Aaron “Wheelz” Fotheringham is an 18-year-old who has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair. He uses his wheelchair to do amazing backflips. Check out the videos in the article, and also Aaron's own website.
Spina bifida happens to be one of the disorders we treat at the hospital I work at. Our kids aren't sick, they're just a little more challenged than some, and we work to make sure their quality of life is the best possible. Walking through our hospital, you're liable to be run down by active kids in chairs, using walkers, or using orthotics or prosthetics.
Sometimes as adults we forget how absolutely spirited kids are, and just because they can't walk doesn't mean they can't be active, as Aaron proves. Granted, not many kids in wheelchairs can do what he can do, either--he's obviously practiced very hard and is very driven, and has athletic ability. Nor, if I were his mother, could I have watched the practices without my heart lurching into my throat. But I'm glad it worked out for him, and that he has so many well-wishers cheering him along.
This quote from his bio really captures the spirit of the kids I see every day:
Aaron never let anything stop him. Even as a baby and small child, he did anything anyone else his age could do, he just had to figure out how to make it work for him. He rolled over, sat up, and even crawled (on hands and belly, no leg action) pretty much on schedule. Within days of receiving his first “walker” he was off and running. Next came crutches, which he mastered quickly. He would put on a “Superman” cape and blast down the hall on crutches believing, as any other 4 year old, that he could fly.
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