Everyone goes through hard times, but those who choose to bounce back and face their challenges head on will achieve greatness. This is exactly what double amputee, Spencer West, did. Spencer West is an amazing man who lost both his legs due to a genetic disease that caused severe spinal deformation. At the tender age of 5, the lower half of his body was amputated just below the pelvis. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, Spencer West decided to use his story to inspire others. Now, Spencer flies’ through life like a superhero, bringing smiles to many faces. Although it may not be a smooth flight the whole way, with his incredible perseverance, happiness through service work, and sense of self worth, Spencer West continues to redefine what …show more content…
Four years ago, no one could imagine someone without legs climbing a mountain, but with Spencer’s spectacular perseverance, this was made possible. In high school, Spencer West was bullied, especially for not being able to do sports. This did not stop him from flourishing in acting and cheerleading. His passion for being a caring citizen shined in high school, and he received an undergraduate degree in communications from Westminster College. Even with his challenges, Spencer West perseveres through his differences and excites people, especially youth, to create change in our world. In 2012, he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise money for people in third world countries without water. With only his hands (a whole lot of spirit), and a wheelchair, not only did he make the 7 day trek, but he was a supporting friend while his travelling partners suffered from severe altitude sickness. Now, he has become an author, writing the book “Standing Tall”, and travels globally as a motivational speaker. Instead of dwelling on what could have been a brutal future, Spencer West pushed through with his optimism. Through helping others, Spencer found his passion and a reason to keep
His aim was to in-crease amputees’ confidence in the use of their prosthetics and their mental attitude. He recruited 100 volunteer amputees and put them through the programme. The results sug-gested that he achieved his aim he noted improvements in the physical and mental well-being of the volunteers. They also gained confidence in using their prosthetic which aided their recovery. Their mental well-being was particularly important as it was noted that a positive mental attitude and acceptance of the prosthetic resulted in a quicker recovery time (Dillingham, T.R., 1998).
middle of paper ... ... Their disabilities have made them stronger, more determined people. Mariatu Kamara and Ishmael Beah’s stories show that no matter how hard life can get, no matter how hard or how many times life knocks one down, he or she can always pick him or herself up and turn their life around for the better. Works Cited Beah, Ishmael.
Kyle Maynard in an extraordinary gentleman who has been defeating odds and breaking barriers since he was born. Maynard was born with a rare condition known as congenital amputation, affecting his bilateral arms and bilateral legs. But what most see as a life altering deformity, Maynard sees as a new challenge or adventure. Using the setbacks and road blocks he has come encountered, Maynard has become a famous author, athlete, and motivational speaker. Chronicling the numerous failures and triumphs he has faced throughout life in his book No Excuses: The True Story of a Congenital Amputee Who Became a Champion in Wrestling and in Life.
...has put these people there for a reason. You always think your problems are bad until you go and see others. These doctors make it possible for children to have all of their limbs. We have been blessed by this hospital.” (Rudder).
William Clark was ½ of the genius team that made their way through miles of unknown land, unknown nature, unknown natives, and came home with all but one voyager, who was killed of natural causes. William Clark and Meriwether Lewis were the first Americans to try and map the Louisiana Purchase area, and not only did they map it, they discovered allies, new plants and animals, and discovered new land and water routes that could be useful for future travelers.
The non-fiction article “Rick Hansen: No Walls Too Big to Climb” written by Mary Beth Leatherdale is a powerful article about a man named Rick Hansen who was encountered in a hitch hiking accident. Unfortunately, Rick injured his spinal cord causing him to never walk again. While reading this article I made multiple connections such as, text to self and text to world.
Imagine what it would feel like not being able to stand, walk or run? Then you would be following in the very footsteps of Kurt Fernley. Kurt Fearnley is an Australian Paralympic champion wheel chair racer. He has overcome many obstacles throughout his life, one of which is being born without the lower portion of his spine. This has left him without the use of his legs, meaning that he has been wheel chair bound his whole life. However, this has not stopped Fearnley from achieving great things. Kurt is a Paralympian who was born in the small town of Carcoar in 23rd March 1981. Some of Kurt’s achievements include: winning two silver medals in the 2000 Sydney Paralympic games, 2004 Athens Paralympic with gold in the 5000m, being recognised as
Dylan was born with a tumor wrapped around his spinal cord, which was successfully removed however resulted in him becoming paraplegic. The first fourteen years of his life, Dylan defined himself by his disability. He felt ‘weird and different’ because of his disability and this was why he was excluded from his peers. It was not until Grade 9 that Dylan began to see that his disability did not have the power to dictate his life or set a limit to which he could achieve. Since then, Dylan has moved on to achieve phenomenal feats, namely, winning a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics to becoming the world’s number one paraplegic tennis player. Dylan can be found wheelchair crowd surfing at concerts, advocating for people with disabilities and training for the 2016 Rio Paralympics. Dylan is on a mission to ‘mainstream disabilities’ and shatter negative
When my father-in-law had to undergo cervical spine surgery, due to complications and months in ICU, he had to receive physical therapy treatment. I was able to experience his recovery and how with the help of physical therapy he surpassed physicians’ expectative of him losing his life or, being the best case scenario, being in a wheelchair and needing assistance on his daily activities. Watching him, from his weakest into the stronger and independent individual he is now, sparked that desire in me of being able to have that impact in someone’s life, helping them overcome the physical obstacles they might present at some point that limit them from going back to their normal life and activities.
One person in history I would like to have a conversation with is Jamie Lloyd Whitten. This summer I had my mind set on finding more information on my family history. While asking family members and researching on Ancestry, I came across Mr. Whitten. With a simple name search all kinds of articles came up about him. He served in the House for fifty-three years for the state of Mississippi. This is the fifth longest term served in the House in United States history. Whitten has also experienced many different time periods during his life. Between the ages of four and eight he lived through World War One. I would love to ask him questions of what it was like to live through everything. Did his father serve in the army? Did his family have to ration? When he was nineteen
The large front windows were painted with signs for today’s specials. Lean beef mince perfect for low fat diet, winter roasts - rolled roast beef, leg of lamb and pork. With Thanksgiving holiday just finished, turkey and ham stayed on special for Christmas. Made me hungry just thinking about it. I wondered if Cutlers still owned it or if it had been sold.
When I first became passionate about pole vault, I realized the sacrifices required to be successful. I spent countless hours of my free time practicing and getting stronger for competitions. I lost sleep at night because I was on the track too long and I would wake up in pain from the previous workout. However, I feel even more passionate about serving in the Army, and I understand the sacrifices that come with it- time, youth, money, safety, comfort- and I would not trade this honor and privilege for anything else.
In the story My Left Foot, Christy Brown was diagnosed at the age of three with cerebral palsy. Many people began to give up on him, but his mother did not. She told everyone that they were all wrong and that he was a normal child. She worked with Christy every chance she could get and tried to teach him how to write and read. One day his mother’s perseverance finally paid off. Christy was playing with his sister and saw her playing with the chalkboard. He wanted to play with it also so he picked up the piece of chalk with his foot and tried to write on the board. He could not get it at first but on th...
Many people who have suffered the loss of a limb don’t give up on hope, to the contrary many of them do such extraordinary deeds that many normal people couldn’t even begin to comprehend. For example Daniel Inouye, who fought in WWII, lost his right arm. For lots this would have closed many doors to success, but it did the exact opposite for him. After the war he received the Medal of Honor and became the first Japanese American to serve on the U.S. House of Representatives, and then it’s Senate. He held the senate office for Hawaii for fifty-eight straight years, never losing an election. In fact he represented Hawaii ever since it achieved statehood in 1959. Another excellent example is Sudarhan Gautam. This man at the age of fourteen lost both of his arms in a kite-flying accident, but instead of letting this discourage him he went on to become the first disabled person to climb Mt. Everest without using prostheti...
Firstly, Nick Vujicic has mental and physical strength. Imagine a situation of being born without limbs, no hands to experience touch, no legs to walk. Nick had a hard time when he was a child, and his life has filled with difficulties and hardships. When Nick attended school, he started to face a lot of problems. He began to be more lonely, rejected and bullied. That was because of his physical differences. Like most children , he was vulnerable in his pre-teen years and many kids hurt him when they asked him “why don’t you have arms and legs?” (Vujicic, 2010, p. 17). He decided to stay home to avoid negative comments from others. After a period of time, Nick became able to make relationships with other kids at school, by telling them about his physi...