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| The advantages of being an amputee; By Josh Sundquist. | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 11 2012, 05:25 AM (500 Views) | |
| Erazer | Oct 11 2012, 05:25 AM Post #1 |
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Night Fury
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One-legged paralympic ski racer Josh Sundquist talks about the advantages of being an amputee. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_9MS2B9vAc He may not have his own dragon, but definitely a sense of humor.
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| How to Train your Dragon - Hoppípolla | |
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| Fjord Mustang | Oct 11 2012, 11:29 AM Post #2 |
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I Don't Really Look Like This. Usually.
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This was great! He actually has some wonderful videos on You Tube and seems to be a great motivational speaker with a good sense of humor. He has some great animated movies he made taken from his book Just Don't Fall about his childhood about growing up with cancer and as an amputee. |
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"And now each night, I count the stars. And each night I get the same number. And when the stars won't come to be counted, I count the holes they leave." — Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones) ** Signature art designed by Gumdrop Ch4rms *** | |
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| Erazer | Oct 11 2012, 04:53 PM Post #3 |
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Night Fury
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Oh yes, I've actually just watched those for the first time. So sad to see a person having to go through this stuff at such a young age, but there's always a sense of optimism to it that makes it very inspirational, since he's become such a positive person. I now also realized though how much potential Dragons: Riders of Berk wasted in mostly ignoring the fact that its protagonist is an amputee. Seeing Hiccup learn to live with it would have been so great to watch and would have added so much depth. Even just a short moment of insecurity like the "Stupid leg" scene in GotNF would have made a big difference. There had been no such moment so far... most of the time, you wouldn't even notice his injury. Hmm, It seems that the "Just don't fall" comics ended mid-season 2. This seriously made me want to read his book though. Edited by Erazer, Oct 11 2012, 04:58 PM.
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| How to Train your Dragon - Hoppípolla | |
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| Fjord Mustang | Oct 12 2012, 10:14 AM Post #4 |
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I Don't Really Look Like This. Usually.
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yeh, Josh is great. I'd like to read his book,too. I also like he has videos about interesting issues regarding amputees like his opinion on Oscar Pistorius competing in both the Paralympics and the Olympics and whether his having running "blades" actually gives him an advantage against non amputee runners. The video about how Josh's friends decided to shave their heads when he lost his hair through chemotherapy was really touchintg, especially considering these were pre teen kids who decided this on their own and got their parents to support them. I agree on Hiccup-- I still would like to see the movie number 2 address this issue. Right now they are really trying to show how Hiccup's prosthetic makes him as agile as the other Vikings, kind of a good message for kids to see since modern prosthetics are so good that it's often hard to tell someone is an amputee (Josh, for example, pointed out how he goes bicycling for fun. He doesn't get into it, but there are prosthetic limbs to help with cycling). I think that's a good message, but the movie makers are also downplaying the other side of the story that amputees want to tell, and that is about the challenges they face to fit in and that it's not easy adopting to artificial limbs. Pistorius, for example, has mentioned that it hurts for him to run, but the joy he gets from running and competing makes it worthwhile. Kids and grown ups should hear the struggling part of the story as well. I also wished there was more focus on the different types of prosthetics Hiccup was planning to develop. Currently, his limb resembles Pistorius' running blade quite a bit. One of my wishes-- and I've been urging people who work for the company to consider it-- is to somehow have the Icelandic company Össur "adopt" Hiccup and Toothless as their representatives to kids. Össur makes prosthetic limbs, and they have actually supported quite a few international athletes including Oscar. The whole Viking connection with Iceland and amputees just seems a natural. Kind of off topic, but one paralympic athlete I've admired is Jonathan Wentz, the youngest member of the US Equestrian team. He didn't have Hiccup's humor but he did have the optimism and can-do attitude. I really liked the partnership he's developed with his Swedish Warmblood horse Richter Scale and his 'balance´dog. He had cerebral palsy, so that impaired his ability to walk and balance. Riding helped improve it, and as he says when he is on a horse, no one knows he is disabled. He was able to take part in a high school band and play soccer as well as horseback ride. He competed in both Paralympic and regular equestrian events. This year he competed in the London Paralympics. Sadly, on Sep 30, he passed away at 21 years old. This interview from the 'Winning Edge´ show was made when he was in high school in Texas. |
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"And now each night, I count the stars. And each night I get the same number. And when the stars won't come to be counted, I count the holes they leave." — Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones) ** Signature art designed by Gumdrop Ch4rms *** | |
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4:45 AM Jul 11