“I just go!” Double Amputee overcomes obstacles to inspire others
If you thought the only day in July that celebrates independence was the 4th, think again. National Disability Independence Day is July 26. It recognizes the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, which was designed to protect people with disabilities from discrimination.
The disabilities that people face are as unique as the people, themselves. There’s no way to cover all the ways in which people with disabilities thrive in a world that wasn’t designed with them in mind. In recognizing National Disabilities Independence Day, one former University Health (UH) patient jumped to the front of everyone’s mind.
A few years ago, Marcus Smith was heading home from work when his motorcycle was struck by a dump truck. The young father was pinned for 40 minutes, struggling to survive. Once at UH, he faced a tremendously difficult recovery.
Last November, we updated you on his story, explaining how although he had become a bilateral, above-the-knee double amputee, he wasn’t sitting still. Marcus has returned to UH to meet with the care team who saved his life, and to offer hope to patients struggling with loss of limbs.
“I don’t classify myself. I just go,” Marcus said when asked about the term ‘disabled.'
And go he does. Marcus walks about two miles a day. He said he’s been more comfortable using his prosthetic limbs since the last time we spoke. “Summer is better for me. The warm weather keeps me from having skin issues inside my prosthetics.” Marcus and his wife, Kelsie, have three active children, so there’s been plenty of pool time, too.
“To be honest, he’s a good dad,” said the Smith’s 12-year-old son, MJ. “He plays with us a lot,” MJ said, adding that initially after his father’s accident, he was worried those days would be over.
If loss of limbs didn’t stop Marcus, neither will the stares of strangers, because he knows he has the ability to change minds about people with disabilities. “If I can cut my grass,” he jokes, “I know the husband down the street is getting flak for not cutting his.”
It’s not uncommon for Marcus to hear a child point him out to a parent. He considers it an opportunity. “I know it’s difficult for parents, but allow your child to understand it [the disability] is a superpower. The next time they see someone in a wheelchair or missing a limb, they’ll say, ‘I’ve seen that before and have seen people overcome it.’”
When asked about what the able-bodied and neuro-typical world can do for those with disabilities, Marcus said sometimes people’s good intentions can be frustrating. “People often want to get every door for you, or carry every bag. But you have to let us [people with disabilities] learn how to do things and adapt. Because if we don’t learn, we won’t be able. We have to be able to take the skills we learned and build on them.”
Marcus credits his wife – and having a sense of purpose – with his recovery. “Everybody has to have a purpose and help finding the purpose. The purpose can change, and you can target a new goal, not because it’s too far out of reach, but because it’s too small.”
Marcus is waiting for a new set of wheels – a hand-powered bicycle – to arrive. His family has no doubt he’ll be hard to beat.
(Pictured: Marcus Smith visits UH Plastic Surgeon, Carol Ann Aylward, MD.)