Redefining Disability

Sam Bosco was six years old when she first got on a bike, riding to and from school with her dad. When she was 11, she had a limb lengthening surgery go awry that left her with a stunted left leg. She lettered in swimming and bowling in high school and earned a crew scholarship to the University of Central Florida where she rowed for two years. But she came back to her first love of cycling and the 2X Paralympic Bronze medalist is aiming for more this summer in Paris.

Jessica Heims was born with amniotic band syndrome that can compromise an unborn babies’ limbs. As a result, at the age of one, she would have her right leg amputated below the knee. She started in track and field at age 10 and met Paralympian Scout Bassett a year later, who helped her get involved in Para track and field. The 2X Paralympian competed as a member of the University of Northern Iowa Track and Field Team and is aiming to make her third games this summer in Paris.

Brandon Lyons, from Mechanicsburg, PA, graduated from Penn State University in 2012 and started his career with Ernst & Young in the Washington, D.C. region. Things changed on May 24, 2014, when he dove into shallow water, breaking his T5/T6 vertebrae and leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. Lyons quickly took on this new challenge and completed a marathon just five months after the date of his injury. He found his passion for handcycling and would relocate to the USPOC training center in Colorado Springs exactly three years after the date of his injury. Lyons made his first national team in 2019 and is aiming for the Paris Paralympics later this summer.

fter September 11, Shianti Lee enlisted in the Army Reserves after graduating from college. She would deploy to Iraq almost immediately. She sustained multiple injuries as the result of an IED blast during a mission. She has tried multiple adaptive sports, but particularly likes yoga and snowboarding. As a Move United Warfighters Ambassador, she is working to get more wounded veterans active through sports and recreation.

In 2005 Harsh Thakkar had just started classes at the University of Maryland, Baltimore when he was robbed and shot, leaving him paralyzed at T12-L1. A strong athlete in high school he rediscovered his athletic identity through adaptive sports. He would finish his degree at Edinboro University, where he got a scholarship to play wheelchair basketball. He currently plays for the NRH Punishers and also leads programs through his role at the National Rehabilitation Hospital.

As an Adaptive PE teacher in the 1980’s, Gregg Baumgarten saw there were no competitive opportunities for many of his students who had physical disabilities. So he founded what is now Arizona Disabled Sports with his good friend Mark Grant. As pioneers in adaptive sports, the two would also create Desert Challenge Games and the first ever National Power Soccer Tournament in the USA. Gregg would direct a number of regional and national competitions and assisted with the formation of many other organizations and competitions. He would serve on the board of directors of Disabled Sports USA and as board chair of Adaptive Sports USA, the two predecessor organizations of Move United.

Dan Castillo served for six years in the Armed Forces and was medically retired as a quadriplegic with a C4 spinal cord injury. He plays power soccer and was named to the U.S Boccia National Team back in October. Students from Virginia Western Community College students are creating a handstick for him to play the sport through a partnership with Quality of Life Plus.

Brian Bell lost his leg at the age of 10 due to a train accident. After rehabilitation, he wanted to get back to playing basketball and football, his two favorite sports. He played middle school football on his prosthetic and discovered wheelchair basketball through the Lakeshore Foundation, a Move United member organization in Birmingham, Alabama. Now the 2x Paralympic Gold Medalist is hoping to win his third one this summer in Paris.

Rev. Julius Lee is the Founder and President of SMCL Foundation & Associates. After serving in the US Army from 1974 to 1980 and in the Air Force from 1980 to 1997, Julius suffered a spinal cord injury. For over 21 years, as a disabled veteran, he has been advocating for those with disabilities and hardships. His passion for aiding others has led him to serve and educate the community on adaptive sports for veterans and others with disabilities.

The U.S. Open Adaptive Surfing Championships World-Wide Tour, with a prize package of $200,000, kicked off last month and have events coming up in Hawaii and California in the coming months. Behind this effort is Stoke for Life founder Charles Webb, a paraplegic and world class adaptive surfer.