In Search of the Human Spirit

7 months ago, Chris Rodriguez was a normal 10 year old. Then some thug shattered his world. Rodriguez was taking music lessons at a music school in Oakland, California. Unbeknownst to him, a robbery was taken place outside the building. One of the robbers fired his gun. The bullet went through the wall of the music school and hit Rodriguez in the side. The bullet paralyzed him from the waist down.

This kid is a fighter though. He’s been trying to build up his strength as he earned a coveted spot at the Oakland School for the Arts. He’ll start school there in September.

Rodriguez days are filled with pain, but he won’t give up. His spirit has caught the eye of many in the community who are hoping for his full recovery. One of those people is Dan Dumas, a real estate investor. Dumas broke his neck three years ago and could not do anything for himself. Using a type of neurological rehabilitation that combines exercise and electrical stimulation, Dumas regained the ability to walk with braces.

He opened up a rehab center in the San Francisco Bay Area to help others with similar injuries.

Dumas heard about Rodriguez. He is giving the family three months free services. He doesn’t want to give the kid false hope, but hopes that he will benefit from the exercises. Since he is young and has regained some movement in his hips and has feeling in his knees, there is hope for him. The treatment isn’t proven and there is some skepticism. Still, when you have little else to try, you might as well go for it.

I’m really rooting for this kid. He shows tremendous spirit after a tragedy. He’s my hero!

Oscar Pistorius was born without fibulas in both legs. His legs were amputated at 11 months old. That didn’t stop the 21 year old South African from having Olympic sized dreams.

Earlier this year, Pistorius petitioned the IAAF to allow him to compete. There were charges that his artificial blade like legs gave him an advantage. The IAAF ruled in his favor stating there was no evidence that the blades made him run faster.

Friday Pistorius ran the race of his life. He had a personal best. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. He needed a time of 45.55 and came in at 46.25.

Pistorius will be competing at the Paralympic Games in September. However, he’ll be training seriously for the next Olympics in 2012.

You can read more about Oscar Pistorius on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Pistorius#Early_years_and_education

Kevin Connolly was born without legs. The Montana native is healthy otherwise. He skateboards and has done things the rest of us born with legs only dream of.

But, his appearance causes others discomfort. He has lived his life with the stares of strangers. Though he has lived a normal life, he can’t get around those looks of pity and anxiety.

On a trip to Europe, Connolly took a photograph of one gawker. That one photograph has turned into 32,000. The photographic is exhibit is called the “Rolling Exhibition”.

The photographs capture the range of emotions people experience when they see something out of the ordinary. They don’t realize that while they are staring they’ve been observed. It’s an interest mix of expressions that he has captured.

You can view some of the shots on his website: http://www.therollingexhibition.com/gallery.php