so who here loves cam or come on you can
do better than who here loves cowboy me
too any way to recognize that mountain
open that door look straight up as holly
mountain and he is the reason why I fell
in love with Cam more before i start
with the uncomfortable question let’s
get some definitions out of the way you
guys all of you guys are the walkers not
the walking dead walkers but you guys
were the walkers I cuz I got hot wheels
on I’m the wheeler once we get out of
that way I’ll start so the uncomfortable
question to you is what do you think is
the actual distance between my
wheelchair and being wild something
measurable well wild like mother nature
oh ok you don’t all have to jump up and
answer that question all at once it’s
okay the reason why it’s an
uncomfortable question because wheelers
and walkers we often don’t talk there’s
that fear we talk about the fear earlier
once you become an adult when you become
a walker you have to have a fear of
speaking out in case you offend me
somehow in case you say the wrong thing
but children children don’t have that
problem I remember one ski trab company
sticky trap a little girl came up to me
and said you got really cool wheels
and why are you in a wheelchair why is
it because you’re amazing see most
people will get offended I’m like what
let’s try it so I took her own right and
she said this is hard the reason I bring
that up is that my goal today is I’m
going to give you the formula to
calculate the actual distance between my
wheelchair and wild and the same time I
hope to open and empower you to put that
fear side to open a dialogue between all
of us so the best part of my
presentation is talk about me my name is
Quinn I moved to Canada when I was
really young and this picture was taken
of me as a walker the very last picture
a little over 15 years ago before my
final year of U of A I decided to go to
victoria bc for a quick vacation really
quick and then i decided to go home
three days earlier than i had planned to
who here is driven on the coca-cola
highway before just a few of you and you
know the road is not the easiest to
drive on for me I started early morning
was beautiful out and as I almost hit
about 1200 meters as the highest
altitude on the coca haul a highway i
fell asleep like harlow i missed a turn
my car went straight i went out cliff
and i woke up a week later at the
hospital from a coma see I didn’t have
time to fear for my life because when I
woke up I heard is b.b.b their machines
everywhere around me I couldn’t move
anything except for my eyes the doctor
came to me very lovely man he said I
have good news and I have bad news what
do you want here first
oh my mouth her trachea no voice come on
you know having a trick for somebody
loves to talk so much does not work out
very well so I nodded he said well the
bad news is that when you fell off the
cliff you were ejected from vehicle for
about 40 meters you broke your c67 your
neck you crushed your l3 your back 13
fractures or a right shoulder broke your
right wrist crush your left foot and
punch your left lung and for the good
news you’re one of those lucky people to
be alive thanks doc I didn’t even have
time to realize what’s going on before
another doctor came into my life and
said when I don’t know if you know what
it means to be a quadriplegic it means
you lose all your independence your bow
rooty your you can’t walk you can’t do
anything we used to do so the long story
short is that you are going to be
dependent on your tax the taxpayers for
the rest of your life and you’re going
to be dependent on someone for the rest
of your life so whatever your dreams and
hopes you had before forget them nice
and then i started my wildlife six
months after i got on the hospital what
is to be wild when you’re in a
wheelchair actually first step being
wild in a wheelchair is to get over that
first threshold from your house to the
outside I don’t know about you my arms
were weak pushing my weight plus the way
to wheelchair I counted within one block
of my house there are 12 potholes 12
proves the streets not flat and I had to
sleep for two hours after my first wheel
out for a block that was initial start
of my life then I thought who are you to
tell me what my future is going to be
like so I worked my ass off and I became
the first quadriplegic to earned a
see that moment I felt the wild quen
within it’s so exciting he’s like an
addiction just the start of it then
what’d he do after that you go one step
further even further than that I started
playing murderball i started at canoeing
down North Saskatchewan River by the way
I couldn’t even look down the breakfast
the next day I got pushed out of a
perfectly good plane and I started
letter comic books for DC plus i came to
camera and i started downhill skiing you
know how exciting it is when you go down
at 60 kilometers an hour you pass all
the walkers behind now that’s beyond the
edge of being wild once you got it on
the edge you always want to look over
the edge and see how far you can go
after that and that’s where Holling
comes here why would a bunch of people
point out Holly mountain it’s cuz it’s
pretty and it’s also because I want it
it all started from this one man posting
thanks Facebook posting a video it’s my
friend Matt who’s lived in camera by the
way he posts a video of himself hiking
up Holly mound who’s hikes highly melton
before a few of you so he posted a video
at a picture and I dared to ask one
question can i go there and he dared to
answer me with two words why not then we
started we started the planning Matt my
friend Chris ha behind there by the way
he’s got the most muscular calf you ever
ever meet on a man
and my coworker mike dooley here who is
here to support me hi Mike we started
planning at work three months prior to
that and then my co-workers got excited
they wanted in and then pretty soon we
had 41 volunteers across the province
with Rocky Mountain adaptive sports
center who’s right here in cam or we
planned for the day to be the first
wheeler to ever go up Holly mountain for
those of you guys who haven’t been to
holly mountain it’s definitely not
wheelchair accessible so then we got a
one-wheeled wheelchair it’s a hiking
chair pretty cool designed by the mayor
of Vancouver who is also a quadriplegic
back then and then we started our hike
you can see the altitude so basically I
got lifted over rocks tree branches
there were falling rocks cliffs on one
side we had people lined up just in case
they suddenly throw me over because you
know just for the heck of that skull to
beat on over the edge of the wild by the
way and you continue on but halfway up I
don’t know why you guys as a
quadriplegic from here down I have no
control my muscles for breathing
altitude is not my friend so halfway up
it gets really hard to breathe we’re all
the way almost there did we stop hell no
then we continue we decide cliff on one
side cliff on the other and we continue
to go up I got dragged pushed and pulled
up the mountain and what do you do when
when the selfie is done we are on top of
the mountain you have to celebrate every
time I look at this picture I remember
the moment will call the top when you
can see all the tired people your
supporters how exciting is how no
wheeler has ever gone up to top of
hauling ever before and I’m the first
it’s so exciting that’s called getting
over the edge you don’t think about fear
we are on the edge of being wild and you
find your wild self you don’t think
about anything else except for this is
pretty awesome well when you get to the
top what you do after that for you gotta
find more things to do ladies and
gentlemen oh but you got to get a name
first my friend dummy the mountain
princess I just need a crown than I’d be
perfect after you rename yourself after
a little while you gotta push on so I
had my mind set on my next goal well
although I’m Chinese but I’ve never seen
the wall before so i figured it’s tall
it’s a wall 30 years ago a fellow named
rick hansen not really if you guys know
of him Paralympian took two years two
months and two days wheeled around the
world he went up the Great Wall I figure
30 years later a nobody little chubby
and a quadriplegic sure hope that wall
still played murder ball as hard as ever
I went to the gym whenever chance I got
I tried every machine that I can get my
hands on and i wheeled under every
condition every weather every hill that
I can find
and I pushed on my goal was to use my
own power cuz you know mighty Quinn
she’s my own power to get up to the
Great Wall I thought myself prepared 23
degrees hill climbing my own power that
was pretty sure I was ready so kinda
awesome temper and when I went to China
the wall is definitely not as I expected
well let’s stir this who here has gone
to the wall before by the way Oh even if
yer well I went to a place called by a
lean in Beijing basically from where you
park you have to go uphill about a
kilometer or two to a food and rest
place then you got to go up another
kilometer or two to the base of the
mountain from there for a wheelchair
they made it accessible by the way after
the Beijing Olympics which is awesome so
I gotta go up some more ramps about 500
meters then I get to the entrance wow I
can finally weíll the wall no you have
to actually wheel up the wall with
uneven rocks about 30 degree angle get
to the first gun tower you got to go
over one step and then two steps down
and then you faced with eight steps and
then I’m on the wall when I’m finally on
the wall great not too bad ray well the
rocks were so worn but the cement
holding the rock stayed the same I don’t
know why you pushed a cart before and if
you hit any bumps my little wheels going
over the cement at a 20 degree incline
boat slightly slanted smog heat people
just step in front of you and walk
around I was ready
so here is a picture of both the depths
it was a clear data the first time I
went just to check out the place and
then on my Dave climb it was thundering
lightning up until 6am everybody’s like
should we cancel like no just wait just
wait seven o’clock came the Rings or
came a drizzle and then what I stopped
for me so we started by the way when I
was training for the wall I had seven
surgeries in the last two years so I
trained between my surgeries and dr.
visits burnt about 12 blisters down the
side of my hands after before I healed I
continued on I just wrapped my hands off
cuz what I got a wall to conquer so then
I started she can probably see I could
not lift my body straight while I’m
going up and often because the depth
because I got to go over lots of bumps
at the pop a wheelie to do it while
popping a wheelie going up a hill it’s
not as easy as you think so literally I
have to lift my whole body up and throw
my body forward to get the momentum to
go up and the strength my arms back
their spot of thousands of people behind
me walking up it at the same time other
then I can turn it on it’s hard to wheel
when you can’t lift your body up but I
pushed and when I knew my strength was
dissipating when I knew my shoulders
having sharp pain when I knew I was
about to be out of energy i started to
scream 15 and i would scream i myself
some more until i reached the first gun
tower she when i reached it I’m like
should I continue on what do you do when
you get to the top you gotta celebrate
two ladies and gentlemen then I got my
new nickname crazy four wheels so now I
tell you the formula the secret to be on
the edge and successfully crossing over
it it’s very simple just follow these
steps you can cross it over to so ready
take your notebooks up your phone ready
first I’ve to have a goal everything you
do you have to cool doesn’t matter
what situation you’re in wheelchair
walking Walker roller crawler have a
goal right after that you got to be
resourceful to find whatever equipment
you need to find out whatever extra
things you may want to design if it
doesn’t exist then you gotta have you
Susie azum you got to be excited so
other people can be excited with you
are you excited ready for my next
adventure and when your excitement will
attract supporters like Mikey here like
other volunteers like the three
gentlemen I got me up here your
excitement attracts it’s like a magnet
and then you have to have imagination
most people ask me you know these things
you do are crazy why do you even bother
aren’t you scared are you fearful I said
no not because I’m crazy a little bit I
said no because every night I imagine
myself am I end line every night I
imagine myself already on top of hauling
on top of the gray wall and whatever
adventure or go I sent myself too so
during the day I just worked towards
where I wanted to be lessons you’re
gonna have a lot of failures trust me a
lot of failures but if you take each
failure as a lesson you can change you
can evolve and you have to have
encouragement you have the encouragement
for yourself for others and you have to
empower each other to go on and then
never give up never because what you
want to do is too important the wild
self is too good for you it is and you
gotta celebrate party on party on in cam
or maybe tonight
and you have to evolve like my nicknames
for myself you have to involve become a
new person become better become
something you’ve never done before and
what does that all mean here’s new word
resilience most people say hey you’re
just one of a kind you’re just that
crazy chick that won’t let anything go
you’re just a stubborn person
circumstance put me here but if you have
Brazilians on your site that’s
resilience with a goal by the way you
have Brazilians on your side you can
find your wild self anytime you want so
then what is the distance between my
wheelchair and the wild is the fact that
whether you have a disability or not
whether you’re torn all whether you have
red hair or not whether you have a beard
or not whether you’re Chinese Canadian
or whatever you’re not where are you
essentially all the same if you have
resilience once you have all that that
only leaves one question ladies and
gentlemen what is the distance between
you and your wild thank you very much [Applause]