Photo of the week

-- Greg Fry

Having spent my entire adult life thinking that being paralyzed would

be a fate worse than death, I expected the story of Richard Kanzler to do

nothing more than reinforce my fear. Instead, what I found was a story

that truly inspired me, that opened my eyes to the value of friendship

and family, and that illustrated to me that life itself is a gift and

challenges, no matter how great, can be overcome.

Richard talked to me about what it was like being in the hospital for

months, full of drugs that numbed his senses. He spoke of all of the

pains that go along with such a terrible accident. But what he most

wanted to talk about, and what I was most surprised to hear, was how so

many other areas of his life have opened up so positively.

His daughter, Madeline, has probably gotten to know and bond with her

father in ways most parents are never able to know. To her he is not a

guy in a wheelchair, he is her father, and his physical limitations have

done nothing but reinforce that in her and allow her to see him at his

core.

His wife, Jill, seems so proud of his accomplishments, his devotion to

maintaining an active life, and his failure to yield to tragedy. And

above all else, never have I seen a man so enveloped by the love and

support of friends. This group of guys, all successful, all active and

outgoing, have rallied around Richard and devoted much of their time to

help him through the rough spots.

Make no mistake about it: Richard hasn’t given up on life, he has

embraced it. Having the chance to know him has opened up a window

somewhere in me, allowing me to see life a little more clearly.