Disabilities
have existed since the dawn of time and were considered to be a burden to the
families of those afflicted by a physical or mental disability. In the past
having a disability would limit you to very few things but today thanks to public
awareness being born with a disability or suffering an accident is no longer a
hindrance from doing anything you want to do. The following personages have
been carefully selected by Wheelers Van Rentals and are an inspiration to those
that suffer from physical and or mental disabilities.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Known for
being the only US president elected 4 terms and entering America into World War
Two, FDR contracted Polio at the age of 39 while vacationing in Campobello
Island and was paralyzed from the waist down. Roosevelt was one of America’s
most beloved presidents and at the time tried many different therapies to hide
from the public that he was in a wheelchair. His wife Eleanor was his anchor
and helped him for many years before he died in April 1945 only 3 months after
being elected for a fourth term.
Steven Hawking
We’ve all seen him on the cover of science magazines and guest starring on shows like the Simpsons and The Big Bang Theory but who is he? Well, Professor Stephen Hawking is an internationally renowned physicist and the voice of Motor Neuron Disease (MND). Professor Hawking contracted the disease at the young age of 21 and was told by experts that he would not live longer than 2 years. Here we are 30 years hence and this well-known genius continues to suffer the conditions such as inability to walk and difficulty breathing but despite prognostics, is still alive and making regular appearances and providing insights on his research and books.
Ubiquitous
in the late 70s and 80s for playing The Man of Steel in DC Comic’s Superman,
Reeve was paralyzed from the neck down in 1995 after suffering a near fatal
horse riding accident. He then continued to make the news with his work
advocating stem cell research in the 1990s. He was confined to a wheelchair and
founded the Christopher Reeve foundation. Reeve died in 2004 due to cardiac arrest
caused by a systemic infection.
Two of
these men are no longer with us but they are remembered for being heroes in
their respective fields. Reeve for being a celebrity and using his influence to
raise awareness for stem cell research and FDR for showing us how much of a
hindrance a disability was years ago and overcoming a physical disability
becoming one of America’s most cherished presidents. Steven Hawking was thought
to not be able to amount to much in his early college years but has overcome
adversities on many levels to become one of the most influential men in science
in the last 50 years. In the month of October, (Orlando Wheelchair Van Rentals month) Wheelers Van Rentals honors
these men.
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