Spinal Network News - August 2017

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happiness gliding around San Diego on one foot like a
natural. Bystanders judge him as different, but he doesn’t
care. The most important thing is, he is happy, and, he is
free.
David’s philosophy or teachings came to me when we
were putting together this magazine and interviewing
the many great people who feature in it. Neelu Jennings
for example, a woman who lost 70 per cent of her sight;
who has completed Coast to Coasts; climbed Mount
Kilimanjaro; and participated in many more multisport
events. She lives by what she can do, not by what she
can’t. Courage. Joseph De Thierry has come back from
the brink—the man who fractured his spine in a fall,
returned to what he loves most: cross-fit training. It has
made him feel whole again. Courage. Quentin Smith
wrote a great piece in this magazine about the adventure
he sought to mark the milestone of turning 40. He
decided that he wanted to mark the occasion with an
adventure and chose a river journey. He overcame his
fear and was free. Courage. Alan Pullar, as of this year,
has spent 50 years in a wheelchair. Alan never accepted
his life would be limited; to his credit, he made his own
luck. He just got on with things and wasn’t ever going to
put his hand out for assistance—being independent was
always most important to him. Courage.
All of these people share the same bond of
determination to live the life that they want. Able-bodied
or disabled, it doesn’t matter—that is a huge challenge to
pull off. It never hurts to challenge your thinking to see
if you are living the life that you want. And, if you aren’t,
then what is stopping you?
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