Last post Thu, May 22 2008 2:51 PM by Mshores. 12 replies.
This story is about my friend Sean. He's is probably the coolest guy I know and was the one to fit me for my first leg braces. He's a world class surfer, amputee advocate and spokes person for the extremity games http://www.extremitygames.com/ . He was a Shriner's Hospital child when he lost his leg. They have a story on him on their website. He is truley an inspiration and I think you'll enjoy his story if you google his name... he truely is amazing. there are photos on the story link below Thank You Tampa Trib for your support!
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/may/06/kayak-journey-around-keys-turn-tide-disabled/?news-breakingKayak Journey Around Keys Is To Turn Tide For Disabled
By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune
Published: May 6, 2008
SEMINOLE - Sean Fitzgibbon was born without a fibula in his right leg, and his right foot was deformed, too. So on his third birthday, the leg was amputated at the knee.
Fitzgibbon, now a 34-year-old husband and father of two, has learned to cope. He also learned that he didn't want his disability to squelch his athleticism. And he became a champion among his peers in surfing and kayaking.
Now Fitzgibbon and three of his cohorts want to impart his message of hope and perseverance to all of those who have lost a limb, including troops returning from Iraq.
To that end, they are embarking on a 220-mile kayak trip on May 12 to circle the Florida Keys. Thirteen days have been set aside for the voyage, but Fitzgibbon and his friends hope to do it in eight to 10 days.
In addition to raising awareness, the four hope to raise money for Extremity Games, an annual extreme amateur sports competition for people who have a limb loss or disability. This year's contests will be held in Michigan from July 24 through 26.
Fitzgibbon loves the concept of the Extremity Games because it encourages people who often feel alone and isolated to come together and show how skillful they've become in their various sports.
"We want to bring a message to amputees: Love life; don't be a victim of the amputation," the Seminole man said.
That call especially needs to be heard by veterans returning from Iraq without an arm or a leg, he said.
Fitzgibbon is more than aware that some amputees can't afford the help they need. As a full-time prosthetics technician at St. Petersburg Limb & Brace, he often comes across amputees whose health insurance doesn't cover the full cost of a prosthetic device.
The name of the quartet taking the kayak trip is Team Topahonu. "Topahonu" means "great sea turtle" in Hawaiian. Fitzgibbon earned the nickname there as a surfer because turtles are known to be able to swim after they lose a flipper.
The other members of the team are Jeff Fabiszewski, a Dunedin man whose wife has paralysis of her left side; David Tranor, an Orlando outdoorsman who has helped the disabled with sports such as snow skiing; and Brian Doehleman, a Largo war veteran whose brother owns Osprey Bay Outdoors, a kayaking shop in Clearwater.
That is such a moving story!
Joe
Hey Almost neighbor...Thanks for your comment!
I am very proud of Sean and his crew. When they hooked up with the Wounded Warrior Project I was really excited. I do a lot of troop support and some is over at our Bomb Blast Unit in the Tampa VA. Those kids have all this energy and the extremity games is a perfect place to compete for most who are into that sort of wild sports thing. lol, they had to put no speeding signs up in the hallways there due to the kids whipping thru in their chairs so fast they almost took out a few people.
I also have to say how proud I am of you. I like the gulf and looking at it is nice. I might... MIGHT... wade in it but that's it. But YOU!!! not only do you dive but you take some of the nicest underwater pics I have seen. YOU ARE BRAVE. Those Cudas have teeth my friend... and they like to chomp on shiney things... like all those shiney dive doodads you have to wear. I salute you!!!!
Shelly
That's very, very cool.
"People who think rape is about sex confuse the weapon with the motivation."Alice Vachss
Thanks Liesl...
and Thanks to you for how you help your students thru life...sounds like you Totally Rock! as a teacher.
Makes me wonder why I never had teachers like that around. Most seemed to just try & get thru it all.
hello mshores, i think that is great. anyone that helps our veterans is a special person. .it is nice to meet you and welcome!
Mshores:Thanks Liesl... and Thanks to you for how you help your students thru life...sounds like you Totally Rock! as a teacher. Makes me wonder why I never had teachers like that around. Most seemed to just try & get thru it all.
That's a very common problem in education and it makes me absolutely ill! I care very deeply about my students, but more importantly, I care very deeply that they are educated in my classes. Come on, isn't that our job?? I do hope that as people become more educated by the internet, education gets better in general. I'm sorry you didn't have a teacher like me, though. Hey! I am thinking of teaching online next year, wanna take a class? lol
Thanks Debbie...
I've been working troop support for over 6 years now most around a full time job til I got hurt. Doing troop support is how I have been getting thru all the happy crap from getting hurt. Best of all was the guys at the bomb blast unit treated me like I was one of them. They were not afraid to ask what happened or how was I doing. lol... altho I was very glad my scar was in a non-embarassing place. They like to play show me your scar & I'll show you mine
So what are you teaching next year??? Stranger things have happened to me, so who knows. I just might end up in class.
Mshores:So what are you teaching next year??? Stranger things have happened to me, so who knows. I just might end up in class.
Hey, why not?? I'm teaching introduction to philosophy, ethics, and social and political philosophy. It's a lot of fun!
That sounds like a full plate all round. You ever take time to relax or are you a zoom - zoom - zoom person?
I used to zoom all the time til I got hurt then it was like being dead in the water. Now that I'm more mobil I try hard to balance it better
THAT has been really hard!
Great story; thanks for sharing! I've heard of the Extremity Games too, it sounds like a cool event - plus there will be the film festival in Michigan with the games this year too! :)
They were down here in Orlando before so it's nice of them to move the event around so more and new people can join in.
My friend Sean in the story has been a large part of the games. I remember him getting back from Vegas where they had filmed something with him surfing in a wave pool there. lol... all the way to Vegas for that when we have wave pools over at Disney in Orlando. Ahhh well here's to road trips, fun and good friends
