Be Active
Canadians with Disabilities Tell Their Stories of Physical Activity, Sport and Recreation
The vision of the Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability is a society where every person in Canada, regardless of background or ability, has the opportunity to be active and healthy across their lifespan.
The Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability has collected a number of stories about how Canadians with disabilities participate in
physical activity, sport and recreation. Their passion will inspire you and give you ideas about how to embrace physical activity in your own lives. Physical activity provides a number of physical and mental health benefits including increased energy levels, improved heart and lung function, strong bones and muscles, a healthy weight, healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels, improved mood and feelings of happiness, the ability to manage stress and overall improved mental health.
So, read on to learn about ways that fellow Canadians have embraced physical activity and all its benefits. You can do it, too! Consider sharing your stories with us, as well.
Principle #1:
Quality of Life
Shelley Ann Morris
We’ve come a long way in enabling blind and visually-impaired people to take advantage of the physical, mental and social benefits of leading an active life. New technologies, programs and attitudes have helped people with disabilities to take their place among their friends, families and the community.
Lawrence Shapiro
Just like Terry Fox, I lost my leg to cancer as a young person. Things could have been worse, my parents were told. It was thought that since I was not “into sports” that the loss would be less severe for me because I would not miss playing outside and doing physical activity. And they were right, sort of. I never was into sports or hockey or football.
Marco Pasqua
My name is Marco Giovanni Pasqua and I was born on July 4, 1985, in Vancouver, British Columbia. This date was the beginning of my fight for a “normal” life. I only weighed 2 lbs 10 oz at birth and was 3 months premature. My parents would later find out that I was also born with Cerebral Palsy (Spastic Diplegia).
Margarita Gorbonova
My name is Margarita Gorbounova and I am an athlete with a vision impairment. I was born with cataracts in both eyes, which were later removed, leaving me with about 5 to 10% of normal vision. I was lucky to be born in an athletic family and to have been introduced to physical activity at a very young age.
Micheal Alexander
My name is Micheal Alexander and I live in Golden B.C. Mine is a unique story. In 1994 I began designing and building sporting equipment for people with mobility challenges. I am a welder by trade. My first product was the F1 sit-ski, which allows people without the use of their legs to enjoy downhill skiing.
Carolyn Fenny
I don’t think I could imagine my life without wakeboarding and canoeing, cross-country skiing and running. Physical activity has been an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember. I started swimming at the age of two and playing badminton when I was six.
Principle #2:
Empowerment
Kuen Tang
As I drive towards Spirit River, Alberta on a beautiful Friday morning, my heart is calm like the weather before a major storm, but my mind is racing 100 miles per hour, full of excitement.
Austin Smeenk
Having a disability does not mean you are unable to do things like play hockey, ride a bike, sail a boat, snow board, or have a teen business cutting grass or blowing snow. It just means that there needs to be an openness to trying and doing things differently.
Marc Ross
I was born in Vienna, Austria in 1981 and grew up in Calgary, Alberta. Shortly after my seventeenth birthday, while on an exchange program in France, I broke my neck diving off rocks with friends. After months of rehabilitation and therapy, I decided to get back to school, now as a C 5 quadriplegic with limited shoulder movement and weak biceps.
Chris Bourne
As a kid, I was always active; playing games, recreational and organized sports like skiing, hockey, soccer, racing dirt bikes, football, you name it, I played it. I loved to be outdoors, either having fun or doing physically demanding labour jobs. Being active was central to my lifestyle. Without it, I went a little stir crazy.
Jason Dunkerley
In December 2012, a friend gave me some good advice. In an email he wrote that even though the future held uncertainty, I could be sure of one thing: running is forever.
Kim Kilpatrick
I have been totally blind since birth. Before I came along, my family was very active in sports. My dad played hockey, football, ran track and road races, skated, skied, and curled. My mom walked, rode a bike, skated, and cross country skied. My brother was growing to love swimming and skiing.
Principle #3:
Community
Mia Fairley
My name is Mia Fairley. I am a substitute teacher in Lac Ste. Anne County in Alberta. I could never have anticipated the great passion I feel for promoting activity and sport for persons with disabilities. That is why I am thankful everyday for the birth of my three children.
Robin Shuter
by Karen Ide, Special Olympics Alpine Ski Coach
My name is Karen Ide. I am a volunteer Special Olympics alpine ski coach at Blue Mountain, Ontario. I have been coaching for 16 years and know many athletes with disabilities. One in particular stands out from our team. She is one of the athletes that I coach, and her name is Robin Shuter.
Sarah White
My name is Sarah White and I’m 17 years old. I was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a form of cancer, at only 7 months. My spinal cord was affected; therefor I do not have the use of my legs. Never the less, I have always been very active and have made the best of my abilities.
Ben Brown
Physical activity holds a very special place in my life. If I wasn’t physically active, both before and after my spinal cord injury, I would not have met close to the number of people I have been introduced to through going to the gym and playing sports up to the national level.
Leona Emberson
In the summer of 2009 I received an e-mail that changed my life in ways I never thought possible. The Rideau Canoe Club in Ottawa was starting an adaptive canoe/kayak program. I loved water and boats; but I had never successfully participated in a community recreation program.
Principle #4:
Equal Access
Laura Bulk
For me, active living has become a part of my lifestyle. Of course, this did not just happen, and I did not expect it to happen at all. Active living, I thought, was something for athletes who played sports.
Louis Gaudry
As a person with a physical disability, I understand how hard it is to be accepted when it comes to inclusion in sports and recreation in the community. That’s why the message of inclusion promoted by the Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability is so very important to me.
Sonja Weilgart-Whitehead
As a 17-yr-old girl from Halifax, Nova Scotia, born with moderate quadriplegic cerebral palsy, being active has kept me mobile and on my feet, though I’m only able to walk about a block with great difficulty using a walker. I participate in a regular swim team, therapeutic horseback riding, and biking.
Kaley McLean
My name is Kaley McLean. I am a very competitive person by nature and enjoy participating in physical activity. Currently, I am involved in recreational swimming, downhill skiing and pilates.
Kirsten Sharp
These seven words in the title of my story are words that I keep close to my heart, ever since I fell asleep skiing at the age of 14 and broke my back, leaving me paralysed from the chest down. After six months of hospital and rehab, I re-entered highschool completely focused on my education, and leaving sport behind.
Principle #5:
Respect and Dignity
Ryan Van Praet
Perspective has come to me in many forms, be it from a life lesson or by way of my fathers death from Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS), or in dealing with vision loss. Having discovered I had Retinitis Pigmentosa when I was 4 years old, knowing I would slowly lose my sight, I have lived a life of perspective and appreciation.
Terry Gardner
Early in 2004 , I got up at 5:30 am to get ready for work as was the norm. When I looked in the mirror, everything was a blur. I could see my skin colour but could not make out any features. I washed and dressed, and my field of vision just wasn’t clearing. What to do?
Tim McIsaac
I have been blind since birth and am from Winnipeg. In the mid 1960’s, Manitoba probably had a population equal to less than half the number of people who lived in Toronto.
Tracey Woywod
About four years ago, I began to feel like dancing again. I belong to a church where dance is very much a part of the worship service. I began dancing with other people who liked to worship through dance.
Mitchell Ravvin
My name is Mitchell Ravvin and I am the Owner of Rave Results, a professional fundraising service that assists small and medium size nonprofits. I was born and raised in Calgary, and other than a couple of work stints in both Toronto (4 years) and Los Angeles (1 year), I have lived in Calgary for the majority of my 50 years of life.