Marilyn Hamilton: See No Limits, Hear No Limits

Every year many people decide to try adventurous things that take skill and training to accomplish. One of these escapades includes hang gliding. In 1979 a woman named Marilyn Hamilton didn’t know that this sport would affect her for the rest of her life.

Marilyn Hamilton had been very athletic even at a young age and after her spinal cord injury from her tragic hang gliding accident she wouldn’t let that change what she already had a passion for. She is the innovative designer of the “Quickie” which is a wheelchair that is successful for helping those with disabilities live a productive and more active lifestyle.

Her invention the “Quickie” has became one of the most popular wheel chairs amongst the disabled. Her wheel chair business began to grow and soon Hamilton found herself becoming a strong voice for the special needs community. She went on to become a source of encouragement for thousands of people and later became an inspirational speaker.

Hamilton wanted to share her joy of sports with children and came up with a program called Winners on Wheels (WOW). The program supports children that use wheelchairs and has 39 locations throughout the country. She also started a program that extends to other countries where she helps those that can’t afford wheel chairs by providing them with refurbished ones.

Marilyn Hamilton has proven to the world that a spinal cord injury does not stop one from accomplishing goals. She has gone on to be a two-time U.S. Open Wheelchair Champ, two time Silver Medal winner in the Paralympics in the skiing event and a six-time National Disabled Champ. She was inducted into the Spinal Cord Injury Hall of Fame in 2005 which is the same year that actor Chris Reeves received the same honor. Hamilton now serves as the Vice President of the Global Strategic Planning for Sunrise Medical which works in conjunction with Motion Design who co-founded her invention the “Quickie.” She has received numerous honors for her awards and has also been mentioned in many aspects of the media.