By Guest Blogger, Stephen Wampler, Founder, The Wampler Foundation
My name is Steve Wampler. When I was born in 1968, I got stuck in my mother’s birth canal and was deprived of oxygen for a time. As a result, I have cerebral palsy. Having said that, I was the first-born child of parents who, after absorbing the initial blow, educated themselves about my condition and its severity and worked with doctors to try to understand all that I would face. They also got very thorough evaluations from medical establishments to determine what my life would be like, physically and mentally.
Once my parents had all the answers they needed, they were armed with information and ready to educate me. What they were told was that I would need to use a wheelchair my entire life, but that my brain function had not been impaired – basically I would have no balance or coordination, but I could be educated “normally.”
I would say that, given that knowledge, my first memories of my parents were both the love they had for me, as well as the expectation that in spite of my physical limitations, I would excel in my life and make the most of it in every imaginable way. Fast forward to today. I’m 44, have been married to my wife Elizabeth for 17 years, and we have a 13-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son. Life is good.
I went to the University of California at Davis and have a degree in Environmental Engineering. However, in 2002, I gave up my engineering career to start The Wampler Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides one of a kind wilderness experiences to children across the country with physical disabilities. I really learned a lot by going to camp as a kid, so much so that I was compelled to give back so that the kids of this generation could learn for themselves what the camping experience can do to challenge and teach youngsters with physical disabilities. My camp is called Camp WAMP (Wheelchair Adventure Mountain Programs), and we’ve been at it for nine summers now.
In 2009, I decided I wanted to put our foundation on the map. I needed to do something very challenging, as difficult as I could find. So I trained for a year-and-a-half, and then climbed the biggest rock face in the world, El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. I did 20,000 pull-ups and slept on a mountain for five nights. But more about that in my next blog post!
My biggest request of anyone who might read this, whether you have a disability, love someone who has a disability or want to know more about the real lives of people with disabilities, is that you ask me ANY questions you can think of. BE BRAVE – I can take it! I know people have questions, and I am excited to see some incredible dialog generated. What do you think? Are you in? I am! Let’s have some fun! Here is my email address: steve@wamplerfoundation.org.
With your permission, I will post and answer questions you ask. Come on, let’s do this! Thanks for reading. Stay tuned – more is coming soon!
Born with a severe form of cerebral palsy, Stephen Wampler started The Wampler Foundation in 2002 with his wife Elizabeth so that children with disabilities could be active participants in programs and activities that are centered around the great outdoors. They have since enabled thousands of kids with physical disabilities, and often economic limitations, to experience the joys and camaraderie of programs that push each child to discover how capable they really are and to expect a big life ahead. The Foundation plans to expand its youth programs nationwide and internationally in order to help more kids with physical obstacles lead full and ambitious lives.
In 2012, Steve Wampler set out to climb the biggest rock face in the world, El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. At twice the height of the Empire State Building, Steve became the first person with cerebral palsy to reach its summit. The grueling trek required Steve to do 20,000 pull ups over a six-day period, sleep on the sheer face of the mountain and overcome his enormous fear of heights in order to accomplish this monumental task. In addition to all the other obstacles he faced, Steve has the full use of only one limb, his right arm. A documentary about the climb, Wampler’s Ascent, has just been released, and has already garnered 33 film awards, including most recently the Golden Palm Award at the Beverly Hills Film Festival. For more information, visit The Wampler Foundation website at www.wamplerfoundation.org.
https://usodep.blogs.govdelivery.com/2013/05/15/my-story-onward-and-upward/
For Disability.gov blog: CLICK HERE
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Wampler's Ascent Documentary Trailer
Wampler's Ascent Documentary Trailer from Jacques Spitzer on Vimeo.
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