Blind Man Ignores Naysayers & Becomes a Doctor

As soon as I saw the byline for this local story, I knew it was meant for me - "UW's Tim Cordes ignored the naysayers to become one of the few sightless doctors in the country."

Ignored the naysayers indeed. Cordes has led one heck of an inspiring life - on top of his achievements in the medical field and his tenacious drive, buried in the article is a mention of black belts in jujitsu and tae kwon do! Unbelievable.

Check it out:

> Read Cordes' full story at the Capital Times

Now I'm sorry I didn't know about his speech at the Madison Civics Club.

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Disability Doesn't Stop This Teen From Dancing

...and defying expectations. What an amazing and inspiring story this is that I came across in this week's Parade magazine:

In Challes Reese’s dreams, her face is bathed in a spotlight as she dances freely across a stage.

In Challes Reese’s reality, she is a 15-year-old with cerebral palsy who relies on a wheelchair for mobility.

But she has long refused to let her neurological condition, which permanently impairs muscle control, block her dream of dancing.

That dream started when Challes was a little girl in Chicago, before her family relocated to Dubuque, Iowa. And it persisted when she moved into Hills & Dales, a local residential facility for young people with profound physical and mental disabilities, a few years ago.

So when the Stephen Hempstead High School dance team held tryouts last fall, the freshman, one of nearly 1600 students, steered her motorized wheelchair to the center of the floor. She was ready. A wheelchair in a dance routine? Skeptics were soon won over as Challes moved her arms and spun her chair around, “dancing” in sync with the music. It was an unconventional routine but one she performed to near perfection.

Told she was the newest squad member, Challes, a young woman of few words, unleashed a scream of joy. The dream was on.

> Read more here.

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Disabled Employee Inspires Community

This just makes me smile:

For two years, everyone from jockeys to longtime racing fans have come through Gate 1 for more than just the races. One worker's story, his love for work, can be a lesson to us all.

Sometimes it takes some giving up to get where we want to go. For James Cornette, it means putting off his 31st surgery to work at Churchill Downs. "He told me that I needed surgery right away, but I told him since I just started working, that I wanted to wait," said the Churchill Downs employee of his doctor.

Right now Cornette has two fractures in his back and health concerns so great he takes 11 pills everyday to get by. This medicine helps make it possible for James to tackle a job of a lifetime -- handling tickets and programs at Gate 1 of the track that gave him a chance.

"James was looking for work and he actually told us that he would work for free if we'd let him work, and of course, we told him we can't do that there's laws against that, but of course we'd have to pay you," said Chuck Jetton, James' Manager at Churchill Downs.

For four days a week, the 23-year-old and his mother are stationed at Gate 1, Mauk helping her son where she can. It's a job James has had now for two years. "Sometimes it does get a little overwhelming having all these people come through here," he said.

Still, James Cornette's dedication is enough to inspire an entire racing community, including the jockeys who race at the track.

"He gets up everyday for Churchill Downs. He lives it, he eats it. breaths it," said James' mother Jackie. "It has given him the willpower to push and to strive to do better."

"This is my hero right here, " said racing Fan Hezekiah Bush. "Some days I'll come in, I'm feeling kind of down and kind of bad, and every time I see James it just picks me up."

"I'm going to work til I can't work no more," said James of his job at Churchill Downs. (from Wave3)

Watch the video:



Wow - are you as excited by what you do every day?

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Amputee Swimmer Doesn't Quit

I love stories like this - someone who doesn't look at their disability as an barrier..but an obstacle to overcome. Here is Dwight's story:

Dwight Montgomery was pulling himself out of the water when he looked up and saw the crowd was clapping and cheering for him.

Three years after a horrific motorcycle accident left him with one leg, the Jamaican-born swimmer finished his first Nike Swim Miami two weeks ago in a little more than two hours.

"They made me feel as if I won the race even though I finished 174th out of 182 swimmers," Montgomery said. "I did the [3.1-mile] race as a challenge. It was one of the most taxing and rewarding things that I ever have done. The pain lasted for two full days."

The next week Montgomery, 48, of Tamarac was right back in the pool training for more challenges.

This is my favorite part:

"I find now that I am doing all of this I am motivating my [10 yr-old] daughter even more," said Montgomery, who hopes to compete in triathlons. "The lesson she learns isn’t just about swimming. The lessons she gets by watching about not quitting and being in pain and getting past that is invaluable. It says that you can do anything."

> Read the full story and more about Dwight Montgomery

Watch the CNN video recap:

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Disabled Iraq Veteran Overcomes Tragedy & Inspires Others

As a veteran, American and well, a human being, this story really touches me. Mr. Smith was speaking this week as part of Disabilities Week in Arkansas:

Imagine joining the army and being sent to Iraq to serve your country. Then an explosion caused by a rocket-propelled grenade causes you to lose almost every function of your body.

This is what happened to retired Army Maj. Anthony Smith April 4, 2004.

Pronounced dead after the attack, 17 minutes passed before soldiers discovered Anthony Smith was alive. He was in a coma for 62 days and lost part of his right arm and his entire right hip. After more than thirty surgeries, the retired army Major now uses his survival to help inspire others to never give up.

"No matter what you're going through, use it to your advantage and don't ever give up. You may lose some battles, but the key is to win the war," said Smith.

Now Smith uses his experience to help counsel other injured soldiers. He is working on getting his PhD in counseling so he can counsel others.

> Read More About Smith's Talk in The Herald.

> Read More About Smith's Long Journey

One Man Helps the Disabled See the World

Traveling is one my favorite things to do. Whether it's the new sights and sounds, enjoying new restaurants and shops, meeting new people or just savoring the "newness" in and of itself, traveling feels fantastic for your mind and body. But obviously, not everyone can travel - and it is particularly difficult and intimidating if you are disabled.

Craig Grimes, who broke his back 12 years ago, has just made it easier by launching the first online booking travel site this week for disabled travelers - Accessible.travel.

His story is very inspiring - I love his outlook:

Mr. Grimes, who today is launching the world's first instant online booking engine for disabled travelers, has dedicated the past five years of his life to helping people with disabilities become more adventurous. From helping a quadriplegic woman from England attend her son's wedding in Barcelona, to showing Nicaraguan war victims how to navigate the streets of Matagalpa in a wheelchair, the British advocate has been helping disabled people around the world – through his various smaller travel Web pages and in person – to push their limits and challenge their comfort zones.

Immediately after being discharged from a British hospital after falling out of a tree and breaking his back 12 years ago, Grimes boarded a plane with a friend and spent two weeks traveling around Holland – his first test of life in a wheelchair.

"After an accident, you can either sink into depression, or get on with your life," Grimes says, adding that he was "more depressed before the accident." He's since traveled to 13 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

"I truly believe that travel is rehabilitation. I am living proof of it," he says.

Now, Grimes wants to help other people with disabilities experience the same.

> Read More at Christian Science Monitor


*Note to Readers: Posting will be erratic or absent completely until 2/25 as I'll be in Washington D.C. for work. In the meantime, Please peruse the archive or these suggested sites.