Thank you Yisroel and Adam, that is very nice of you both to say. Very many times the disabled are looked at with frowns or disdain. Those with invisible disabilities can have the same reaction (diabetes, depression, chronic pain,the list goes on) Those of us that have challenges do have feelings and sometimes those feelings can be at the surface, but most times hidden. Let's all try to be kind and patient with one another . Who knows, we may be entertaining angels.
jim
Overcoming Disabilties Team Room
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brotherjim
- 10k Poster
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- Joined: August 7th, 2009, 12:49 pm
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brotherjim
- 10k Poster
- Posts: 1241
- Joined: August 7th, 2009, 12:49 pm
Re: Overcoming Disabilties Team Room
his story
Major David Rozelle, a below-knee amputee, is an icon, resource and inspirational figure for American soldiers injured in recent conflicts abroad.
While in Iraq, commanding 140 troops of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Maj. Rozelle lost part of his right leg when a landmine exploded under his Humvee.
After completing his rehabilitation, Major Rozelle made the decision to return to active duty and to the samebattlefield – the first American soldier to do so in modern times. Now having completed a second tour in Iraq ona prosthetic leg, Maj. Rozelle continues to lead by example and is helping his fellow injured soldiers to reclaimactive lifestyles. He strongly believes in the healing power of sports to help accomplish his new mission.
After participating in the 2004 San Diego Triathlon Challenge, Maj. Rozelle became a proud supporterof the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF). He serves as a role model and mentor in CAF’s OperationRebound program. He recently represented the Challenged Athletes Foundation at the Ford IronmanCoeur d’Alene and was recognized with the Ford Ironman Everyday Hero Award.
Afterwards, Rozelle was driven to conquer the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kona – animportant goal he set for himself to prove that he’s not only “back in action,” but back with a purpose. In Hawaii he went over an hour faster than his qualifying time, finishing in 12:46:26.
Major David Rozelle, a below-knee amputee, is an icon, resource and inspirational figure for American soldiers injured in recent conflicts abroad.
While in Iraq, commanding 140 troops of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Maj. Rozelle lost part of his right leg when a landmine exploded under his Humvee.
After completing his rehabilitation, Major Rozelle made the decision to return to active duty and to the samebattlefield – the first American soldier to do so in modern times. Now having completed a second tour in Iraq ona prosthetic leg, Maj. Rozelle continues to lead by example and is helping his fellow injured soldiers to reclaimactive lifestyles. He strongly believes in the healing power of sports to help accomplish his new mission.
After participating in the 2004 San Diego Triathlon Challenge, Maj. Rozelle became a proud supporterof the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF). He serves as a role model and mentor in CAF’s OperationRebound program. He recently represented the Challenged Athletes Foundation at the Ford IronmanCoeur d’Alene and was recognized with the Ford Ironman Everyday Hero Award.
Afterwards, Rozelle was driven to conquer the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kona – animportant goal he set for himself to prove that he’s not only “back in action,” but back with a purpose. In Hawaii he went over an hour faster than his qualifying time, finishing in 12:46:26.
Re: Overcoming Disabilties Team Room
Jim, I did my half marathon today 
My time was slow, but I DID IT!!!!!! I don't think I will run a 5K after,like Rosi 
I am going to float for a few hours in these warm waters here. 
Maybe have a few boat drinks.
RONNIE
My time was slow, but I DID IT!!!!!! I don't think I will run a 5K after,like Rosi I am going to float for a few hours in these warm waters here. Maybe have a few boat drinks.RONNIE
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brotherjim
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Re: Overcoming Disabilties Team Room
Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie, congratulations !!!!! I am proud of you but seething with anger 
The weather here is 37 degrees with a cold rain. The weather in other parts of the US is way worse. And you are soaking in the warm salt water ocean, probably listening to my favorite Jimmy Buffett cd, sipping on a boat drink, somebody sound the alarm.
Way to row Ronnie, enjoy your day, you have earned it.
jim
The weather here is 37 degrees with a cold rain. The weather in other parts of the US is way worse. And you are soaking in the warm salt water ocean, probably listening to my favorite Jimmy Buffett cd, sipping on a boat drink, somebody sound the alarm. Way to row Ronnie, enjoy your day, you have earned it.
jim
Re: Overcoming Disabilties Team Room
Hooray Ronnie! That is wonderful,fab,hotronnie1 wrote:Jim, I did my half marathon today
RONNIE
Rosi
Re: Overcoming Disabilties Team Room
Whoop! Whoop! The half marathon alarm sounded....Congratulations, Ronnie, on achieving a half marathon! We wish you many, many more! But about that warm weather....
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Kristine Strasburger
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Re: Overcoming Disabilties Team Room
Congratulations to Rosita and Ronnie on this huge achievement! Way to go!Kona2 wrote:
Congratulations, Ronnie, on achieving a half marathon! We wish you many, many more! But about that warm weather....
☆~Kristine~☆
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brotherjim
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Re: Overcoming Disabilties Team Room
This is a story posted on Time.com. I noticed it was just on the news as one of the 10 best feel good stories of 2010.
jim
Recently, a Canadian couple insisted their surrogate have an abortion after learning that the fetus she was carrying had Down syndrome. Mired as they were in talk of bioethics and contract law, it's doubtful that the parties had time to fully consider the nitty-gritty of actually raising a child with Down syndrome. In the 17 years Kay and Steve Ditzenberger have spent parenting Ike, their son with Downs, they've had plenty of time to reflect on the challenges.
It's safe to say when Ike was born, there was little reason to think he'd be famous one day. Yet this week, the Ditzenbergers are awaiting a movie contract from Aegis, a Hollywood production company, and they're fielding calls from reporters far and wide. The occasion? Ike, a junior at Snohomish High School near Seattle, scored a triumphant touchdown in a Friday night varsity football game last month. His zig-zag offensive play — and subsequent victory jig — was captured on a video that's attracted more than 2 million views on YouTube. (More on Time.com: Video: For the Disabled, a Day at the Beach)
The Ditzenbergers have tried to mainstream Ike as much as possible. So three years ago, when they moved to Snohomish, Ike's parents asked coach Mark Perry if Ike could play football.
Perry, a math teacher at the high school, poked Ike — whom Perry describes as a “short, squatty little guy” — in the stomach and said, “You can play for me for the next four years, but you're going to have to lose some weight.”
Ike's still a portly fellow, but now that he's in his third season, he knows all the drills. He's not treated differently from the other players, except when he is, like when the team runs the “Ike Special:” Ike enters a practice match playing fullback, the quarterback hands the ball to him and he runs for a touchdown as his teammates pretend to block him but really just stand aside.
Of course, it's one thing to have your own team play along; it's quite another when an opponent decides to set the score aside and let a boy with Down syndrome do his thing.
That's what happened Sept. 24, when Snohomish High was down 35-0 in a match against Lake Stevens. Any time the team is winning — or losing, in this case — by a lot, it subs in its less experienced players. On that night, Perry put Ike in the game and told the Lake Stevens players it would be great if they'd let him run 10 or 20 yards before tackling him. The players gave Perry a thumbs-up. “We get it, Coach,” they said. (More on Time.com: 5 Pregnancy Taboos Explained (or Debunked))
Clasping the pigskin, Ike began to run, and the opposing team just let him go. He scored. He danced the traditional touchdown dance, and the crowd went nuts.
“I'm not surprised by it at all,” says Perry of the opposing team's complicity in allowing Ike to score. “But there are people all over the world who are. People have left us messages, saying what a touching thing.” Having a player with a disability on the team has taught the players about humanity. It has helped Ike, but it has helped his typically developing teammates even more. “In your lifetime,” Perry has told them, “you may be the father of a special-needs kid.”
Indeed, Kay Ditzenberger had not anticipated she would be the mother of one. When Ike was born — the third of three boys — she told his pediatrician she didn't know what to do with him. His advice: Just take him home and treat him like the other boys.
So she has, as much as she could. But in doing so, she has worried — as any parent of a special-needs child inevitably does — about how he'd be received. Would he be quietly ignored or pulled in as an active participant? Embraced or ridiculed? “You can push a child with special needs into an environment," she says, "but whether they will be included and accepted is the question."
Some venues have been less welcoming than others. Parents on a soccer team he joined wanted Ike assessed to make sure he wouldn't hurt other players. Other coaches have not been willing to expend the energy to incorporate someone like Ike into the fabric of a team.
Perry, not one to sugarcoat things, says Ike can be tough to train. “Is he difficult? You bet he is. He can be a pain in the butt. But he dropped off a 5 x 7 framed picture of his touchdown run that says, I love you, Coach. He keeps me well-grounded.”
jim
Recently, a Canadian couple insisted their surrogate have an abortion after learning that the fetus she was carrying had Down syndrome. Mired as they were in talk of bioethics and contract law, it's doubtful that the parties had time to fully consider the nitty-gritty of actually raising a child with Down syndrome. In the 17 years Kay and Steve Ditzenberger have spent parenting Ike, their son with Downs, they've had plenty of time to reflect on the challenges.
It's safe to say when Ike was born, there was little reason to think he'd be famous one day. Yet this week, the Ditzenbergers are awaiting a movie contract from Aegis, a Hollywood production company, and they're fielding calls from reporters far and wide. The occasion? Ike, a junior at Snohomish High School near Seattle, scored a triumphant touchdown in a Friday night varsity football game last month. His zig-zag offensive play — and subsequent victory jig — was captured on a video that's attracted more than 2 million views on YouTube. (More on Time.com: Video: For the Disabled, a Day at the Beach)
The Ditzenbergers have tried to mainstream Ike as much as possible. So three years ago, when they moved to Snohomish, Ike's parents asked coach Mark Perry if Ike could play football.
Perry, a math teacher at the high school, poked Ike — whom Perry describes as a “short, squatty little guy” — in the stomach and said, “You can play for me for the next four years, but you're going to have to lose some weight.”
Ike's still a portly fellow, but now that he's in his third season, he knows all the drills. He's not treated differently from the other players, except when he is, like when the team runs the “Ike Special:” Ike enters a practice match playing fullback, the quarterback hands the ball to him and he runs for a touchdown as his teammates pretend to block him but really just stand aside.
Of course, it's one thing to have your own team play along; it's quite another when an opponent decides to set the score aside and let a boy with Down syndrome do his thing.
That's what happened Sept. 24, when Snohomish High was down 35-0 in a match against Lake Stevens. Any time the team is winning — or losing, in this case — by a lot, it subs in its less experienced players. On that night, Perry put Ike in the game and told the Lake Stevens players it would be great if they'd let him run 10 or 20 yards before tackling him. The players gave Perry a thumbs-up. “We get it, Coach,” they said. (More on Time.com: 5 Pregnancy Taboos Explained (or Debunked))
Clasping the pigskin, Ike began to run, and the opposing team just let him go. He scored. He danced the traditional touchdown dance, and the crowd went nuts.
“I'm not surprised by it at all,” says Perry of the opposing team's complicity in allowing Ike to score. “But there are people all over the world who are. People have left us messages, saying what a touching thing.” Having a player with a disability on the team has taught the players about humanity. It has helped Ike, but it has helped his typically developing teammates even more. “In your lifetime,” Perry has told them, “you may be the father of a special-needs kid.”
Indeed, Kay Ditzenberger had not anticipated she would be the mother of one. When Ike was born — the third of three boys — she told his pediatrician she didn't know what to do with him. His advice: Just take him home and treat him like the other boys.
So she has, as much as she could. But in doing so, she has worried — as any parent of a special-needs child inevitably does — about how he'd be received. Would he be quietly ignored or pulled in as an active participant? Embraced or ridiculed? “You can push a child with special needs into an environment," she says, "but whether they will be included and accepted is the question."
Some venues have been less welcoming than others. Parents on a soccer team he joined wanted Ike assessed to make sure he wouldn't hurt other players. Other coaches have not been willing to expend the energy to incorporate someone like Ike into the fabric of a team.
Perry, not one to sugarcoat things, says Ike can be tough to train. “Is he difficult? You bet he is. He can be a pain in the butt. But he dropped off a 5 x 7 framed picture of his touchdown run that says, I love you, Coach. He keeps me well-grounded.”
Re: Overcoming Disabilties Team Room
Thank you KristineKristine Strasburger wrote:Congratulations to Rosita and Ronnie on this huge achievement! Way to go!Kona2 wrote:
Congratulations, Ronnie, on achieving a half marathon! We wish you many, many more! But about that warm weather....
Jim, thank you for last post. I have been trying to have my brother Benny join team and after I read to him, he did!!!!!!
He is younger brother with Down's . He loves soccer and watches me play. He plays on Special Olympics team. I am happy with you Jim.
Rosi
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brotherjim
- 10k Poster
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Re: Overcoming Disabilties Team Room
Welcome to the team Benny! I am happy you joined. I like soccer too, but I never played it.You and Rosita must have lots of fun playing on your teams. I used to play baseball and liked being part of a team.
Rosi, you embarrass me completely. I did nothing. Thanks to you for getting Benny to join.
jim
Rosi, you embarrass me completely. I did nothing. Thanks to you for getting Benny to join.
jim
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brotherjim
- 10k Poster
- Posts: 1241
- Joined: August 7th, 2009, 12:49 pm
Re: Overcoming Disabilties Team Room
Congrats again to Ronnie for completing a HM 
Here are the stats for 12/29
Benny----------------1100 Welcome
Allie------------------125
Ronnie----------------25291
Sarah-----------------8311
Samuel---------------8764
Rivka-----------------11105
Elton-----------------12000
Rosi-------------------7485
Jim-------------------31185
Great rowing teammates!
jim
Here are the stats for 12/29
Benny----------------1100 Welcome
Allie------------------125
Ronnie----------------25291
Sarah-----------------8311
Samuel---------------8764
Rivka-----------------11105
Elton-----------------12000
Rosi-------------------7485
Jim-------------------31185
Great rowing teammates!
jim
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brotherjim
- 10k Poster
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- Joined: August 7th, 2009, 12:49 pm
Re: Overcoming Disabilties Team Room
This is a great story.
jim
Jared Aronson’s Story – an Amazing Young Man with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
December 6, 2009 by Aaron
GILFORD – It’s one thing in life to find something that you love to do and it’s quite another to find that something only to have it taken away from you. Even more miraculous is when, what was taken away, is restored.
Jared Aronson is an artist and has been since he was a child. Every since he can remember he has had a love for drawing and he has parlayed that love into a successful T-shirt company called Madhouse Tees (www.madhousetees.com). Jared’s T-shirt designs are both whimsical and irreverent, poking fun at society’s norms, the advertising industry, history and everyday life in general.
Now 23, his witty ideas translate well to the T-shirt medium and are popular with people of all ages. One shirt parodying the popular line of John Deere Tractor equipment and subsequent advertising campaign is green and yellow with footprints on the ground and asks, “What deer?” Another shirt features the man in the moon with an American flag sticking out of his eye remarking, “Thanks a lot Neil.”
Jared’s dry sense of humor comes out in every shirt he designs including the one portraying a banana slipping on a person. This unique humor has come in handy throughout his challenging life. You see, Jared is confined to a wheelchair and only has the slightest use of his thumb making his artwork all the more remarkable.
Jared’s parents first realized that something was wrong with their son when he was late to walk for his age. When he finally did get on his feet, he began falling around the age of four. A battery of tests confirmed that Jared had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a progressive disease marked by the steady wasting of the muscles. Aronson’s health began to deteriorate steadily and he is now confined to a wheelchair and bound to a ventilator 24 hours a day, seven days a week and needs to be accompanied around the clock by his parents and nurses.
There have been some close calls for Aronson, who has lived in Gilford his entire life. In fact, Jared received his diploma from Gilford High School while in Concord Hospital, where he spent 17 days in the intensive care unit after catching pneumonia. At one point Jared weighed just 52 pounds, down from his normal weight of 120 pounds. Throughout the progression of the disease, Jared has lost more and more of his ability to move. He has been seeing the therapists at Summit Rehabilitation in Gilford for a number of years and receives treatment three times a week to remain as flexible and limber as possible.
When Aronson was first attached to a ventilator, he lost his power of speech. It took a while to track down a trach, or tube that attaches to his throat, identical to that which was used by Christopher Reeve, which allowed Jared to speak again.
The way in which Aronson creates his artwork has also changed over the years due to his disease. “I used to use pens and pencils and then a computer mouse but after a while I was not able to even do that,” said Aronson.
Jared gave up on drawing for a long period of time after he could no longer manipulate a mouse. He was essentially resigned to the fact that he would no longer be able to do one of the things he loves to do most in life. Then, he found that by using Photoshop it allowed him to draw using just his thumb and a sensitive track ball. He was once again able to pursue his passion, although in incredibly painstaking fashion. In fact Aronson says its takes him over 20 hours to create a single design.
He begins by sketching the artwork, whether it’s from a preexisting design being parodied or an original design, and then filing in the colors pixel by pixel.
Aronson first became interested in designing T-shirts when he was asked to do a design for the Aaron T. Francour Memorial Basketball Tournament. He has since continued to design the tournament’s shirts while also taking on many other projects such as designing shirts for a pig roast and creating designs for his friends.
Jared continues to develop new designs and in fact he has just recently added four new T-shirts to his website and has countless other designs ready to go to print. He is also willing to take other’s ideas for a design and incorporate those designs into a shirt.
Aronson’s entire line of T-shirts can be found at www.madhousetees.com and they would make an excellent gift this holiday season for those who appreciate an off-the-beaten-path sense of humor.
jim
Jared Aronson’s Story – an Amazing Young Man with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
December 6, 2009 by Aaron
GILFORD – It’s one thing in life to find something that you love to do and it’s quite another to find that something only to have it taken away from you. Even more miraculous is when, what was taken away, is restored.
Jared Aronson is an artist and has been since he was a child. Every since he can remember he has had a love for drawing and he has parlayed that love into a successful T-shirt company called Madhouse Tees (www.madhousetees.com). Jared’s T-shirt designs are both whimsical and irreverent, poking fun at society’s norms, the advertising industry, history and everyday life in general.
Now 23, his witty ideas translate well to the T-shirt medium and are popular with people of all ages. One shirt parodying the popular line of John Deere Tractor equipment and subsequent advertising campaign is green and yellow with footprints on the ground and asks, “What deer?” Another shirt features the man in the moon with an American flag sticking out of his eye remarking, “Thanks a lot Neil.”
Jared’s dry sense of humor comes out in every shirt he designs including the one portraying a banana slipping on a person. This unique humor has come in handy throughout his challenging life. You see, Jared is confined to a wheelchair and only has the slightest use of his thumb making his artwork all the more remarkable.
Jared’s parents first realized that something was wrong with their son when he was late to walk for his age. When he finally did get on his feet, he began falling around the age of four. A battery of tests confirmed that Jared had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a progressive disease marked by the steady wasting of the muscles. Aronson’s health began to deteriorate steadily and he is now confined to a wheelchair and bound to a ventilator 24 hours a day, seven days a week and needs to be accompanied around the clock by his parents and nurses.
There have been some close calls for Aronson, who has lived in Gilford his entire life. In fact, Jared received his diploma from Gilford High School while in Concord Hospital, where he spent 17 days in the intensive care unit after catching pneumonia. At one point Jared weighed just 52 pounds, down from his normal weight of 120 pounds. Throughout the progression of the disease, Jared has lost more and more of his ability to move. He has been seeing the therapists at Summit Rehabilitation in Gilford for a number of years and receives treatment three times a week to remain as flexible and limber as possible.
When Aronson was first attached to a ventilator, he lost his power of speech. It took a while to track down a trach, or tube that attaches to his throat, identical to that which was used by Christopher Reeve, which allowed Jared to speak again.
The way in which Aronson creates his artwork has also changed over the years due to his disease. “I used to use pens and pencils and then a computer mouse but after a while I was not able to even do that,” said Aronson.
Jared gave up on drawing for a long period of time after he could no longer manipulate a mouse. He was essentially resigned to the fact that he would no longer be able to do one of the things he loves to do most in life. Then, he found that by using Photoshop it allowed him to draw using just his thumb and a sensitive track ball. He was once again able to pursue his passion, although in incredibly painstaking fashion. In fact Aronson says its takes him over 20 hours to create a single design.
He begins by sketching the artwork, whether it’s from a preexisting design being parodied or an original design, and then filing in the colors pixel by pixel.
Aronson first became interested in designing T-shirts when he was asked to do a design for the Aaron T. Francour Memorial Basketball Tournament. He has since continued to design the tournament’s shirts while also taking on many other projects such as designing shirts for a pig roast and creating designs for his friends.
Jared continues to develop new designs and in fact he has just recently added four new T-shirts to his website and has countless other designs ready to go to print. He is also willing to take other’s ideas for a design and incorporate those designs into a shirt.
Aronson’s entire line of T-shirts can be found at www.madhousetees.com and they would make an excellent gift this holiday season for those who appreciate an off-the-beaten-path sense of humor.
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AndrewAugenstein
- Paddler
- Posts: 26
- Joined: May 12th, 2006, 10:53 pm
- Location: Wooster Ohio
Re: Overcoming Disabilties Team Room
US PARA Rowing is hosting an athlete indentification camp for elite athletes with Intellectual Disability who want to try and make the US PARA TEAM: for more information: Diane McDiarmid: dianem@ku.edu
March 25-27, Austin, TX
*****
Cancer survivor Thomas Cremona is attempting the trans-Atlantic world record for charity. The statistics are not in his favor, as there is only a 50 per cent chance of making it across successfully. Wish him luck! Neat story.
timesofmalta.com - Thomas Cremona to make bid for trans-Atlantic rowing record
http://www.timesofmalta.com
FROM Concept2 FaceBook Entries
March 25-27, Austin, TX
*****
Cancer survivor Thomas Cremona is attempting the trans-Atlantic world record for charity. The statistics are not in his favor, as there is only a 50 per cent chance of making it across successfully. Wish him luck! Neat story.
timesofmalta.com - Thomas Cremona to make bid for trans-Atlantic rowing record
http://www.timesofmalta.com
FROM Concept2 FaceBook Entries
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brotherjim
- 10k Poster
- Posts: 1241
- Joined: August 7th, 2009, 12:49 pm
Re: Overcoming Disabilties Team Room
Thanks for the story and update Andy. Very interesting story. Like your new team photo
Congrats to Sarah for passing 200K!!! We rowed 94831 meters and have moved into 51st place. Very nice rowing everyone.
Stats for 12/30
Allie-----------------------------125
Benny---------------------------9165
Sarah----------------------------7605
Ronnie---------------------------9550
Sam------------------------------9000
Rivka-----------------------------7625
Elton-----------------------------10060
Rosi-------------------------------9521
Jim-------------------------------32180
jim
Congrats to Sarah for passing 200K!!! We rowed 94831 meters and have moved into 51st place. Very nice rowing everyone.
Stats for 12/30
Allie-----------------------------125
Benny---------------------------9165
Sarah----------------------------7605
Ronnie---------------------------9550
Sam------------------------------9000
Rivka-----------------------------7625
Elton-----------------------------10060
Rosi-------------------------------9521
Jim-------------------------------32180
jim
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brotherjim
- 10k Poster
- Posts: 1241
- Joined: August 7th, 2009, 12:49 pm
Re: Overcoming Disabilties Team Room
Philippe Croizon, First Quadruple Amputee to Swim Across the English Channel
Philippe’s swim across the English Channel is a true testament of how to overcome your disabilities through determination. He didn’t take on this challenge just to prove to himself he could do this amazing feat, but he did it for all those who have suffered tragedy and lost their taste for life.
Philippe Croizon in wetsuit
And Philippe, a French native, certainly knows what tragedy is all about. In 1994, he lost all of his limbs after suffering an electric shock as he stood on a ladder adjusting his television antenna, which touched a power line.
Philippe expected the 21 mile crossover between Britain and France to take about 24 hours, but he completed the swim in just 13 1/2 hours. Maybe it was the company of three dolphins that swam alongside him for a good part of the journey that gave him the extra speed. Philippe trained for this swim for two years and was able to get himself into such a shape that he can swim at around 2 mph, which is only slightly slower than the 3 mph that able-bodied athletes might achieve. Not bad for a quadriplegic amputee!
Shortly after his amazing accomplishment, he announced he plans to cross from Europe to Africa in the Strait of Gibraltar. Philippe, we certainly wish you good luck with this next challenge!
Philippe’s swim across the English Channel is a true testament of how to overcome your disabilities through determination. He didn’t take on this challenge just to prove to himself he could do this amazing feat, but he did it for all those who have suffered tragedy and lost their taste for life.
Philippe Croizon in wetsuit
And Philippe, a French native, certainly knows what tragedy is all about. In 1994, he lost all of his limbs after suffering an electric shock as he stood on a ladder adjusting his television antenna, which touched a power line.
Philippe expected the 21 mile crossover between Britain and France to take about 24 hours, but he completed the swim in just 13 1/2 hours. Maybe it was the company of three dolphins that swam alongside him for a good part of the journey that gave him the extra speed. Philippe trained for this swim for two years and was able to get himself into such a shape that he can swim at around 2 mph, which is only slightly slower than the 3 mph that able-bodied athletes might achieve. Not bad for a quadriplegic amputee!
Shortly after his amazing accomplishment, he announced he plans to cross from Europe to Africa in the Strait of Gibraltar. Philippe, we certainly wish you good luck with this next challenge!