As disabled people, we often feel we are different and think “who can I look up to, there is no one like me in the media, or who is famous”, we forget that throughout history there have been many disabled people who have made a true impact. I am going to talk about 4 well-known people, who are not only disabled but who inspire me to stay true to myself.

The first is Helen Keller, born in 1880 in Alabama USA, she was one of 5 children. When Helen was 19 months old she contracted an illness that to this day no one is able to put a name to, though one theory was Scarlet Fever. This illness would leave her profoundly deafblind and non-verbal.

Helen met Anne Sullivan, a young woman who herself was visually impaired, and soon learned about her world through this young lady. The two attended Radcliffe College at Harvard University where Helen would be the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts. In 1948 Helen and Anne came to New Zealand, where she visited Kelston School for the Deaf, Van Asch school for the Deaf and the Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind.

The next person I will speak about is Christy Brown, born in 1932 in Dublin Ireland, he was one of 14 children. Christy was born with severe Cerebral Palsy and his parents were encouraged to put him into an institution, but his mother held great hopes for him, so they refused.

Christy showed a great interest in books from an early age and using the only part of his body he could control, his left foot he taught himself to write and paint… it was this that later became the title of his autobiography and subsequently the movie of the same name “My Left Foot”.

Next is Professor Stephen Hawking, born in 1942 in Oxford England.  On his 21^st birthday, Stephen went to tie his shoes and found he could not, he was diagnosed soon after with an early-onset slow-progressing form of Motor Neurone Disease.

Motor Neurone Disease did not stop Stephen Hawking from becoming famous for his work on black holes, despite eventually having to rely on 24-hour care and Augmented and Alternative Communication (AAC) as well as a wheelchair.  Professor Hawking has appeared in many sci-fi programs like Star Trek and the Big Bang Theory (he has featured many times in BBT) and has worked closely with NASA.

And lastly, I will speak of Nick Vujicic, born in 1982 in Melbourne Australia.  Nick was born with a rare disorder called Tetra-Amelia Syndrome, which means he has no arms or legs.

Nick was raised in a Christian home and is a well-known evangelist. He has also written numerous books, most notably “Life Without Limits: Inspiration of a Ridiculously Good Life”, of which a copy sits proudly on my bookshelf!

He graduated from Griffin university with a Bachelor of Commerce and a double major in accountancy and financial planning. Nick is also married with 4 children.

These people refused to give up, they never decided that their disability meant they should stay at home and stare at the wall. No - they decided their disability was going help them change the world.

About the writer: 

I am a 41-year-old man, who is born and raised in New Zealand. I have PHACES Syndrome which is very rare (there are only around 5 of us in NZ and I am the oldest we know of here), this affects my brain, senses, muscles, nervous system, vascular system, as well as the skeleton and connective tissue.

I have a Certificate in Social Services (Biculturalism), which helps me in my advocacy work, but I would love to work with children with special education needs. I write poetry, short stories and have written a song. I also paint and play a strong part in my Church community. I love knitting and music, anything related to space and cats, and my favourite show is Star Trek.

I was recently published in a book, telling my experience over lockdown as a person with a disability.