Weihenmayer - No Barriers

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To my father, Ed, who embodied No Barriers before it had a name

Erik

This is a true story, though some names and details have been changed.

By Bob Woodruff, ABC News

Chances are that at some point in our lives, we will all be tested. The possibilities are endless, and they read like a litany of what-ifs. Which is why the interesting part of any story is not necessarily the exact nature of the obstacles we meet, but in how we choose to respond.

It was an honor to be asked to write the foreword for No Barriers: A Blind Mans Journey to Kayak the Grand Canyon because this story and its author embody what it means to meet adversity and not let the bad thing define us. In short, to quote my wife, you make a choice to get bitter or better.

My own challenging moment came in January 29, 2006, when I was covering the Iraq war outside of Baghdad for ABC News. While standing halfway out of a tank with my cameraman, a 125-mm roadside bomb exploded, leaving me with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and vastly changing the direction of my life.

The blast shattered my skull, embedding rocks and other debris in my body and shattering my scapula. But none of the other injuries mattered. They would heal. It was the TBI, the signature wound of these wars, that would prove to be my greatest obstacle. I would spend the next few years struggling to put my cognitive abilities back together, returning to my job as a journalist and working harder than I ever had in my life.

Immediately following the blast, my cameraman, Doug Vogt, and I were flown from Iraq to Germany, then on to National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda where I spent thirty-six days in a coma. When I finally woke up and began to understand the enormity of what I had lost, it was my family and friends who surrounded me, along with the other military families, all on the same journey, experiencing firsthand the devastation and legacy of war up close and at home.

I am a journalist, and although I understood the probability that I could be killed, I had spent very little time thinking about severe injury. My injury catapulted me into a world I had never seriously considered or contemplated. And from that tragedy, many positive things have resulted. I have been proud to use my story to help others traveling along the same road.

There is nothing courageous about my story. Hundreds of thousands of our troops who have volunteered to go to Iraq and Afghanistan when their country asked have returned home with both physical and invisible injuries. Unlike me, working for a news organization who cared for me and my family with unlimited rehabilitation and resources, many of our military families may not have access to the same level of resources all the way through. Not all of them have friends and family at home like I did to root for me and pick me up on the days when I felt low.

* * *

Erik Weihenmayer is simply one of the most remarkable men I have ever met. When Erik was in ninth grade, he lost his ability to see.

For many of us, navigating without vision would have circumscribed our world in a million different ways, but he came to a place where he decided to take pain into purpose, darkness into light.

I first heard about Erik through my brother, Woody, who travels with an elite pack of mountain climbers and extreme adventurers. In 2013, Erik invited me to speak at his No Barriers annual event in Telluride, Colorado. I joined an amazing roster of speakers and guests, including some injured veterans, and it was clear when Erik spoke that he had a gift.

Erik spoke then, as he writes in this book, about the decision he made that nothing would stop him from achieving his goals. He was determined that his lack of vision not be viewed as a disability, but rather as a different ability. And that is where Eriks story becomes both interesting and inspiring.

Erik is the only blind climber to reach the top of Mount Everest, and this book details his journey by kayak through the Grand Canyon. But Erik didnt stop there. He kept setting goals for himself, moving ever forward, because in his words, he would rather be punched and knocked flat than to be doomed to a life of quiet acquiescence.

The mark of true heroes is that they would never use that word to describe themselves. And Erik is no different. His many accomplishments have made him famous, but none of that matters to him. You hang your pictures up on the walls, he wrote. You set up your trophies, and it becomes a museum, even worse, a mausoleum.

Erik doesnt climb mountains or break records merely to receive medals and accolades. Instead, he operates from a need to prove to himself what he can accomplish and to use his story to help others.

In 2004, Erik cofounded the nonprofit No Barriers. His goal was to help those who have suffered from mental and physical injuries understand that although there exist plenty of barriers in our lives, there is also a map, a way to navigate these barriers and even obliterate them.

No Barriers USA has grown to include an annual summit, a four-day event that showcases cutting-edge adaptive technologies and provides interactive clinics in an outdoor setting. The summit also offers No Barriers University, featuring inspiring speakers telling life-changing stories. No Barriers Warriors improves the lives of veterans with disabilities through curriculum-based experiences in challenging environments. And No Barriers Youth challenges young people to contribute their absolute best to the world through transformative experiences, classroom tools, and real-world inspiration.

All of the No Barriers USA programs open up new paths, new gates where those who feel defined by life changes can feel no boundaries to accomplishment, and a supportive community of people with shared experiences, visions, and dreams.

One of the incredible attributes of humanity is resilience. We hear a great deal about that term these days, and when you read this book you understand what a critical component it is for life, not just to survive, but also to thrive, as Erik has done.

And while most anyone who has gone through trauma or put his or her family through a traumatic experience would take it all back in a second, part of moving forward is looking for the positive aspects that are borne out of tragedy or the unexpected.

Its meeting and getting to know people like Erik that has taught me the true definition of sacrifice through their actions, examples, and humility.

When you finally close the pages of this book, I guarantee you will feel a little lighter. You will also understand that anything is achievable if we set our minds to it.

No Barriers: A Blind Mans Journey to Kayak the Grand Canyon made me think about myself in new ways. And not only is it a great story and a riveting read, but it will challenge you to look at your own life and your gifts in new ways.

Eriks incredible story and his commitment to be a beacon for others demonstrate how one person can make a difference in the lives of others. For him, there are many more mountains to climb, side by side with those of us who have become not just his admirers, but also his friends.