Alcohol cost Cameron Clapp both legs and his right arm eight years ago but it could not prevent him from dancing in front of students in a St. Ursula Academy classroom Thursday.
The 23-year-old California native, in Cincinnati to mentor other double-leg amputees at University and Shriners hospitals, delivered a heart-felt and unflinching presentation to two sophomore health classes at the East Walnut Hills high school.
"Impossible is an opinion, not a fact," said Clapp, wearing blue shorts and a short-sleeved golf shirt to reveal his prosthetic legs and arm.
Accompanied by video, still photographs and audio, he detailed his injury, recovery and interests and challenged the students to set goals, overcome obstacles and reap the benefits of positive choices and realize the consequences of negative ones - messages all rendered genuinely.
"He never lost his California surfer-dude attitude," was what impressed Lauren Harper, a St. Ursula sophomore from Golf Manor.
The first obstacle he had to overcome, Clapp said, was his parents' divorce, even before his accident. He showed a photograph of his family, including identical twin brother Jesse.
"He's a good-looking guy," Cameron said.
The brothers were active, playing soccer and baseball and surfing and running in their hometown of Pismo Beach.
But they made a bad choice Sept. 15, 2001. They were 15 at the time and went out for a night of under-aged drinking. They got home, "intoxicated," he said, and decided to walk to the beach, crossing railroad tracks they'd crossed thousands of times.
"I didn't hear or see the train," Clapp said. "The train took me out." It cut off both legs and his right arm, the dominant one he wrote, ate and threw with.
His head and organs were not injured.
"It is a miracle that I survived and can recognize the consequences of my actions," he said.
The first doctor treating him told Clapp and his family that the teen-ager never would walk again.
"We bailed on that dude," he said.
He showed a photograph of himself bandaged and in bed. Then, he showed one with his stumps and scars uncovered.
"That image will stay with me," said St. Ursula sophomore Katie Woebkenberg of Montgomery. "To see him now, you realize how far he has come."
The family found a doctor and a company that could help him. Hanger Prosthetics & Orthotics, which custom-made prosthetic legs that fit Clapp's residual leg limbs, cut off right above the knee. The process was slow and especially arduous, perhaps the most difficult period in his recovery. His doctor and therapists told him that for him to truly learn to walk he would have to give up use of his wheelchair.
"Ditched it," Clapp said as he clicked on a photograph of himself on the beach at sunset, his artificial legs silhouetted and the wheelchair overturned at his side.
"I fell right after this picture was taken," he said, laughing.
Sophomore Sophie Rupp of White Oak was inspired by the photograph. "That's when it seemed he turned his life around," she said.
Clapp would fall many times. He showed video of himself tumbling off his new legs but getting back up. He had to walk backward up ramps and inclines at first. Clapp smiled and laughed at himself in the video.
"I could never have done that," said Abbie Grause, a St. Ursula sophomore from Cleves.
Hanger Prosthetics, which sponsors many of Clapp's trips and presentations, developed multiple legs for him, including ones with a microchip in the knee that allow him to set the knees in various positions that allow, among other activities, him to drive a car without hand controls and run.
"Got to be able to trust the knee to be there," he said while running from one corner of the classroom to another. "I can do things without thinking about it."
Custom-made flippers and a paddle at the end of his artificial arm allow him to swim, which addressed the problem of muscle atrophy on the right side of his upper body.
Initially, his father, a surfer, had tossed him in a pool without prosthetic limbs. With flippers and the paddle, Cameron Clapp has since completed swims of 1.2 and 1.4 miles in triathlons for athletes with disabilities.
"Charged out into the ocean like a little seal," he said.
He likes to golf, paint, play music as a disc-jockey and act. He has met and befriended actors Will Farrell and Robin Williams. Clapp landed a bit part in the film "Stop Loss," in which he plays pool with a wounded soldier. He was featured in an episode of the television series "My Name is Earl," in which he played a double-amputee boyfriend. of a single-amputee woman whose car was stolen by Earl. Clapp's character runs down Earl and beats him with a political yard sign.
"Good things, extraordinary things, have happened to me," he said. "My good choices have resulted in rewards that are priceless."
He is in contact and has mentored other amputees, including U.S. soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. One wounded soldier, who loved to hike, resigned himself to life in a wheelchair. Clapp met him and has become a friend. He showed video of the two men negotiating trails over rocks on their artificial legs.
"He doesn't own a chair any more," Clapp said.
His next goal is to learn to cycle.
Running always has been a passion.
Clapp runs the 100 meters in 17 seconds - a time that is improving, he said - on specially designed sprint feet that feature ultra-lightweight hydraulic knee units.
"Like flying," he said.
His athletic achievements won Clapp the 2005 Shining Star honor from Just One Break Inc., a nonprofit organization founded in part by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1947 to recognize a person for overcoming a disability. Past winners include singer Ray Charles and actor Christopher Reeve.
At the end of his presentation, Clapp showed a film clip of himself running a 400-meter race in the Endeavor Games for disabled athletes. He trailed in the sprint and tripped trying to make up ground, landing hard on his left shoulder and head. He struggled to get up two or three times before finally rising to his feet. He finished the race.
"I got `er done," he said.
His twin, Jesse, Cameron continued, didn't.
"He tripped and fell down (in January 2008) and couldn't get back up," Clapp said. "He got into drugs and over-dosed. It killed him.
"That's reality. If you make bad choices bad things will happen. Jesse never got to learn from his mistake. I have been able to."
He made this appeal to students, the same one he made on previous stops this week at a hospital and two high schools in Columbus.
"Don't beat yourself up," Clapp said of inevitable mistakes. "But now is the time of your lives when you are vulnerable. The choices you make affect everybody close to you. My brother is not with me physically. He is in here."
(The Enquirer/Gary Landers)
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United Spinal Association Tel 718 803 3782 ext 205
National Headquarters Fax 718 803 0414
75-20 Astoria Boulevard publicaffairs@unitedspinal.org
Jackson Heights, NY 11370-1177
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
2009 Accessibility Open House
Bethpage, NY––Accessible Vans & Mobility present the 2009 Accessibility Open House, a free 2-day event highlighting the latest in assistive technology, including modified vehicles, ultra-modern wheelchairs, adaptive sports equipment, and universal design ideas for your home.
United Spinal Association’s Able to Travel, VetsFirst and Wheelchair Medic divisions will offer workshops on accessible travel vacation planning, veterans’ benefits and services, and free wheelchair and scooter tune-up clinics. Other workshops include tips on remodeling your home, bathroom or kitchen to provide greater accessibility, how to protect your financial assets, and wheelchair sports demonstrations from players and coaches.
United Spinal Association CEO and President Paul J. Tobin said, “This is a terrific opportunity to attend free workshops that can improve your independence and quality of life.”
Dan Bussani, Vice President at Accessible Vans & Mobility added, “Mobility doesn’t only mean vehicles, mobility is a lifestyle. This open house is an event that gives the community a vision of products and services available to them along workshops on asset protection, trust funds, accessible travel, home modification displays and wheelchair sports.
Other participating organizations include the Nassau & Suffolk County Offices for the Physically Challenged, Long Island Center for Independent Living, and Canine Companions.
The Open House will take place at 500 Central Ave in Bethpage, NY on Friday, September 18th from Noon to 6pm and Saturday, September 19th from 10am to 4pm.
Old news, but new to me.... Can you believe that Spain's 2010 Gold Medal winning basketball was forced to return their medals after 10 of their team were found to be able bodied?
MRS. OBAMA: Good afternoon, everyone.
AUDIENCE: Good afternoon!
MRS. OBAMA: Awww. (Laughter.) We're thrilled to welcome all of you to the White House today as we honor some of America's top Olympic and Paralympic athletes and express our excitement about the opportunity to host the 2016 Summer Olympic/Paralympic Games.
I want to thank Mayor Daley for that warm and heartfelt introduction, but I also want to thank him for his outstanding work to prepare Chicago's bid, and for his visionary leadership to move a city to great places, a city that is so near and dear to my heart, to our hearts, to the Obama family.
And I want to say a special hello to all these wonderful young people who are here that so politely said hello to me -- (laughter) -- who've come here from our local schools in our area. Hey, guys.
AUDIENCE: Hey!
MRS. OBAMA: Hey! I think it's safe to say that everyone here is really feeling the Olympic spirit today, right?
AUDIENCE: Yeah!
MRS. OBAMA: That's right. (Applause.) Yeah! We can do this. (Applause.) And I know that we are pretty eager to see some judo, right? We're going to see some gymnastics today. And what else? Fencing. You should have seen the President in there fencing. (Laughter.) It was pathetic. (Laughter.) But he passed the baton really well.
And I want to recognize the Olympians, the Paralympians, and the coaches -- not just for their extraordinary athletic achievements, but also for taking the time to inspire young people today here at the White House, and every day communities across this nation. You all make us so proud.
As we can see from today's event, the Olympics isn't just about what happens in one city every two or four years. It's not just about those weeks when we watch the greatest athletes in the world push themselves to new heights of achievement. It's also about how a nation is transformed during the years leading up to the Games, and it's also about the legacy that lasts in those cities long after the closing ceremonies are over.
The Olympic charter states that, by "blending sport with culture and education," the Olympics aims "to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example."
And that's what I'm reminded of today -- how the Olympic Games teach important lessons and set an important example for so many young people.
I'm reminded of the commitment to excellence that the Games embody -- the belief that no matter where you're from, or what your background is, that if you dream big enough and work hard enough, ther/e are no limits to what you can achieve.
I'm reminded of the lifestyles that the Games promote -- the commitment to physical activity and nutrition that are so important for a healthy life, and that we're working so hard for to reach in this nation.
I'm reminded of the mission of the Paralympic Games that it fulfills, opening the highest levels of athletic competition to anyone with the talent and drive to succeed -- men and women who refuse to let their disabilities limit their horizons.
And I'm reminded of the example of citizenship and service our Olympic and Paralympic athletes are setting every day all across the country. More than 2,500 of those athletes have already signed up to be athletic ambassadors for Chicago 2016's World Sport Chicago Initiative. They're committing to work as coaches and mentors, and holding sports clinics to encourage young people to stay active. They've already reached more than 30,000 children in just Chicago alone. And they're planning to take this initiative across the nation, including right here in D.C. What you guys were doing today -- you went out to some of our local schools and you talked to young people about what's important about athletics and nutrition.
I re-did the section in bold so the credit would be emphasized on the real subject. Our president, much like Bill Clinton can be VERY long winded.
Source and much, much, more
Since the loss of his legs, Zanardi has returned to limited racing in the German and European Touring Car Championship.
Alex made his hand cycling debut in the 2007 New York City Marathon where he finished in fourth place at the age of 42, Since then he has finished 14th in last week's individual time trial at the Para-Cycling Road World Championship in Bogogno, Italy, where he finished 4 minutes, 45 seconds just behind Oz Sanchez of the United States, who won gold at the Beijing Paralympics
My honest objective is to be at the level of the best Italian bikers, waiting for a dream that could come true in London in 2012," Zanardi said.
If his car racing pedigree carries over to hand cycling I'm sure he will do great. Here's some stats. He has won two Champ Car (CART) Championships,In 2003 Post-Amp Zanardi won his first world series race since his accident at Lausitzring, and further wins at Istanbul in 2006 and Brno in 2008 and 2009.
Paralyzed Veterans' Americana Gala Honors Outstanding Leadership, SpotlightsImproving the Quality of Life for Veterans with DisabilitiesWASHINGTON, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
Paralyzed Veterans of America(Paralyzed Veterans) will hold its annual Americana Gala, Wednesday, September16, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center inWashington, DC.
Gala mistress of ceremonies will be ABC News chief foreign correspondent, Martha Raddatz.Awardees include U.S. Representative Chet Edwards, former Deputy U.S.Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gordon Mansfield, Invacare CEO Mal Mixon and theU.S. Paralympics.
Presenters include the U.S. National Security Advisor,General James Jones, and former U.S. Senator Max Cleland."Imagine an America where paralyzed veterans and their families haveeverything they need to thrive.
Through their leadership, the people andbusinesses we honor at the Gala are helping Paralyzed Veterans make thisvision a reality," said Paralyzed Veterans' National President Randy L. Pleva,Sr.
The inspirational annual fundraising event both honors extraordinary leaderswho work hard 24/7 to help our nation's paralyzed veterans and their familiesand highlights the vital role that Paralyzed Veterans' programs have inimproving the quality of life for veterans with disabilities.
More than 300 guests are expected to attend this year's Gala. Our great nation is home to 25 million brave veterans and 54 million peoplewith disabilities -- with 12,000 new spinal cord injuries reported annually.
Paralyzed Veterans works around the clock to create an America where veteransbenefits and health care are fully funded; where everywhere is barrier freefor everyone; where wheelchair sports are mainstream; and where our scientificcommunity is amply funded to strive for new treatments and cures.
This year's honorees are: Outstanding Service to Veterans Award The Honorable Gordon H. Mansfield Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Access Through Architecture Award, American Institute of Architecture Students, Sports and Recreation Award, The U.S. Paralympics Congressional Award, The Honorable Chet Edwards, U.S. House of Representatives Corporate Leadership Award, Mal Mixon, CEO Invacare, Invacare Corporation.
Paralyzed Veterans was founded by a band of spinal cord injured service members who returned home from World War II to a grateful nation, but also toa world with few solutions to the challenges they faced.
They made a decisionnot just to live, but to live with dignity as contributors to society. Theycreated Paralyzed Veterans, dedicated to veterans service, medical research,and civil rights for people with disabilities,and for more than 63 years,Paralyzed Veterans and our 34 chapters have been working to create an America where all veterans and people with disabilities, and their families, haveeverything they need to thrive. We represent thousands of veterans in all 50states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Proceeds from the Gala will benefit the Paralyzed Veterans of America, a501(c)(3) nonprofit, congressionally chartered veterans service organization.To learn more about our work, go to www.pva.org.SOURCE Paralyzed Veterans of America
"I feel that yes I've come along way with staying in shape," said Jonathan. "Not many people can do that especially with a physical disability to overcome."
Jonathan was born without hands or feet. He was adopted from Croatia when he was a little more than a year old.
"He's a child who sees that he is just like everybody else," said Linn Heider, Jonathan's mother.
"I used to tell people that there's hardly anything he cannot do and it's true."
Jonathan learned how to swim as a child and starting competing at age 11.
"I like to be more independent. I don't like really being in a wheelchair or things that'll slow me down. I like just being myself without prosthetics or a wheelchair or anything like that, and that's one of the sports that I can do that with," said Jonathan.
Although Jonathan has more than 30 medals, he's not quitting anytime soon. His goal is to compete on the 2012 U.S. Paralympics team.
"I think competition-wise I want to see the world by swimming and try to beat down some of these better international athletes that are still ranked higher than I am," said Jonathan.
And it's something his swim coach thinks he can do.
"I hope we can make it and I say we because I want to be a part of that," said Dave Korst, Jonathan's coach and director of competitive swimming at the Green Bay YMCA. "I want to help to push him everyday to help him do things that are going to make him swim faster and keep him motivated, get him the right competition that we can get him in the state and we'll get him there."
"It began as protecting him in the water so he could survive if he would accidentally fall in or something," Linn says of her son's swimming. "And we've just encouraged him to go as far as he can go with it, because it's a life long skill."
Jonathan Heider has also competed in sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball. He tells us he is ranked 9th in the world in the 50 meter free style competition."
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