Adventurer, Author, and Motivational Speaker Warren Macdonald Inspires Bialik High School

“Some of you may think there is a disabled guy on stage. I'd like to set you straight. The only time I'm disabled is when I'm seeking a good parking spot. The rest of the time I'm not disabled.” Such is the worldview of adventurer, author, motivational speaker, and double amputee Warren Macdonald, who amazed a packed gym at Bialik High School on November 4, 2009.

In 1997, after climbing to the summit of one of Australia’s tallest peaks, he became trapped beneath a one-ton boulder in a freak rock fall. Warren spent two full days trapped before being rescued, and as a result, he lost both of his legs. However, just 10 months after the accident, Warren climbed Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain using a modified wheelchair and the seat of his pants. In February 2003, he became the first double above-knee amputee to reach the summit of Africa’s tallest peak, Mt Kilimanjaro (19,222 ft). Since then, Warren has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Larry King Show, and The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos. Warren’s first book, A Test of Will, is an Australian bestseller and the subject of the “Trapped under a Boulder” episode of the Discovery Channel series I Shouldn’t Be Alive.

A part of Bialik’s annual Sensitization Program to those with disabilities, the brainchild of staff member Lainie Smajovits, who first began the program over 25 years ago, Warren’s visit was an inspiration to all in attendance. In fact, he was so inspiring that the audience seemed to be thrilled when he mentioned that he has stood up to ignorant police officers who have tried in the past to force him to ride elevators in lieu of the escalator, a machine the police believed should only be used only by able-bodied people.

Near the end, one student asked Warren if he ever thinks about life before the accident, or if he’s had any regrets along the way. It should not surprise anyone to hear him say that “life is short at the end of the day, and for me life only goes in one direction—forward.” What else would you expect to hear from the man who also claims that “walking is overrated”?