PLACE NO LIMITS ON ME THANKS!
STORY BOOK No 2.
Earlier this year ACTON Rockingham and the ACTON Group sponsored Port Kennedy teenager Sam
Kimberley so he could attend the World Dwarf Games. This is his story.
Sam Kimberley was born with the bone disorder achondroplasia, commonly known as dwarfism. It is a
genetic disorder that results in shorter arms and legs. About one in every 20,000 births in Australia is
affected. As is often the case in these situations, his parents Rob and Ursula were given a range of
information about the condition and an initial impression of doom and gloom.
"We did our research and heard things like Sam's development would be
behind other children, for example he wouldn't walk until he was three. It was a
bit daunting at first, but our doctor said 'he's the youngest of six, he'll be fine.'
and he was right. Our other kids involved him in everything. He walked at one
and just hasn't looked back.
"When Sam was very young we were involved with the Short Statured People
of Australia organisation in Western Australia. It was interesting meeting other
children and parents who were facing similar challenges. They marvel led at
Sam's ability to swim and ride a bike at such a young age. I believe Sam having
five siblings that did not treat him any differently made a huge difference to him
being able to use his motor skills well. I believe the attitude of those around
them plays a big part in the children being able to achieve activities they enjoy.
"Sam has been involved in sport since day one, he has a fantastic outlook and gives everything a go, and
we let him try. I don't think you could stop him, he has always wanted to be involved - we have a great
photo of him as a child where he pushed a stool up to the window and stood on it to watch the other kids
playing out the front, wanting to be a part of the fun."
Sam has recently returned from the World Dwarf Games at Michigan State University in the US where he
competed in swimming, winning gold in the 100m individual medley, 25m freestyle and 25m butterfly. He
also competed in the open freestyle and placed 7th.
He has been swimming since he was very young. At the age of five his brothers used to carry him down to
the beach on their handlebars and he would jump from the jetty into the water, where one of his brothers
would be waiting to help him stay afloat. It was a baptism of fire so to speak, and when his parents found
out, they enrolled him in swimming lessons for his own safety.
He took part in a range of other sports growing up including basketball, tee-ball, Ausball, and horse-riding,
but as he got older the nerves at the base of his spine weren't sending information to his legs, restricting his
ability to walk and run. Sometimes he couldn't go 15m without pain and it stopped him doing a lot of sports.
Swimming carried his body weight and allowed him to remain active.
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