Saturday, May 17, 2008

Different. Excellent.

Challenged Athletes Foundation

Any of these guys could kick my butt any day of the week.

Rudy Garcia-Tolson: born with multiple birth defects – Pterygium Syndrome, a clubfoot, webbed fingers on both hands, and a cleft lip and palate. His legs would not straighten; he had to crawl or use a wheelchair. Then at age 5, after 15 operations, Rudy took charge -- he told his parents he wanted to amputate those troublesome legs. Losing his crippled legs was a turning point. Rudy has become a competitive swimmer.

Sarah Reinertsen: born with proximal femoral focal deficiency (PFFD), Sarah wore a stiff, cumbersome leg brace until she age seven, when her leg was amputated. She's now a world-class athlete. She completed the freaking Iron Man Triathlon! (Could you do that, oh "able bodied" readers?) I learned about her when she was featured in this commercial for the Lincoln MKZ:


Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah: born in Ghana with a deformed right leg, he refused to become a beggar. He biked around the country to abolish the perception that people with disabilities had nothing to offer:



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