People for whom impossibility is just a word

While many spend their lives lamenting what they don’t have and ignoring the many gifts they do have, there are those who, through sheer determination, willpower and ambition, have managed to show the world that physical disabilities are not a limiting factor.

O awesome.club brings you the stories of 10 incredible and genius figures who have inspired millions of people around the world.

A restless snowboarder, Amy Purdy contracted bacterial meningitis at age 19 and, as a result, her legs had to be amputated below the knee. She also lost her kidneys and spleen. Two years later, she received a kidney transplant from her father. And just 3 months later, Amy was back in the mountains with her prosthetic legs. She won a bronze at the 2014 Paralympics and a silver at the 2018 Paralympics in the snowboarding competition.

Aaron Fotheringham was confined to a wheelchair at the age of 8. Inspired by his brother riding a BMX bike at the skate park, Fotheringham began practicing with a specially adapted wheelchair. At age 14, he became the first person to make a back flip in a wheelchair and, with it, did a somersault at the opening ceremony of the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Evelyn Glennie is a virtuoso percussionist. Deaf since the age of 12, she claims to have learned to hear with parts of her body other than her ears, something you’re sure to believe if you hear her play. For her contribution to music, she was awarded the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2007.

Zack Ruhl was born with no bones in his thighs and suffered from brittle bone disease, so doctors had to amputate his legs. Today he is a Crossfit teacher, can lift weights in excess of 190 kilos and do push-ups in his wheelchair.

Despite being blind, Marla Runyan not only won 4 gold medals at the 1992 Paralympics in the long jump, 100, 200 and 400 meters, but also participated in competitions for the able-bodied, including the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, in 1999, where he won a gold medal in the 1,500 meter dash.

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is something most people would consider impossible. But Africa’s highest peak didn’t daunt Spencer West, who at age 31 achieved the impossible: he climbed the mountain using only his hands.

In 2003, while surfing with her best friend, her father and her brother, Bethany Hamilton, who was 13 at the time, suffered a shark attack and lost her left arm. By the time she was taken to the hospital, she had already lost over 60% of her body’s blood and suffered hemorrhagic shock. But she is a determined girl and a month after the attack she was back with her surfboard. Today, she is a very successful professional surfer.

The actress of “The Hunger Games” was born with only one arm. While most people would take this as a curse, Angel Giuffria’s strong determination has made her a successful actress. Recently, while attending an annual gathering of film, interactive media, music festivals and conferences, she stunned people by asking permission to charge her prosthetic arm from an outlet instead of her cell phone.

How much can you achieve in life if you don’t have arms? Almost anything you want, if you have the willpower, as is the case with the girl Jessica Cox. The first licensed armless pilot in the world, as well as the first armless black belt in the American Taekwondo Association. She is also a certified SCUBA Diver association diver, book author, motivational speaker, and competed in the 40+ mile Tucson Tour (bike race).

Qian Hongyan lost both legs in a car accident in 2000, when he was just 4 years old. She was born in Yunnan province in southwest China, and getting prostheses was beyond her family’s means. But after catching the attention of the Chinese press, she got the artificial limbs for free and joined the local swimming club for people with physical disabilities. Her hard work and determination paid off when she became national champion in the Chinese Paralympic swimming competition in 2009 and won a gold medal in the 100m breaststroke final at the Yunnan Provincial Paralympics in 2015

Taking advantage of the climate of these 10 incredibly inspiring stories, we would like to know what moves you the most and inspires you to strive to make your dreams come true. Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!