Why The "Best Dads On Wheels" Should Make Us Feel SO Lucky

I wake up every day feeling lucky that my family are alive and well, but only when I feel the occasional aches and pains after the previous day's workout do I  ever really think about the possibility and challenges of being a physically impaired father -.so when this story came up on my daily news feed it made me pay attention and shed a tear...how fortunate I am.

The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation give  an annual awards to the Best Dad On Wheels,  www.ChristopherReeve.org/BestDad  to parents from the paralysis community, and if you take a moment to have a look at that site the stories will help make your Monday  that much brighter - and if you didn't appreciate your physicality before, you undoubtedly will now :-)  

Here's the story from www.greenvilleonline.com . Awesome and awe-inspiring!

Chris Turgeon is a loving husband and father, a respected history teacher and a supportive friend. Here's a link to a great video  

While those attributes would make him special by themselves, he’s also a quadriplegic.

And that means he’s eligible for the annual Best Dads on Wheels contest sponsored by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.

This year, the Greenville man is one of 10 finalists from across the country in the fourth annual contest, held to honor members of the paralysis community who show strength, dedication, encouragement and love for their families and communities, said foundation spokeswoman Janelle LoBello.

“He was selected because he shows it doesn’t matter that he’s in a wheelchair,” she said. “He is a great example of what a good human being should be, paralysis or not.”

In her nomination letter, his wife, Victoria, said she never looks at Turgeon and thinks, ‘That’s him over there in the wheelchair.’ ”

“His children never describe him as ‘the dad in the chair.’ His high school students don’t think of him as the ‘history teacher who can’t walk,’ ” she said.

“He’s a loving husband and father who puts us first, he’s the teacher who works late to help his students, and he’s the friend who always has time to celebrate the achievements of those around him and lend comfort to those who need a shoulder for support.

“He’s worked every day of his life and inspires those around him to reach further,” she continued. “He’s modeled patience, love, understanding, and determination, like no other person I have ever met.”

Now 43, Turgeon had just finished his freshman year at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia in 1991 when he fell asleep behind the wheel and drove off the road. He broke his neck and severed his spinal cord in the accident, and has been in a wheelchair ever since.

After a year of recovery and rehabilitation, he returned to school, graduating in 1994. He then earned his master’s degree in history from William and Mary, and now teaches social studies at Berea High School.

Turgeon said he only learned of the contest after his wife nominated him two years ago, and was shocked to hear that he is a finalist. And while Turgeon admits winning would be nice, he said it can’t beat just being nominated by his family.

“That my kids and my wife think that highly of me is tremendous,” he said. “I can’t be any more flattered than that.”