Rick Hansen - Rick Hansen: Man In Motion

MAN in MOTION

RICK HANSEN & JIM TAYLOR

RICK HANSEN
MAN IN MOTION

UPDATED, EXPANDED EDITION

Copyright 1987, 1999, 2004, and 2011 by Rick Hansen and Jim Taylor

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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For a copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.

Douglas & McIntyre
An imprint of D&M Publishers Inc.
2323 Quebec Street, Suite 201
Vancouver BC Canada V5T 4S7
www.douglas-mcintyre.com

Cataloguing data available from Library and Archives Canada
ISBN 978-1-55054-759-7 (cloth)
ISBN 978-1-55365-854-2 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-1-55365-872-6 (ebook)

Editing by Saeko Usukawa
Cover and text design by Naomi MacDougall
Front cover photograph by Roger Gould, used courtesy of NIKE International Ltd.
Back cover photographs courtesy of the Rick Hansen Foundation
Map by Eric Leinberger
All interior photos courtesy of the Rick Hansen Foundation
unless otherwise indicated.

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the British Columbia Arts Council, the Province of British Columbia through the Book Publishing Tax Credit and the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for our publishing activities.

All care has been taken to trace the ownership of photographs reprinted in this book. If any omissions have occurred, they will be corrected in subsequent editions, provided notification is sent to the publisher.

For the team
those at home and on the road,
and the thousands in thirty-four countries
who helped transform the dream into reality

1985

Vancouver/March

Seattle/March

Portland/March

San Fransisco/March

Los Angeles/April

San Diego/April

Phoenix/May

Dallas/May

New Orleans/June

Miami/June

Dublin/July

Belfast/July

Glasgow/July

London/July

Paris/July

Brussels/July

Amsterdam/July

Hamburg/August

Copenhagen/August

Oslo/August

Stockholm/August

Helsinki/August

Moscow/September

Warsaw/September

Prague/September

Vienna/September

Geneva/October

Barcelona/October

Madrid/October

Lisbon/November

Gibraltar/November

Marseilles/November

Rome/November

Belgrade/November

Dubrovnik/November

Athens/December

Bahrain/December

Amman/December

Tel Aviv/December

1986

Auckland/January

Wellington/January

Christchurch/January

Adelaide/February

Melbourne/March

Sydney/March

Brisbane/March

Hong Kong/April

Beijing/April

Shanghai/May

Seoul/May

Sapporo/May

Tokyo/June

Miami/July

Savannah/July

Richmond/July

Washington, D.C./July

New York/August

Boston/August

Bar Harbour/August

Cape Spear/August

St. Johns/August

Halifax/September

Charlottetown/September

Fredericton/October

Quebec City/October

Montreal/October

Ottawa/October

Toronto/November

1987

Winnipeg/January

Regina/February

Calgary/March

Edmonton/March

Prince George/March

Williams Lake/April

Vancouver/May

Contents

March 21, 2010, marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the beginning of my Man In Motion World Tour. Looking back over the years, I can say without a doubt that the Tour was one of the highlights of my life. It was an extraordinary moment in time with a group of extraordinary people facing extraordinary challenges. I learned a lot; I have more internal strength and compassion because of it, and I found a group of friends who together were a force of nature. One of those cherished team members passed away in August 2010. Lee Gibson was my cousin, friend and cook for the Tour. We grew up together, and he joined me and the other members of the team for the biggest and most difficult adventure of our lives. We faced all types of adversity and counted on each other to make it through. Lee will forever have a special place in all of our hearts.

When I wheeled into Vancouvers Oakridge Mall on May 22, 1987, with more than 40,000 kilometres under my wheels, the first thing I saw was the homecoming sign that read, The end is just the beginning, and I realized what a prophecy that was. The Tour was life changing; I set out to wheel around the globe to make a positive difference, but it didnt stop when I returned home. I realized that trying to make the world a better place had become my passion and lifes purpose. Over the years, my work with the Rick Hansen Foundation has brought new goals and dreams that the twenty-fifth anniversary will see realizedlike a global institute that will connect spinal cord injury researchers, patients and service providers to share information and accelerate a cure, and a worldwide accessibility initiative that will improve the lives of people living with disabilities.

My life with Amanda and our three daughters has unfolded in ways that inspire and amaze me every day. The Tour not only brought me the fulfillment of a dream, but also the love of my life.

AS I look to the future, this is what I know for sure: I believe that my best work is still in front of me. I know that things will unfold in miraculous ways at this halfway point in the journey, with progress and champions who have made a difference. The world is not as large as I once thought, and the core values of friendship and compassion are universal. As I celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary, I cant wait to reconnect with Canadians and people from all over the globe who have supported me throughout the years. I am eternally grateful for their support and encouragement, which has inspired my lifes mission: to believe that anything is possible and to remain in motion, striving to create a better, more inclusive world for everyone.

RICK HANSEN
September 2010

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He was sitting on the stage in the auditorium of the Oakridge shopping mall in Vancouver, a smile frozen on his face, praying that the fear didnt show.

In a matter of minutes hed be wheeling down the ramp and out onto the road, his escort vehicle tucked in behind him, to begin a journey most in the room considered impossible: 24,901.55 miles through thirty-four countries in nineteen monthsin a wheelchair powered by nothing but the strength in his upper body and the conviction in his heart. Rick Hansen, paraplegic. Age: twenty-seven. Weight: 140 pounds. Condition: numb.

One by one his supporters were trooping to the microphone to make presentations, offer good wishes and tell him what a great thing he was doingthe premier, the mayor, civic dignitaries, corporate sponsors, friends. He tried to listen, but their voices faded in and out as his mind flew in other directions, The wheelchair wasnt ready. He was injured, had been for four months, and nothing was getting any betternot the shoulders, the elbow or the wrist. There wasnt enough money to get him past Los Angeles, let alone around the world. What was he doing here?

His mind snapped back. Betty and Rollie Fox were there, Terrys parents, adding their good wishes. Terry, his buddy, taken at twenty-two by cancer in 1981 in the midst of his one-legged run across Canada. Not beaten. Never that. He just wasnt granted enough time. Terry would understand what he was feeling. Maybe hed felt it himself, back there on the coast of Newfoundland as he was about to take the first step west.