Health

Disabled Sports USA: Building Strength in the Face of Adversity

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

January 31, 2002 / 8:43 AM EST / CBS

The loss of limbs or paralysis of the limbs is a form of disability that can shatter your whole life, but for Vietnam veteran Kirk Bauer, putting the pieces back together was the only option. It's part of our series "Improving Your Odds," a story of resilience and strength in the face of adversity.

"I was injured in Vietnam during an ambush from a hand grenade," says Bauer. The 53-year-old Vietnam war veteran lost his left leg in the Vietnam War at the age of 21.

"When it happens it's a shock and you do have to face death," says Bauer.

Kirk was decorated for his bravery, but the real battle was just beginning.

"For me, it was a lot of laying around thinking and unfortunately the thinking was all negative--basically checking off a list of things I could not do because I was now disabled," says Bauer.

So Kirk joined a group of fellow veterans who were helping each other to literally get themselves up and running again, an organization that became known as Disabled Sports USA.

"I was thinking very negatively. What it started me learning about is things I could do, and do in a very short period of time, and that really started me back into the process of positive thinking and basically rebuilding my life again because I realized I could still be very active and be productive again," says Bauer.

For Kirk, the turning point came on the ski slopes.

"It was the most thrilling experience of my life," says Bauer. "After living in a slow-motion world after having my whole life turned upside down suddenly in 1 day I could make a turn on a ski and it was like, 'Wow! The possibilities are endless now.'"

Kirk has worked ever since as a mentor and role model to help others like him. Today Disabled Sports USA has a track record spanning more than three decades and an impressive new generation of disabled achievers.

"We have people who are totally blind, people who are triple amputees, people who are paralyzed from the waist down. They can all take part in these active sports," says Bauer.

How do they get them to turn that corner?

"I basically try to tell them that, 'Yes, times are tough,'" says Bauer. "'But stick with it because you have a rich and fulfilling life ahead of you if you give it a chance and make a try at this, and we can help you make that try.'"

Disabled Sports USA is 86 chapters strong in 35 states, doing 25 different sports activities--from bicycling to running to skiing, kayaking, river rafting, canoeing.

Kirk told us that in his own experience and that of others like him, a disability can impact every aspect of your life, shatter your whole world. Relationships are affected with partners and families friends. Self-image and self-esteem are negatively affected, so it really is a battle of the mind as well as the body.