Stay Positive: Take a Cue from People Who Didn’t Break!
We have many habits that we constantly repeat in daily life and that seem very normal to us: we eat, watch movies, play games on sites such as VulkanVegas casino, commute, etc. Each of these actions that seem normal to us can turn into a real challenge for people with disabilities. But the important thing is to be able to overcome these challenges. There are many disabled people who manage to do this in real life, and the stories of each can be a real source of inspiration. Below, we share a list of people who, despite all the difficulties, did not lose hope and joy in life.
Nick Vujičić
Nick Vujičić (“voo-yi-chich”) is one of the first names that come to mind when it comes to inspiring stories. Vujičić was born in Australia in 1982 and does not have arms and legs due to “tetra-amelia syndrome.” This is the result of a rare genetic disorder and a mutation in the WNT3 gene. Tetra-amelia patients do not have all four limbs: they are born without arms and legs. In some cases, various deformations can be seen in the rest of the body. This syndrome, which occurs in one of every 71,000 births, severely reduces the quality of life of patients.
However, there are Tetra-amelia patients who do not lose hope in life and even motivate others: Nick Vujičić is one of them. Despite his situation, Vujičić, who was bullied throughout his education life, never blamed anyone and tried to turn every challenge into an opportunity. He is currently the CEO of a ministry called “Life Without Limbs” and has a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) program called “Attitude Is Altitude.” This program shows students how they can make positive changes in their lives. Nick Vujičić is also a motivational speaker and has multiple books that topped the bestseller lists. You may have watched him on shows/channels like the BBC, 60 Minutes Australia, CBS Sunday Morning, Oprah’s LifeClass, USA Today, People Magazine, ABC News, The Glenn Beck Program TLC, and LA Stories: Vujičić is extremely active in both visual and social media. As a father of four children, he continues to travel the world and motivate people.
Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking is a great example of how just “thinking” is enough to become one of the world’s most famous physicists. His life is already known to many: Hawking suffered from ALS and had to live dependent on others from the age of 21. His illness forced him to stay in a wheelchair, and in his last years, he was unable to move any of his limbs except his eyes and a single finger.
Despite this, he managed to establish the foundations of general relativity and quantum mechanics. His book, A Brief History of Time, remained on the bestseller lists for 237 weeks. He was a fellow member of the Royal Society and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, as well as the owner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the largest civilian decorations in the United States. His illness forced him to depend on others for 50 years, but his name will stay in history books for centuries: Hawking is almost as important as Einstein in modern physics.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the United States and ruled the entire country from 1933 to 1945. He was Mayor of New York before that and has played many important roles throughout his career, such as the Secretary of the Navy. Roosevelt is one of the most beloved presidents in US history and is considered as important as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. II. The strategy he determined during World War II is among the reasons why the USA is one of the most powerful countries in the world today. If you look at his photographs taken at that time, you will see a strong and dedicated leader, but almost all of his photographs show only his face.
This was because Roosevelt was in a wheelchair during his time in the White House. Roosevelt suffered from polio as a child, which caused paraplegia from the waist down. Until the vaccination program eliminated this disease, polio was the most important disease threatening every child in the world and caused many people to become paralyzed. Roosevelt never let this handicap prevent his personal success: he ruled New York, became the secretary of one of the world’s largest armies and led the United States during the World War.
Ralph Braun
Ralph Braun has been declared a “champion of change” by Barack Obama and has won many awards to date. The reason for this is that he increases the mobility of disabled people who have to use wheelchairs: Braun has been producing wheelchair-friendly minivans since 1991. Almost everything in these vehicles works automatically, and it is very easy for disabled people to get in (or out) of the vehicle without leaving their chairs. Thanks to special lift systems, they can do these jobs without the need for others and improve their quality of life.
Ralph Braun is also a disabled person and uses a motorized electric chair. He designed the systems he sells for himself first and turned them into a company based on the interest they received. Currently, he continues to facilitate the lives of people with disabilities both in the USA and Europe.