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Rick at the Great Wall of China
wanted to not complain about my reality , instead I wanted to take some of the lessons that I learned in sports and from the role models that had impacted me on my life ' s journey , and try to pay it forward . I thought about my athletic challenge , which was at that time a wheelchair marathoner , and then I looked for solutions that might hopefully change attitudes . When I left for my
Man in Motion World Tour at the naïve , young age of 27 , I thought that maybe I could create a beginning , a global movement . However , I soon realized how large and disconnected the world was , and what a struggle it would be just to try to accomplish the
Tour itself , let alone try to build awareness , raise funds and ultimately create a movement .
But there were milestones created on the Tour . Being accepted into China was an incredible one considering that it was an insular country . The warm reception I received was in part due to Deng Pufang , the son of the then Chairman , Deng Xiaoping having received life-saving medical treatment in Canada for his spinal cord injury . He was inspired by the Canadian aspiration of our Charter and Constitution and the shifts of our attitude to people with disabilities . When he returned to China , he wanted to start something significant for their over 70 million people with disabilities . So , he welcomed us into their country .
The idea of people with disabilities being able to not just move out from being a ward of the state , a shut-in or a burden to family but to actually lead and champion a concept that was a radical departure from the status quo , was significant and worthy to be pursued .
How did society perceive disabilities at the time of your injury ?
Back in 1973 when I had my injury , if you had a disability , there were not a lot of expectations . I was even told