Inspirational Stories

We welcome you to browse through this continually updated list of links to the best OP inspirational stories. If there is a story that we have missed please let us know and we will put it up, info@OPSolutions.us.

Quadruple amputee wins parasurfing championship

Marbella quadruple amputee crowned world parasurfing champion

Triple amputee sets world record

Triple amputee climbs Kilimanjaro for world’s highest burger delivery

Quadruple Amputee's Rise to Fame

Quadruple amputee, Tom Nash, aka DJ Hookie, is a DJ of international repute who uses hooks to play music and perform other tasks.

Landis Sims has no hands or feet but can hit a curve ball

Landis Sims was born with no hands or legs, below his knees. He's never let his disability stop him from competing in sports, including baseball and basketball. His journey is now a movie.

Guinness World Record By Double Amputee

A man from Hawaii, who lost both an arm and a leg during a car accident, has set the Guinness World Record for completing the first solo voyage around the world. Read to know the inspiring story.

Triple Amputee is a Fitness Trainer and Bungee Jumping Record Holder

After losing three limbs in an accident, Tinkesh Kaushik set out on a mission to prove that there are no limits to what people with disabilities can do.

Paralympian Spreads Awareness for Limb Loss Awareness Month in Rochester

During the month of April for Limb Loss Awareness Month, Limb Lab in Rochester aims to raise $10,000 and welcomed Mike Schultz, paralympic gold and silver medalist, to help spread awareness.

Freshman athlete works to be a force for change in adaptive sports

Freshman Alexia Michitti, who plays for the Ithaca College women's soccer team, was born without her right hand. She has played soccer since the age of three but was only introduced to adaptive sports in 2021.

Cancer Survivor and Amputee Embraces Life Fully

'I made it, I'm an inspiration' - 22-year-old cancer survivor and amputee embraces life fully

Double amputee conquers Manitou Incline

But with her new prosthetics or graffiti, as she likes to call them, she's overcoming the steps as a double amputee. Making it to the top, nearly a mile straight up on abandoned railway ties has never felt so good.

Para-skiing star Oksana Masters leads Team USA at Beijing Paralympics

10-time Paralympic medalist (four gold, three silver, three bronze) leads Team USA at the 2022 Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing.

Cancer Survivor Who Had Her Leg Amputated Says Nothing Will Ever Stop Her From Living Fully

Once again, her fighting spirit kicked in, and she was able to move on with her life. But years on, a big health scare hit.

City of Palms Classic Slam Dunk Champion Goes Viral

A slam dunk champion lights up the internet and even makes it to SportsCenter. Hansel Emmanuel, the kid who made the awarding-winning shot at the City of Palms Classic. He’s a 6’6″ top Division I basketball prospect, and he’s an amputee.

Despite Medical Challenges, Linden Woman’s Artwork Inspires

Jane Koza, a 63-year-old paraplegic amputee, is living an inspirational life of struggle and success. Koza said she figured there was more to life than sitting in the lobby of the nursing home, which prompted her to leave.

Wounded Marine Moves Into Smart Home Thanks to 'Forrest Gump' Actor

Forrest Gump is one of those movies that continues to make a lasting impression on audiences, generation after generation. For Gary Sinise, the actor who played Lieutenant Dan, platoon leader and wounded companion to Tom Hanks' titular character, the role sparked a passion that transcended acting: honoring and supporting veterans, first responders and their families. In 2011, the actor founded the Gary Sinise Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on giving back to those who sacrificed for the country. Since its creation, the charity has built 74 specially adapted smart homes for wounded heroes, served over half a million meals and provided over 300 relief grants to first responders, among many other programs.

Rockford Man Using His Journey As An Amputee To Help Others

Matlock keeps a positive outlook and wants to spread it to everyone he meets.

Egyptian Table Tennis Athlete, And Amputee, Captures Hearts In Tokyo Paralympics

In his second consecutive Paralympic Games, Egypt's table tennis player and amputee Ibrahim Hamadtou continues to produce jaw-dropping shots using only his mouth.

Afghanistan Vet Defied All Odds To Qualify For Tokyo Paralympics

Flash forward nearly a decade after a successful recovery and ensuing surgeries have paid dividends for his new career. When the Tokyo Paralympics kick off on Aug. 24, Mr. McElvenny will be donning a red, white, and blue tri kit as a paratriathlete for the United States.

Paralympian Athlete Paving The Way To Tokyo

After a month in a medically induced coma and years of rehab and physical therapy de Lavalette and Simon channeled all the hard work into a seat on the Team USA paralympic equestrian team in the Summer Tokyo Paralympics.

Triple-Amputee Veteran Goes Surfing With Ricochet

Jose became a triple amputee after stepping on a bomb in Afghanistan. The doctors told his unit he wasn't going to make it. But he woke up from a coma ten days later. His road to recovery wasn't easy. In fact, odds were against him. He spent two years in the hospital after the explosion and was told he would never walk again. But this is Jose today, catching a wave with Ricochet to inspire other wounded warriors, as well as anyone else struggling through life.

Double-Amputee Teen Softball Player: Attitude Is Everything

Addison has two prosthetic legs, the result of a lawnmower accident when she was two years old. Despite the challenges that posed as she learned the game of softball, she said her mother never let her give up.

Smithville Woman Becomes First Climber Without Legs To Reach Top Of Mount Kilimanjaro

A Smithville native without any legs climbs one of the tallest mountains in the world. Mandy Horvath climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro despite what’s happened to her.

Woman Who Lost Leg To Cancer First Amputee To Land Place In Miss World Qualifier

The beauty who lost her leg to cancer has won a spot to compete in the final of Miss Northern Ireland, as the iconic Mis World pageant celebrates its 70th anniversary this year.

Amputee Who Sells Water for a Living Shares Her Touching Life Story

Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that people will help her, so thought amputee Mary Daniel Onu who had gone viral after photos of her hawking bottled water surfaced online.

Shark Attack Survivor Raises Funds for Eight-Year-Old Amputee in Need

The lower-extremity athlete used the Adaptive Open to raise funds for an eight-year-old amputee, Elijah, who needs a new prosthetic leg.

From Wheelchair To Climbing Mountains, The Inspiring Journey Of Shekar Goud

Shekar Goud, who lost right arm and left leg in an electrical accident, is a marathoner, cyclist and goes on trekking. Hyderabad-based adventure sports junkie Shekar Goud did not let the loss of limbs come in the way of his dreams.

Into The Outdoors With Double Amputee Johnny ‘Joey’ Jones

Watch a few minutes of the Fox Nation Outdoors series (part of Fox News’ subscription streaming platform) with Johnny ‘Joey’ Jones (“Triple J” to his friends) and the first thing you notice is his passion for being in the wild, his love of life. It’s the kind of revelation that often comes after a near brush with death.

Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long's Powerful Super Bowl Commercial Widely Praised

Toyota was looking for an inspirational figure to star in an uplifting Super Bowl commercial, and the company found one in 13-time Paralympic gold medalist Jessica Long.

Cancer Survivor, Amputee Wins Electric Bike In Dance Competition

It’s hard to look on the bright side of life when you’re facing hardships in life, right? But that’s exactly what one Scottsdale girl did when she was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago.

Russell Dickerson Surprises 17-Year-Old Double Amputee With Accessible SUV

Country singer/songwriter Russell Dickerson gifted 17-year-old superfan, Sarah Frei with quite the holiday season surprise. Dickerson and Chevy teamed up to provide Frei with a wheelchair accessible Chevrolet Traverse SUV.

Amputee Lifeguard Saves Man From Drowning

What a heroic story this is: a dramatic rescue took place at Hudson County Park when an SUV drove into the water. What happened next is nothing short of inspiring.

Double Amputee Shares His Inspiring Story

A remarkable post went viral on social media and caught the attention of none other than Ellen DeGeneres.

Machined Parts Help Paralympian

Over the next 12 years, he would go on to become a world-class Paralympic athlete, winning gold and silver medals in the 2018 Paralympic Games, competing in a variety of winter sports, including motocross, snow bike cross, and snowboarding, and winning other gold and silver medals along the way. In fact, he is now a 10-time X Games gold medalist, after returning from the recent Winter X Games 2020 in Aspen, Colorado.

Adaptive Surfer Dani Burt Is More Than Just An Inspirational Story

When Dani Burt woke up from a 45-day, medically induced coma following a motorcycle accident to learn her right leg had been amputated above the knee, she was destroyed; angry; defeated.

Four Adaptive Athletes Gearing Up To Complete Bike Race

Four athletes from the Challenged Athletes Foundation are setting out to complete the 420-mile race through some of the toughest terrains in Idaho.

Celebrity Allows Paralympic Amputee To Train In His Pool

David Duchovny Is Lending His Pool to Paralympic Swimmer to Train During COVID-19 Shutdowns. Rudy Garcia-Tolson — a double above-knee amputee — actually previously met David Duchovny as a kid, he shared.

Women Amputee Aims To Be First To Finish Coast To Coast

The feisty 54-year-old from Feilding has set herself the goal of being the first women amputee to contest multisport's toughest challenge - the Coast to Coast - in February next year.

Former Miss Colombia Is Making The Most Out Of A Difficult Journey

Former Miss Colombia dances in video just weeks after leg amputation: 'We must be resilient in life'

Amputee Home After Transatlantic Solo-Sail

An amputee sailor stranded in the Caribbean because of the coronavirus outbreak has completed a 4,000-mile solo journey to get home to NI.

Young Amputee & Her Journey As A New Mother

The story of a young mother who is an amputee is winning hearts on social media. Some stories about people with a disability are not just inspiring and moving, but heart-warming too.

He Lost His Leg, Then Rediscovered the Bicycle. Now He’s Unstoppable.

LEO RODGERS IS THE IRREPRESSIBLE GRAVEL-RACING HERO WE ALL NEED RIGHT NOW

Walking 82-days After Leg Was Amputated

Quarantine isn’t stopping Arizona women from getting out of bed every morning.

Making Affordable Prosthetics for Amputees

At UMass-Lowell, plastics engineer has developed a patented prosthetic that is changing amputees’ lives in India, Rwanda and the Philippines.

Fifth grade musician with prosthetic honors late father by playing violin

The Northside Independent School District says they have a legendary student that walks the halls of Villarreal Elementary, inspiring others through a positive attitude and passion for music.

His name is Kevin Gonzalez, a 5th grader.

Gonzalez isn’t like most kids. Instead of immediately heading home after the last bell rings, he’s putting in a lot of after-school hours to learn to play the violin.

Experience: I design my own prosthetic limbs

Having one arm hasn’t stopped me enjoying a daredevil lifestyle: mountain biking, karate, motorbikes – I’ve done them all

An interview with Dmitry Knyazev on amputee diving

Dmitry Knyazev has been a DDI Instructor and an inspirational member of our organisation since 2016. Since becoming a disabled diving instructor, Dmitry has been on a quest to get as many people with disabilities in the water as possible and has been a true ambassador for disabled diving, especially for divers in Russia.

In 2015 he created the Open Water Challenge project. The goal of his project is to create motivational stories about how people with disabilities overcome the limits of their reality. As Dmitry was already an avid professional diver, he chose diving as the challenge. Each project participant has their own challenge and purpose for taking part. Dmitry documents the progression and triumphs of his divers through filming and photo galleries.

Amputee chef got a 2nd chance at life after near-deadly accident

After a gruesome accident, over a dozen surgeries and an amputation that removed his left hand, chef Eduardo Garcia is back in the kitchen.

Teenage dancer took huge decision to be free from horrific pains

A teenage girl is following her dream of dancing only nine months after having one of her legs amputated. Ruby Bryan made the decision to have one leg removed below the knee after a childhood of modified footwear and countless operations.

Naples Amputee Guitarist Inspires Musicians Through ‘JamFest’

This weekend, musicians of all skill levels and anyone wanting to listen to them are invited to “JamFest.” The event is already changing lives, thanks to the inspiring man who started it.

Amputee Golfer Reflects On His Encounter With Tiger Woods, 'My Favorite Moment Of My Life'

As he prepared to hit his shot, Luke paused—a man with a plan. Ever since doctors amputated his right leg above the knee at age 15 because of bone cancer, he's been playing golf one-legged, and he wasn't about to hit this shot any different. With all eyes on him, he removed his prosthetic leg, and—to general astonishment—handed it to Tiger Woods.

How Double Amputee Cedric King Inspired The Carolina Panthers

In Kandahar, Afghanistan, 1st Sgt. Cedric King of the 82nd Airborne was walking a patrol that would alter the trajectory of his life. In the course of his patrol, Sgt. King stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) that detonated beneath his feet. He spent eight days in a coma, awakening to find he’d lost both legs in the explosion. Broken in mind and body, he connected with the Panthers and head coach Ron Rivera — and found new purpose and new meaning to his life.