. I returned to my regiment for 3 more years before being Medically Discharged in March 2012 It was during those 3 years I started to set myself challenges more so in a bid to prove people wrong. Being in a mounted regiment of horses I decided I should learn to re-ride a horse although not on parade I did, however, become first amputee rider in the history my regiment (not really a title to be proud of granted!) which probably put the Training Staff through their paces. I then went off to Spain and learned to rock climb becoming the lead climber at one point. As far as I was concerned I was really making progress and proving a lot of people wrong in the process. What did i have to look forward to? The 28th September 2012 marked my final day as a soldier with H.M Armed Forces, which was strange since I had spent 10 years in a career that from the age of 8 years old all I wanted to do was be a soldier just like dad. My aspirations of becoming a farrier were now never going to happen, A friend of mine invited me into the forge to try and make a basic hoof pick, I physically couldn't do it! I had no idea of what I was going to do, what I wanted to do, what I was good at or even who would employ me (evidently, it turned out, nobody to start with) I had spent the six months between my medical discharge board and my final day in the military doing as much as humanly possible to better myself doing course after course to bump up my CV to better my chances and to essentially hit the ground running to get a job out in "Civi Street". October 2012 - November 2013 will always be the worst year of my life even more so than the loss my arm and my shoulder. That year became 327 job applications of which, not one led to an interview running parallel with this I was living on my savings by April 2013 I had 15 pence to my name, coupled with sheer boredom and the disheartening replies of "you don't have the skills or experience we require" I was reclusing I honestly felt life really had no purpose whatsoever and I genuinely thought so. One morning after mum had gone to work, I got out of the shower and caught a glimps of my face in the mirror, it was a gaunt withdrawn reflection, a shadow of my former self the happy go lucky, always laughing ball of moral was gone, the spark had finally been blown out I asked myself; "Honestly, what have I really got to look forward to? I've got no job, I've got no money, I'm 27 years old and I still live at home with my parents, If this is what life is like after the army to be quite frank, I don't really want to be part of it, I've been through enough". I walked into my parent's room and I took the belt from my mum's bathrobe, I went back to my room shut the door and tied one end around the headboard of my bed and the other around my neck. This is it I thought, this is what happens when you've got nothing left to give, or that nobody wants not even to give even a basic job too, I've got no purpose anymore. I got so far into "doing it" I remember the belt getting tighter I could feel my eyeballs straining from the pressure then the horrible thought of my mum finding me dead stopped me. I couldn't do this to my mum let alone my family or friends. I'm not proud of this at all, and I still think it's pretty selfish of me to have even tried. I finally asked for help. Rebuilding my life Finally a chance, In November 2013 I began to build myself back up, I moved into a friend's spare room in Wokingham as I was offered a job with a new startup chauffeur company; Capstar Chauffeurs, where I stayed for 3 years. It was during this time I set some bigger goals I decided that I wanted to take this new chauffeuring venture as far as I could, professionally, In 2015 I was nominated and awarded the Chauffeuring Industry's highest accolade of Gold Professional Driver of The Year 2015, after only 2 years I might add. I'd also learned to fly a plane, not to content with just flying one I thought, "well wing walking looks like good fun, I'll give that a go so, I went Wing Walking with Breitling. In 2014 I had qualified as a PADI Open Water Diver coming forward to 2016 I learned to Ski and had cycled across 350 miles of Northern France having cycled the 100km route London's Night Rider the night before (completely my fault, whoops) However, my greatest achievement although unsuccessful, I spent all of 2015 training to be selected for the world's first all disabled 4 man crew to row across the Atlantic Ocean with the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge. I made it to the final five, doing my final selection with 3 of the final selected crew. The reason I say my greatest achievement; and this is a question I'm asked a lot, is against all the odds and naysayers (of which there was plenty) I never gave up, not once did I think about it either, not through the blisters, the aching joints and early mornings and tiredness either, the negativity of people is what drove me on (and still does today) plus, nobody with my "disability" has ever even attempted this (at the time). This in itself taught me a valuable lesson; whatever you want in life, you must work hard for it even if you don't get it you can still hold your head high and say, well at least I didn't give up and whilst there is no shame in giving up, there is no success in it either. I was then asked to become an Ambassador for a large military charity, a charity which has been with me from the beginning of this journey in which I give my story and enhance the charities brand, I suppose you could call it a volunteer brand ambassador. I shortly moved into my own flat in South London where I currently live now. Looking forward to the future So what now? Well, towards the end of 2016 I was offered an opportunity of a Project Management Internship with Vodafone through one of the military charities I'm involved with. I enjoyed it that much that in January 2017 I left my chauffeuring job and began a career in Project Management. I also discovered a love of cycling and fitness; since complications from my injuries (left fused ankle) mean that I can no longer run. I currently have my goals set on the 2018 Invictus Games and I'm hoping to get classified with British Para-Cycling and hopefully compete on a professional platform and dare I say, become a Paralympian. You'll usually find me training at Richmond Park! So what have I learned from this? Well, there isn't one thing I've learned in particular, however, I read a few years back when I was initially injured sat in the hospital that really sums up everything; Life is like a game of poker. I kind've adapted it and put my own spin on it; "Life is like a game of poker, It's not how you play the game, but how you play the hand you've been dealt." My life is a long way from where I want it to be but I can honestly say looking back on my journey's entirety, I am genuinely happy with life. I was recently signed to a specialist modelling agency, which is something I never thought would happen in my wildest dreams, life is far too short to say no to an opportunity, even if you can't do it, just say yes and learn how to later, you'll never know where it'll lead. I'm grateful to so many people who have been with me through all this, I really haven't done any of this on my own. But I'll end my story with the wise words of Les Brown but If you're going through a hard time keep going, the voice in your head saying you can't do it is a liar. and to all those who, like me, are living with a disability... We're not disabled, we are Differently-Abled. "Somebody's opinion of you does not have to become your reality, you are better than your circumstances" - Les Brown I owe a debt of gratitude to: My Family My Friends The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Service) Eoin Walker The Royal London Hospital The Great Western Hospital, Swindon Blesma Help for Heroes Skiing With Heroes/ Supporting Wounded Veterans Deptherapy The Veterans Charity Vodafone Thanks for reading Dan

להיות קטועת ארבע גפיים לא עוצר אותי שמי איזבל וול ואני בת 14. כשהייתי בת 7 חליתי בדלקת קרום המוח וכתוצאה מכך, חלקים מהידיים ומהרגליים שלי נקטעו. עכשיו אני קטועה בארבע הגפיים. אך אני לא נותנת לזה לעצור אותי - אני קופצת בטרמפולינה, עוסקת באיפור ועוד הרבה יותר - ומפרסמת את הכל בערוץ היוטיוב שלי. בקפיצה בטרמפולינה, אני אלופה לאומית בבריטניה ואף זכיתי בפרס גאוות הספורט של ה"דיילי מירור" על ההצלחות שלי. יש לי קרוב ל-2,000 מנויים לערוץ היוטיוב שלי והסרטון הנצפה ביותר שלי עומד כעת על 24,000 צפיות. Being A Quadruple Amputee Doesn't Stop Me My name’s Isabelle Weall (@itz.izz )and I’m 14 years old. When I was 7 I became ill with meningitis and as a result, had to have parts of my arms and legs amputated. I am now a quadruple amputee. I don’t let this stop me though, I do trampolining, my makeup and so much more - and I post it all on my YouTube channel. In trampolining, I'm a national champion in the UK and also won a mirror pride of sport award for my successes. I have just under 2,000 subscribers on my YouTube channel and my most viewed video currently has 24,000 views.

מציאת עצמאות עם שיתוק מוחין שמי רייצ'ל הית'. אני בת 41 ויש לי שיתוק מוחין ספסטי בשני צידי הגוף. המסע שלי החל בשנת 1976 כילדה מאומצת כשהוריי לא ידעו דבר על שיתוק מוחין. נאמר להם על ידי חבר כנסייה אחר שאולי יש לי שיתוק מוחין, כי הרגליים שלי לא זזו בהתאם לשלבי ההתפתחות הטיפוסיים של ילדות. לאחר הדרכה והפניות, עברתי את הניתוח הראשון שלי בגיל שנתיים ואת האחרון בגיל 16. הוריי עשו את הכל כדי שיהיה לי הסיכוי הטוב ביותר ללכת באופן עצמאי, לנהוג במכונית, לסיים את לימודיי בקולג' ולעבוד באמריקה. אני גאה לומר שהשגתי כל אחת מהמטרות האלה. החלום שלי היה להיות עצמאית לחלוטין - אותה עצמאות שנלקחת לעתים קרובות כמובן מאליו. Finding Independence with Cerebral Palsy My name is Richelle Heath. I am 41 and I have Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy. My journey began in 1976 as an adopted child whose parents knew nothing about Cerebral Palsy. They were told by a fellow church member I may have Cerebral Palsy because my legs weren’t moving in accordance with typical childhood developmental milestones. After guidance and referrals, I had my first surgery at 2 and my last at 16 years old. My parents afforded me every opportunity so I had the best chance of walking independently, driving a car, graduating college, and working in corporate America. I am proud to say I have accomplished each and every one of those goals. My dream was to be completely independent- the kind of independence that is often taken for granted. מציאת קבוצות פייסבוק של שיתוק מוחין בגיל 37, התחלתי להשתמש בפייסבוק כדי לראות אם אני יכולה למצוא אנשים אחרים עם שיתוק מוחין המתמודדים עם אותם מאבקים יומיומיים כמוני. ידעתי שאחרים מתמודדים עם אתגרים דומים. הרגשתי גם שאני לא יכולה לעשות את המסע הזה לבדי, צעד מתנדנד אחד בכל פעם. מצאתי ארבעה דפי פייסבוק וכך פגשתי את הבן ראמזי. השתתפתי וזכיתי בתחרות כתיבה שהעניקה לי את ההזדמנות לחברות מדהימה. זה הוביל אותי לעזור לה לנהל וליצור את דף המודעות שלה לשיתוק מוחין: A Stairway to the Stars. היו לנו ארבע שנים קסומות להפליא של חינוך, היכרות והשראה יחד. Finding Cerebral Palsy Facebook Groups At age 37, I began using Facebook to see if I could find other people with Cerebral Palsy facing the same daily struggles as I did. I just knew that somewhere out there, others were dealing with similar challenges. I also felt I couldn’t possibly be traveling this journey alone, one wobbly footstep at a time. I found four Facebook pages, and that is how I met Heaven Ramsey. I entered and won a writing contest that afforded me the opportunity of an incredible friendship. This led me to help admin and create her Cerebral Palsy awareness page, “A Stairway to the Stars, Heaven’s Journey with CP.” We have had four magical and incredibly wonderful years of education, avocation and inspiration together. שגרירת שיתוק מוחין המסע הקולקטיבי והחברות שלנו מעניקים לנו השראה. כל מי שפגשנו לימד אותנו לקחים חשובים. הלקחים החשובים ביותר שלמדנו הם לעולם לא לוותר, שאנחנו והסיפורים שלנו חשובים! להשאיר טביעת רגל במסעות שלנו עבור אלו שיבואו אחרינו. אנחנו הולכים את המסע צעד אחד בכל פעם. יחד כולנו יוצרים את הדרך לגדולה. קהילת שיתוק המוחין מונה 17 מיליון נפשות במסע אחר קבלה. המוגבלות הנפוצה הזו אינה מפורסמת כמו אחרות. דאגה נוספת היא שילדים שיוצאים מהמערכת, נשארים כמבוגרים כדי למצוא את דרכם, את תמיכתם, את התובנות ואת החינוך שלהם. אנחנו השגרירים הטובים ביותר של עצמנו! אנו חזקים יותר ביחד כי הידע שלנו מעצים אותנו כקהילה. Cerebral Palsy Advocate Our collective journey and our friendship inspire us. Everyone we have met has taught us important lessons. The most important lessons we have learned are to never give up, that we matter, and our stories matter! Our footsteps in our journeys leave a footprint for those who will follow behind us. We are walking this journey one step at a time. Together we all create the path for greatness. The Cerebral Palsy community is 17 million strong in our quest for acceptance. This common childhood disability is not as publicized as others. Another concern is that as children “age out” of the system, they are left as adults to find their own way, their own help, their own insight, their own education and to do their own advocating. Truly, we are our own best advocates! We are stronger together because our knowledge empowers us as a community.

Being Born Blind with Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) I am a 22-year-old university graduate, I love music, going to concerts, seeing friends, shopping, and all the girly stuff. Oh, and I’m blind. I was born at 24 weeks and weighed less than a bag of sugar as I was born so early. I developed an eye condition called Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP). There are 5 stages of ROP. I have stage 5 which is the most severe. I have a detached retina in my left eye meaning that it is non-functioning and I only have light perception in my right eye. Despite this, I’ve lived a pretty normal life (with some adaptions obviously) and I do certain things differently to my sighted friends and family. For example, I’ve learnt braille, learnt to touch-type and also my key to independence: the white cane. I’ve been faced with many obstacles that some people wouldn’t even think about and been presented with many challenges, but I’ve never given up without a fight. Being Blind In Mainstream Education When I tell people that I attended mainstream education rather than going to specialist schools, have just graduated from university, and got myself my first graduate job, they’re shocked and surprised. Why is this? They think that just because I’m blind, that it’s incredible for me to achieve all of these things. Is it really? No, it’s not, well not to me anyway. I don’t think my sight loss should stop me from achieving the same grades as sighted people, or stop me from working and earning money. I don’t want to be left on the sidelines because of my visual impairment. Going through mainstream education and university meant that I have been surrounded by sighted people, just like in the wider world, meaning that not all of them would understand my disability. Therefore, it allowed me to have a backbone, learn to stick up for myself and educate others on my visual impairment. I feel that these experiences have set me up for the future. Mobility, Independence & Confidence Granted, it’s been far from easy but that’s to be expected, not everyone understands what I can and can’t see, people are not educated on sight loss or disabilities, some may have never come into contact with a disabled person so of course they’re going to be amazed. There are many misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding visual impairment; blind people not being able to do things independently, not being able to look after themselves or have limited job options. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth, with the right support, equipment and adaptions, there is no reason why we can’t do all of these things. Life hasn’t always been glossy, and I’m not the type of person to be unrealistic so I’m going to be honest. I have struggled at times but that’s all part of being human. I struggled with self-confidence for many years which made social situations a lot harder for me. My visual impairment also had an impact on me when having mobility training. The thought of using a cane filled me with dread and anxiety and I felt that I couldn’t fit in with my peers because I was using a white cane and I felt like I probably stuck out like a sore thumb, which obviously isn’t true at all. I also thought that it made me look “blind” but really, it was a way of making others aware and it was my key to independence. It took me a long time to get used to the idea, but I eventually did and let me tell you, I am now so much more confident in using a cane. I enjoy mobility sessions now and enjoy learning new routes. I no longer have a sense of dread or anxiety when using a cane, which is such a great feeling. I think that university was the turning point for me in terms of mobility, independence, and confidence. My blog: Life of a Blind Girl I’ve always had an interest in helping others, and have wanted a career within the field of visual impairment for the last few years. I have done a lot of voluntary work with visual impairment charities in order to gain valuable experience. In 2014 I created my blog Life of a Blind Girl, to educate people on sight loss. I wanted to raise awareness of the common misconceptions surrounding sight loss, and how we are in fact normal people. I also created my blog to inspire, motivate and help others in any way that I can; this could be through Q&A’s, resource packs or even sharing my tips on completing a similar task. My little corner of the internet is a place where I can share my experiences, feelings and thoughts with the world. When I first started blogging, I honestly didn’t think that people would even read my posts, it never even crossed my mind that it would give me so many wonderful opportunities, such as writing guest posts for other bloggers and charities, taking part in disability campaigns and being nominated for a blogging award! As cheesy as it sounds, I couldn’t imagine my life without blogging. Blogging has allowed me to meet some of my closest friends and connect with other disabled people who all share the same passions and have similar ambitions as me. Embracing My Disability I’ve worked extremely hard to get to where I am today, and I feel very lucky to be surrounded by incredibly supportive family and friends who love me for who I am despite my disability, they encourage and motivate me every single day and I am beyond grateful for everything that they do for me. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without their love and support. Many people tell me that I have such a positive mindset about having a visual impairment, this is because I don’t let it control my life, don’t let it stop me from getting to where I want to be, I try to embrace my disability and most definitely wouldn’t be the person I am today if I didn’t have a visual impairment. This is not saying that I am positive all day every day, because I am really not and trust me, I have my down days but I try and have a positive attitude as much as I can. Make sure you try and do the same! Don't Give Up I wrote this post to encourage, motivate and inspire others. I do not think that I am an inspiration, but I know how hard having a disability can be so it’s important to try and look past that. Not giving up is key! Remember that you can get to where you want to be, you may have to work that bit harder but it will be worth it in the end. Remember those people that said you couldn’t do something because of your disability? Well, make sure you prove them wrong, because guess what? You can. There may not be a cure for your disability, so you need to make it part of your identity by embracing it, no matter what. You may feel like you’re fighting a constant battle for the simplest of things, but you need to be determined and stand up for yourself and your rights. At the end of the day, you may go on to help others in a similar situation in the future. Your future self may thank you. Make sure you grab life with both hands, strive to reach your goals and live life to the fullest, you may be disabled but happiness is what you deserve! I’m going to end this post with one of my favourite song lyrics - “just be true to who you are”. Don’t be anyone else but yourself, the people who truly love you will accept you for who you are. Go and do what makes you happy, work hard and never be anyone else but yourself.

The Day I Was Injured On July 10, 2009 while on a routine intelligence mission patrol with my team, our convoy came under attack. My vehicle was hit with RPGs (Rocket Propelled Grenades) and small arms fire causing me to be severely injured in the gunner’s turret while my team members were inside. I continued to engage with the enemy and eliminate the threat to help get other injured comrades to safety by being medically evacuated by helicopter (Medevac’d). I was was injured, but unaware of this until I became lightheaded and lost feeling and control in my left side. I was then promptly put on the medevac with my teammates and flown back to the Outpost where I was stationed. At the field hospital, with little equipment, it was soon realized that I had suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury, Chiari malformation (acquired), spinal contusion, minor shrapnel, abdominal wounds, partial blindness, left side paralysis, and other smaller injuries. The Surgery That Changed My Life While back home, after being discharged from the Army, my TBI symptoms began to worsen. Although my injuries were all service connected, the VA continued to give me the run around and heavily medicate me with narcotics and pain relievers as the only solution to my symptoms. On July 23, 2013 I underwent brain surgery (Posterior Fossa Decompression)at a civilian hospital in New York to help with my TBI and Chiari. The outcome of the surgery helped with many things, to include stopping the black outs. On the other hand, because the surgery was risky, I suffered more trauma to my spinal cord and brain which contributed to the loss of use of both of my legs and feet. I am forever bound to a wheelchair now and am a paraplegic from the waist down. Although I'm still not done with Brain surgeries and I frequently travel to New York by means of fundraising alone, I am very fortunate to be able to come this far, and I am humbled by all of the support. I still require many brain surgeries and continue to struggle with pain associated with my injuries, but I am doing better without any medication and exercising more. My next surgery will involve fusing Cervical spine #1-3 (C1-C3) in order to stabilize more of my vertebrae and brain stem from the continuous worsening of my injuries. Discovering My Handcycle With the years passing, I began to put on a lot of weight due to being wheelchair-bound and losing hope. It was around July 2017 when I told myself, “this is enough! I need to lose this weight and get in shape!” I then began to do cardio on my handcycle that I had since 2015, but never rode. I started the first day at 8 miles, the second day at 13, the third day at 20 and never looked back. Since hitting 20 miles, I have been training 20 miles a day. From War injuries to traveling the U.S.A. competing in Marathons About a month into posting my rides on social media, a friend who is an amputee and member of Achilles Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans noticed my new passion of riding and asked his team coordinator if I could join the team. I agreed and became part of the Achilles family. I have since competed in three Marathons back to back: Oct. 15: 2017 Detroit Free Press (7th out of 31) Marathon, Oct 22: 2017 Marine Corps Marathon (13th out of 100+), and the Nov 5: 2017 TCS New York Marathon (17th out of 69). I now have a coach and I'm currently training to compete in more Marathons across the United States, hoping for National events. I dream of one day being part of Team USA and competing in the Paralympics. My next Marathon will be the 2018 Miami Marathon held on January 28, 2018 in Miami, Florida, USA. Hobbies, Awards, & Passions I have a Bachelors in Applied Sciences from Wayland Baptist University in the field of Human Services and Psychology. I aspire to continue to help other wounded veterans that are in similar situations and love to advocate for VA reform to better the health care of wounded veterans. I also take great pride in being an active board member and the Graphics and Media Director for “HALO For Freedom Warrior Foundation,” a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that also helps wounded veterans. My hobbies include: graphic design, woodworking, exercising, riding & competing in Marathons on my hand-cycle, drawing, painting, helping others, volunteering with non-profits and his church, fishing, hunting, and more than anything: spending time with my family and service K9 "Bravo." My military awards include: Bronze Star with Valor, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal with one oak cluster, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with campaign star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” Device, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Operation Iraqi Freedom Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, Combat Infantry Badge, Combat Action Badge, Texas Purple Heart, and the Texas Combat Service Medal.

Brittle From Birth With Osteogenesis Imperfecta I was born with a rare bone condition called Osteogenesis Imperfecta. If you don't know latin, that's 'Brittle Bones' to you and I. Due to a genetic mutation affecting my body's ability to produce collagen, my bones are low in density and therefore more fragile. In my case, it was the genetic type that was passed on to me through my mother. I first fractured in the womb, and then broke both my legs at 5 weeks old. From then until I was 10 I was fracturing back to back. GROWING UP WITH A RARE CONDITION Due to my condition being a rare one, it meant that many people were unaware of what it meant. It also meant that I was surrounded by people telling me what I can't do it in fear of fracturing. When I was in junior high school, I never got to go outside during breaks and lunch. I was never able to participate in PE lessons, and I missed out on school trips because everyone else was scared of what COULD happen. For me, I felt like it defeated the object of me attending a mainstream school because I wasn't allowed to properly engage and interact with the mainstream system. So I became very isolated and depressed. A FIRE WITHIN I knew that I was capable of more, I was just not given the chance. As I grew older, my dad could see the energy and desire within me. I wanted to take opportunities, learn new skills, and be active. I didn't need protecting anymore in this suffocating bubble. I would rather fracture through doing something exciting, then just falling over at home. There are risks everywhere for all of us, but you just have to take that CHANCE. A PASSION FOR SPORT: London 2012 Paralympics I have now participated in nearly every physical activity I can think of, including; table tennis, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis, fencing, weight lifting, wheelchair hockey, abseiling, rock climbing, etc. What really stuck with me from early on in my life was swimming, as I was weightless in the water so I could move around freely. I really enjoyed it, and over the years represented my schools, town, county, region, and country. The goal was to attend the London 2012 Paralympics. A CHANGE IN DIRECTION However, in 2012 a fracture in my spine was discovered after years of intense lower back pain, which led to spinal surgery in 2013 that unfortunately went wrong. How wrong you ask? I don't exactly know, nobody does. But after the surgery I woke up in HDU unable to move from the waist down. What should have been a routine procedure and a five day max admission, turned into nearly four months admission learning to eat, drink, pee, poop, sit, stand and walk again independently. During this time I hit the lowest point in my life as I was not prepared for something like this. My entire world has flipped upside down. Once I was finally back home, I made a plan to get my life back on track. To find my vision and my purpose again. The World Has Plenty Of Critics Following on from returning home, I was attending an event which supports people suffering from my condition. I met a GB wheelchair tennis player who really ignited my desire to compete in sports again. I hadn't played much tennis before, but it was something I wanted to explore more. After a year of training hard, and being put in contact with a local GB wheelchair tennis player, I became the subject of bullying by these two athletes that gave me the hand up in the first place. Once again, I felt kicked to the ground and that I had lost my vision. I had done nothing against these people, but worked hard with them to be as successful as they were. But perhaps that was the problem? I was getting too good, and I became a threat. It was in that moment I decided I needed to get rid of all the negative people in my life, and so I abandoned wheelchair tennis too. A negative mind will never give you a positive life. I wanted to be apart of something where fellow athletes could support and encourage each other. It's called 'sportsmanship'. BECOMING AN INTERNATIONAL BRITISH ATHLETE In 2015 I was volunteering at a disability sports event for high school kids. One young chap was chatting to me about the wheelchair racing he does, pointing out that actually my upper body strength looks good and I should come down to try it out. I had a good think about it, and thought here's a change, an opportunity, so I took it! Later that week I went down to the track and was greeted by the coaches. I jumped into a racing chair, and once I'd got used to moving it, we recorded some 100 metre times. To theirs and my surprise, I put down some pretty impressive times! Within four weeks later I had entered and competed in the London Westminster Mile and London City Mile where I placed 2nd in BOTH! I guess you could say the rest has been history... WHAT AM I DOING NOW? I am currently now a member of the British Athletics development squad 'Parallel Success'! I compete internationally and am on track to achieve my life long goal of becoming a Paralympian, with the aim to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Off the track, I am independent in every aspect of life, in a great relationship with my partner of over 1 year, drive my own car, and give motivational talks to encourage others. My message to each of you reading this is YOU are significant. Passionately play your position. Strive to be the best and in doing that you'll encourage others to do the same. FOLLOW & SUPPORT ME To support me on my journey, you can find me at: Facebook Verified: @lizziewheelzgb Instagram: @lizziewheelz Twitter: @lizziewheelz As a self funded athlete with no financial sponsors, I am depedent on kind donations to keep training and competing. If you would like to donate or share my page, please check it out here... www.gofundme.com/lizziewheelz2018 Alternatively, if you want to get in contact privately then drop me at email at: lizzie@lizziewilliams.racing

כיצד היותי קטועת רגל הוא החוזק שלי קטעתי את הרגל שלי כשהייתי בת 15 בגלל מחלה בשם לימפנגיומה (מצבור של כלי לימפה מורחבים שהתפתח לציסטה גדולה). בחרתי בקטיעה ואני לא מתחרטת על כך כי עכשיו אני חופשיה. אני יכולה לטוס בלי כנפיים ובוחרת להיות מחליקה אמנותית. אני אוהבת החלקה על סקטים והחלטתי להפוך את החולשה שלי לכוח. אני מאמינה שהמלחמה היא בראש שלנו וכי זוהי בחירה של כל אדם להתקדם ולהתגבר על מחסומים בכל יום. אני מחליקה על סקטים קטועת רגל ורוצה להיות מעולה. לא מעניינות אותי מילים או דעות שליליות כי אני מאמינה שהבלתי אפשרי הוא רק עניין של נקודת מבט. How Being An Amputee Is My Strength I amputated my leg when I was 15 years old because of a disease called Lymphangioma. I chose the amputation, and I do not regret it because now I am free. I can fly without wings, and I choose to be an artistic skater. I love skating, and I decided to turn my weakness into my strength. I believe that the war is in our minds, and that it is each person's choice to move forward and to overcome barriers every day. I am an amputee skater, and I want to be a great one. I do not care about negative words or views of me because I believe that the impossible is just a matter of point of view.

The Diagnosis: Phenylketonuria (PKU) Hey! My name is Laura Hines. I'm 27, live in Southern California, and teach Kindergarten. When I was 5 days old, my parents received a phone call saying that something was detected in the hospital's newborn screening, and they needed to bring me back to the hospital immediately. On that day, I was diagnosed with Phenylketonuria, or PKU, a rare genetic disorder. My parents had very little knowledge of what PKU was and without the Internet to research, they went back to my mom's old nursing school textbooks to find about a sentence of information on PKU. What they found out was this: I was born with very little of an enzyme that breaks down phenylalanine, or "phe," which is in protein. So, basically, I can't eat protein. If too much "phe" is in my blood stream, it creates brain damage resulting in symptoms like fatigue, mood swings, memory loss, headaches, fogginess, seizures, etc. Growing up with Phenylketonuria (PKU) I grew up on a very restricted diet, including food engineered to having little amounts of protein in it (and very little taste!), and grew up drinking "formula" that basically gives me the nutrition I need that I'm not getting from my diet. When I got to my teenage years, I started to have a really hard time managing the disease. I wanted to go out to a restauraunt with friends and eat something and just be normal. I went one time to a Mexican restauraunt and ordered ONE tortilla with friends as they ordered huge plates of food, went home hungry, and I went home feeling terrible. I became frustrated, so I ignored PKU as if it would just go away (not recommended!). I didn't want to take advice from my doctors or parents and did the best I could to hide what I was doing to myself from those who cared. I went to a camp for PKU people when I was 16 and met other women who were not taking care of themselves and after seeing their symptoms first hand...I flipped out! I cried the whole way home and knew that this was my God-given wake up call to get my health back on track before I do some horrible and permanent damage to my brain and body. Living with Phenylketonuria (PKU) Today Since I understand how hard PKU can be and have struggled myself, I have a heart for those who are struggling with PKU. In the PKU community, roughly half of the United States' PKU population is not receiving treatment for various reasons. I believe that Jesus has given me a message of hope and love to share with those in my community by directly relating to the hard spot they're in. I recently started to travel around the country and share my story with others and have realized how many people are desperate for help. I decided I'm not going to go another day without trying to make a positive change in our community. On PKU Awareness Day (December 3rd) I launched my Youtube channel called "Thriving with PKU" where I share low in protein/vegan recipes, encouragement, and awareness for those with PKU and Allied Disorders. I hope you'll tune in, too, to enjoy a fun, yummy, and healthy recipe some time!

השוני בזרועי השמאלית גרם לי להרגיש אחר כשהייתי ילד היו לי בעיות פיזיות רבות כשנולדתי. הבולטת ביותר הייתה שהרופאים נאלצו לקטוע חלק מזרועי השמאלית. גדלתי כשונה מהילדים האחרים וצחקו עליי הרבה. לא הרגשתי שאני יכול להשתייך לקבוצה ולכן נעשיתי מדוכא. בדיכאון שלי היה כנראה קשה להבחין כי תמיד ניסיתי לחייך ולהתקבל. אכלתי רע, לא טיפלתי בעצמי, לא התאמנתי וסיימתי אחרון בכל דבר. My Limb Difference Caused Me to Feel Different When I Was A Kid I had many physical problems when I was born. The most visible one was that the doctors had to cut part of my left arm. I grew up being different from the other kids, and was made fun of a lot. I didn't feel like I could belong to a group, so I became depressed. My depression was probably difficult to notice because I always tried to smile and be accepted. I ate poorly, didn't take care of myself, exercise, and ended up last in everything. ללמוד להיות אתלט מסתגל ולקבל את עצמי אני זוכר איך יום אחד הסתכלתי על עצמי במראה וחשבתי "אז זהו זה? כך ייראו כל החיים שלי?" באותו יום החלטתי שאני צריך להתגבר על כל אתגר נפשי עמו אני מתמודד. לפני שאני מנסה לשכנע מישהו אחר לקבל אותי, הייתי צריך לקבל את עצמי. התחלתי לרוץ ולאכול בריא, ירדתי במשקל ואהבתי את התוצאות. התחלתי ללכת לחדר כושר. אני זוכר שלא היה לי מושג מה לעשות ואף אחד מהחברים שלי לא ידע איך אני יכול להסתגל, אז התחלתי לאלתר. עשיתי תרגילים שמעולם לא חשבתי שאוכל לעשות. Learning to Be An Adaptive Athlete & Accept Myself One day I remember looking at myself in the mirror and thinking "Is this it? Is this how the rest of my life is going to go?" That day I made a decision that I had to overcome any mental challenge I faced. Before I tried to convince anyone else to accept me, I had to first accept myself. I started running and eating healthy. Then I started losing weight and loved the results. I started going to the gym. I remember I had no idea what to do and none of my friends knew how I could adapt, so I started improvising. I was doing exercises that I never thought would be possible for me to do. שינוי דפוס החשיבה שלכם ישנה את חייכם עברתי לארה"ב כשהייתי בן 20 והתחלתי לעבוד במכון כושר שבו פגשתי חברים שעזרו לי להתאים את הרמת המשקולות לצרכים שלי. מפה לשם הנה אני, עושה בנץ' פרסים, דדליפטים, שולדר פרסים וכו'. חברים אלה עזרו לי למצוא ציוד להתאים את האימון שלי כדי שאוכל לעשות את אותם הדברים שהם עושים. נעשיתי רעב יותר והתאהבתי בהתגברות על המחסומים שהיו לי בראשי. אנשים מסתכלים עלי ורואים שאין לי חלק מזרוע שמאל וזה המכשול הכי גדול שלי. עם זאת, המכשול הקשה והחזק ביותר שהיה עלי להתגבר עליו היה התפיסה שלי. לא האמנתי שאני אהיה טוב בכל דבר או שווה משהו. זה היה צריך להשתנות בשבילי שאשים את עצמי שם וארגיש מעולה. לאחר מכן לקחתי את זה צעד נוסף קדימה ונרשמתי לתחרות האיש החזק עם הקבוצה שלי. האמת היא שלא הייתי נהדר, אבל הייתי צריך להראות לעצמי שאני יכול להתחרות עם גברים ונשים חזקים אחרים. לכולנו יש מאבקים אבל מנסים לעשות כמיטב יכולתנו. Changing your mindset will change your life I moved to the US when I was 20 years old, and started working at a gym where I met friends who helped me adapt powerlifting with my needs. There I was, doing bench presses, deadlifts, shoulder presses, etc. These friends helped me find gear to adapt my workouts so I could do the same things they were doing. I grew hungry for more, and fell in love with growing stronger and overcoming the barriers I had in my mind. People look at me and see that I don't have part of my left arm, and that is my biggest obstacle. However, the hardest and strongest obstacle I had to overcome was my mindset. I didn't believe I would be good at anything or was worth a penny. That had to change for me to put myself out there and feel accomplished. Then I took it a step further and signed up to an Open Strongman competition with my team. The truth is that I didn't do great, but once again I had to show myself that I could compete with other strong men and women. We all have struggles, but we were all out there trying to do our best. איך אתלטים מסתגלים אחרים נותנים לי מוטיבציה אני רואה ספורטאים מסתגלים אחרים וקהילה שלמה שיש לה פוטנציאל גדול, שמניעים אותי להמשיך ללכת להתחרות כדי להיות הגרסה הכי טובה של עצמי שאני יכול להיות. כולנו בזה ביחד! How Other Adaptive Athletes Motivate Me Now, I watch other adaptive athletes and I see a whole community that has great potential, who motivate me to keep going, competing, and beating myself to be the best version of myself that I can be. We are all in this together!

לחיות את החיים הטובים ביותר למרות הקשיים היי! אני דמריוס אינגרם ואני גרה באוהיו. תמיד היו לי חיים קלים עד שהתעוורתי בעין ימין בגיל 14. גיליתי שיש לי טרשת נפוצה, מחלה אוטואימונית חשוכת מרפא. מאז שחליתי פיתחתי סיבוכים בריאותיים נוספים. אני סובלת מהפרעות רבות בקיבה ובמעיים שאינן מאפשרות לאוכל שלי להתעכל ללא כאבים קיצוניים, אז יש לי צינור הזנה וקוצב קיבה בבטן. עכשיו, בגיל 17, אני תלמידה בשנתי האחרונה ללימודים בתיכון ומנסה לחיות את החיים שלי בצורה הטובה ביותר שאני יכולה למרות האתגרים העומדים בפני. הציטוט שעוזר לי להמשיך הלאה הוא "אני חיה את החיים שלי כמיטב יכולתי עבור אלה שלא קיבלו את ההזדמנות לעשות זאת". Live the best you can despite the hardships of life Hi! I'm Damarius Ingram, and I live in Ohio. I always had an easy going life until I went blind in my right eye at the age of 14 years old. I went on to discover that I had Multiple Sclerosis, an autoimmune disease which has no cure. Since becoming ill, I've developed more complications with my health. I now suffer from multiple Gastrointestinal (GI) disorders that doesn't allow my food to digest without extreme pain, so now I have a feeding tube and a gastric pacemaker in my abdomen. Now at the age of 17, I am a senior in high school trying to live my life the best way I can despite the challenges that hold me back. The quote I live by that keeps me going is " I'm living my life the best I can for those who didn't get the chance to do so".