Translator: Aram PIERRE Reviewer: Cristina Bufi-Pöcksteiner
Who do you see when you look at me?
A disabled person, okay, but,
what else ?
What can you think?
At a young man who pays for a mistake he made?
A young man who needs permanent assistance?
A youth with no future?
I have not been nailed down in that chair.
It was at the age of 19 I had my rugby accident.
And paradoxically,
it is from that moment that I ceased to go further,
and get out of my comfort zone.
I will never forget the head of my doctor,
after my surgery.
And still less
the first sentence he said to me:
“You’ll never walk. “
What am talking about?
I was a top athlete.
Injury, I was living every day.
I refused to hear the truth.
In addition, he spoke of disability
the wheelchair.
I had no memory of seeing a person in a wheelchair
before my accident.
Nor indeed how these people could live.
I was in total denial phase.
Then I understood.
I realized,
and I exploded.
Why ?
Why me ?
I think my parents still remember these words
echoing in my ICU room.
I have long been living in the anger phase,
my inspiration in a sick routine
without really thinking I could win something.
And yet.
One day,
while I was sitting comfortably in my new life,
bed, TV,
a young man comes in my hospital room.
We were about the same age,
the same route,
the same accident.
Except that, he was in a wheelchair.
I understood at that time,
it meant that I too could be wheelchair
and out of these four walls punctuated my day.
Get out of bed,
it was out of my comfort zone
in which I was finally myself comfortably
and begin my reconstruction.
My reconstruction has gone through an important goal,
even unreal in the world of disability.
A goal that I had reached naturally before my accident,
but I had become much more complicated:
Autonomy.
I have very strong memories in achieving my goal.
And especially, the first time I managed to eat alone.
I received my tray
in my hospital room.
And the caregiver, who was helping me share this meal,
tarried a little.
So I took the initiative to start without her.
And I particularly remember this little
This small cheese
carefully wrapped in paper.
I managed to eat half of the cheese;
the other half was on my nose.
But difficult at first,
when you have mittens instead of hands.
And no matter, it was a magical moment.
I also have this memory of the first shower
I managed to take alone,
with good mom laundry smell on the towels.
All these little moments
all these small victories, allowed me to lay stones.
And so build my wall in achieving my goal:
Autonomy.
All these small victories
also allowed me to generate confidence in me.
And that too
it was something new to me.
Before my accident
I was often in doubt
not sure of myself.
Today I dare,
I undertake and I give my all.
So here I am autonomous wheelchair.
This is not so bad.
But a goal always hiding another,
I felt the need to revive me
a new sporting career high.
During a stay in a rehabilitation center,
in Brittany,
I discovered a discipline
which corresponded fully to my expectations:
the wheelchair rugby.
The wheelchair rugby is a Paralympic sport
which is played four against four on a basketball court
with type chairs Mad Max, that allow us to get us there.
It’s a pretty spectacular sport
by dynamic impact between seats,
as you can see from the video
(Video) (Public Cree)
(Applause)
It is already quadriplegic, nothing can happen to us again.
(Laughter)
This sport –
(Laughter) (Translation)
This sport also conveys values of team spirit,
combativeness and respect.
I have found in this discipline sporting fulfillment.
But not only.
The third half is also in wheelchair rugby.
And that, I can tell you that it is an excellent vehicle for human connection,
meeting with other athletes,
and the perfect opportunity to get back into a new social life.
By cons, no club and no money
to buy all the chairs to 6 000,
difficult to practice.
I learned, in the past, not to stay in bed
So I mounted a club,
found the money and bought the chairs.
For nine years,
I had the chance to participate in two Paralympic Games.
But not only.
The wheelchair rugby was also the trigger for a new project.
And if I used the sport as disability awareness vector?
It is a sport that is easy to use for disabled people,
because it was designed for quadriplegics,
with so few motor skills.
Furthermore,
it makes it possible to position the uninitiated,
people from seven to seventy-seven years:
you.
This sport also conveys a positive image of disability,
as the fact that a disabled person is not especially fragile.
Finally,
this discipline simply demystifies
the pessimistic vision of the disabled without social life.
So I set up an association.
And our first audience was college students.
Because it was considered easier to educate the younger generations
that to reeducate people with advanced age.
I am not speaking of all of you, of course.
The first time I spoke at a small village school
marked me for life.
I was just asking questions about my abilities or disabilities
to realize the facts and gestures of everyday life.
And especially,
whether or not power drive alone
and return to my vehicle.
This question may seem insurmountable
for most of us,
it was not for them.
“Well, you put yourself next to your vehicle,
thou transferred with the strength of your arms on the driver’s seat
you Démontes your chair and you drive with your hands. “
(Laughter)
I feel stupid
and ask them completely stupid questions.
Another nice story.
Most times when young people try the wheelchair rugby,
they ask me:
“In what club I could enroll next year? “
I explain that this is a sport that is not open to valid
in matters of legislation and different capacities.
They think it is still stupid.
After visiting several schools of the department,
I felt again the need to go further.
And if I intervened with another public?
A public also in trouble, but differently.
A private, not population legs
but deprived of liberty:
the inmates.
Disabled and prisoners have no similarity,
at first.
And yet,
accident of life,
loss of something precious,
and especially,
a strong need for social and professional reintegration.
Moreover, these two public represent a negative image in society,
to which it is easy to identify.
Who here has ever taken the wheel having a few drinks?
Who has never put in danger,
even subconsciously?
This can happen to us
and at any time.
Our discussion with inmates is about our ability to adapt
and reconstruction
following a failure.
After being detained,
after rehabilitation,
it may be twice as hard
to reintegrate socially and professionally behind.
But it is far from impossible.
During a visit to a women’s detention center,
I spoke to a group of inmates.
And as a result of my intervention,
One of them spoke up and said:
“You come to meet us,
you talk to us as if nothing had happened,
you look us in the eye.
I find it really enjoyable. “
So I was completely surprised at his reaction
and I answered
I was fighting myself daily, not to be judged,
how could I judge it on first glance, without knowing?
She looked at me,
She smiled.
I feel that at this time, she understood
we live both some form of rehabilitation.
At that moment, I realized
that our interventions with inmates
they serve as a source of motivation in their rehabilitation.
After the children after inmates
why not hit the professional world?
It took innovate, to touch the medium.
So I invented a teambuilding training module
focused on disability and wheelchair rugby.
I must say that this last challenge was far from clear.
The first time we are contacted by a large company
marked me for life.
We are contacted by this great company
to lead a team building training.
My contact told me
the team members are all directors
and they managent every 9000 people.
“Can you take care of?
(Smile)
– Listen, um,
in my association, I currently manage three.
Captaincy in wheelchair rugby
made me take care of a big dozen athletes.
Why not ?
This is a great opportunity to go even further. “
After five hours of gym work,
three hours of wheelchair rugby,
This day was a success and quite a relief.
And to think that my difference
became an asset to the team cohesion.
I believe that any difference is a richness,
that allows us to identify,
but also to learn, meet and share.
Being afraid of differences through ignorance,
it is a human behavior.
But then,
those differences prevent you from moving forward they?
Since I’m different, since I was in a wheelchair,
I have stopped going further,
I have stopped going out of my comfort zone,
because nothing really seems impossible.
Furthermore,
I had the chance to meet many different people,
who, through their experience,
by their differences,
I managed to go to the end of all these projects.
So,
Is what I am young with no future?
A young stuck in bed?
I have not evaluated my situation of disabled
as a situation of failure,
but more as a situation
which allowed me to get out of my comfort zone
and seek unexpected victories.
My accident on a rugby field, is not a failure.
Failure would have been to stay in this area
and not to take off.
My success was to go to other lands,
driven by new projects to build my happiness.
Today,
I am again out of my comfort zone.
I put myself in trouble.
And I’m glad and happy to have done.
So…
do not expect to live a failure!
Please do not expect to live an accident,
for yourself out of your comfort zone!
Thank you.
(Applause)
Who do you see when you look at me?
A disabled person, okay, but,
what else ?
What can you think?
At a young man who pays for a mistake he made?
A young man who needs permanent assistance?
A youth with no future?
I have not been nailed down in that chair.
It was at the age of 19 I had my rugby accident.
And paradoxically,
it is from that moment that I ceased to go further,
and get out of my comfort zone.
I will never forget the head of my doctor,
after my surgery.
And still less
the first sentence he said to me:
“You’ll never walk. “
What am talking about?
I was a top athlete.
Injury, I was living every day.
I refused to hear the truth.
In addition, he spoke of disability
the wheelchair.
I had no memory of seeing a person in a wheelchair
before my accident.
Nor indeed how these people could live.
I was in total denial phase.
Then I understood.
I realized,
and I exploded.
Why ?
Why me ?
I think my parents still remember these words
echoing in my ICU room.
I have long been living in the anger phase,
my inspiration in a sick routine
without really thinking I could win something.
And yet.
One day,
while I was sitting comfortably in my new life,
bed, TV,
a young man comes in my hospital room.
We were about the same age,
the same route,
the same accident.
Except that, he was in a wheelchair.
I understood at that time,
it meant that I too could be wheelchair
and out of these four walls punctuated my day.
Get out of bed,
it was out of my comfort zone
in which I was finally myself comfortably
and begin my reconstruction.
My reconstruction has gone through an important goal,
even unreal in the world of disability.
A goal that I had reached naturally before my accident,
but I had become much more complicated:
Autonomy.
I have very strong memories in achieving my goal.
And especially, the first time I managed to eat alone.
I received my tray
in my hospital room.
And the caregiver, who was helping me share this meal,
tarried a little.
So I took the initiative to start without her.
And I particularly remember this little
This small cheese
carefully wrapped in paper.
I managed to eat half of the cheese;
the other half was on my nose.
But difficult at first,
when you have mittens instead of hands.
And no matter, it was a magical moment.
I also have this memory of the first shower
I managed to take alone,
with good mom laundry smell on the towels.
All these little moments
all these small victories, allowed me to lay stones.
And so build my wall in achieving my goal:
Autonomy.
All these small victories
also allowed me to generate confidence in me.
And that too
it was something new to me.
Before my accident
I was often in doubt
not sure of myself.
Today I dare,
I undertake and I give my all.
So here I am autonomous wheelchair.
This is not so bad.
But a goal always hiding another,
I felt the need to revive me
a new sporting career high.
During a stay in a rehabilitation center,
in Brittany,
I discovered a discipline
which corresponded fully to my expectations:
the wheelchair rugby.
The wheelchair rugby is a Paralympic sport
which is played four against four on a basketball court
with type chairs Mad Max, that allow us to get us there.
It’s a pretty spectacular sport
by dynamic impact between seats,
as you can see from the video
(Video) (Public Cree)
(Applause)
It is already quadriplegic, nothing can happen to us again.
(Laughter)
This sport –
(Laughter) (Translation)
This sport also conveys values of team spirit,
combativeness and respect.
I have found in this discipline sporting fulfillment.
But not only.
The third half is also in wheelchair rugby.
And that, I can tell you that it is an excellent vehicle for human connection,
meeting with other athletes,
and the perfect opportunity to get back into a new social life.
By cons, no club and no money
to buy all the chairs to 6 000,
difficult to practice.
I learned, in the past, not to stay in bed
So I mounted a club,
found the money and bought the chairs.
For nine years,
I had the chance to participate in two Paralympic Games.
But not only.
The wheelchair rugby was also the trigger for a new project.
And if I used the sport as disability awareness vector?
It is a sport that is easy to use for disabled people,
because it was designed for quadriplegics,
with so few motor skills.
Furthermore,
it makes it possible to position the uninitiated,
people from seven to seventy-seven years:
you.
This sport also conveys a positive image of disability,
as the fact that a disabled person is not especially fragile.
Finally,
this discipline simply demystifies
the pessimistic vision of the disabled without social life.
So I set up an association.
And our first audience was college students.
Because it was considered easier to educate the younger generations
that to reeducate people with advanced age.
I am not speaking of all of you, of course.
The first time I spoke at a small village school
marked me for life.
I was just asking questions about my abilities or disabilities
to realize the facts and gestures of everyday life.
And especially,
whether or not power drive alone
and return to my vehicle.
This question may seem insurmountable
for most of us,
it was not for them.
“Well, you put yourself next to your vehicle,
thou transferred with the strength of your arms on the driver’s seat
you Démontes your chair and you drive with your hands. “
(Laughter)
I feel stupid
and ask them completely stupid questions.
Another nice story.
Most times when young people try the wheelchair rugby,
they ask me:
“In what club I could enroll next year? “
I explain that this is a sport that is not open to valid
in matters of legislation and different capacities.
They think it is still stupid.
After visiting several schools of the department,
I felt again the need to go further.
And if I intervened with another public?
A public also in trouble, but differently.
A private, not population legs
but deprived of liberty:
the inmates.
Disabled and prisoners have no similarity,
at first.
And yet,
accident of life,
loss of something precious,
and especially,
a strong need for social and professional reintegration.
Moreover, these two public represent a negative image in society,
to which it is easy to identify.
Who here has ever taken the wheel having a few drinks?
Who has never put in danger,
even subconsciously?
This can happen to us
and at any time.
Our discussion with inmates is about our ability to adapt
and reconstruction
following a failure.
After being detained,
after rehabilitation,
it may be twice as hard
to reintegrate socially and professionally behind.
But it is far from impossible.
During a visit to a women’s detention center,
I spoke to a group of inmates.
And as a result of my intervention,
One of them spoke up and said:
“You come to meet us,
you talk to us as if nothing had happened,
you look us in the eye.
I find it really enjoyable. “
So I was completely surprised at his reaction
and I answered
I was fighting myself daily, not to be judged,
how could I judge it on first glance, without knowing?
She looked at me,
She smiled.
I feel that at this time, she understood
we live both some form of rehabilitation.
At that moment, I realized
that our interventions with inmates
they serve as a source of motivation in their rehabilitation.
After the children after inmates
why not hit the professional world?
It took innovate, to touch the medium.
So I invented a teambuilding training module
focused on disability and wheelchair rugby.
I must say that this last challenge was far from clear.
The first time we are contacted by a large company
marked me for life.
We are contacted by this great company
to lead a team building training.
My contact told me
the team members are all directors
and they managent every 9000 people.
“Can you take care of?
(Smile)
– Listen, um,
in my association, I currently manage three.
Captaincy in wheelchair rugby
made me take care of a big dozen athletes.
Why not ?
This is a great opportunity to go even further. “
After five hours of gym work,
three hours of wheelchair rugby,
This day was a success and quite a relief.
And to think that my difference
became an asset to the team cohesion.
I believe that any difference is a richness,
that allows us to identify,
but also to learn, meet and share.
Being afraid of differences through ignorance,
it is a human behavior.
But then,
those differences prevent you from moving forward they?
Since I’m different, since I was in a wheelchair,
I have stopped going further,
I have stopped going out of my comfort zone,
because nothing really seems impossible.
Furthermore,
I had the chance to meet many different people,
who, through their experience,
by their differences,
I managed to go to the end of all these projects.
So,
Is what I am young with no future?
A young stuck in bed?
I have not evaluated my situation of disabled
as a situation of failure,
but more as a situation
which allowed me to get out of my comfort zone
and seek unexpected victories.
My accident on a rugby field, is not a failure.
Failure would have been to stay in this area
and not to take off.
My success was to go to other lands,
driven by new projects to build my happiness.
Today,
I am again out of my comfort zone.
I put myself in trouble.
And I’m glad and happy to have done.
So…
do not expect to live a failure!
Please do not expect to live an accident,
for yourself out of your comfort zone!
Thank you.
(Applause)
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