Submitted by Brad Gerbel
Years ago, I would see a man in a motorized wheelchair, buzzing around Coronado, with one of his babies in a backpack-type baby carrier, attached to the back of his wheelchair seat. He would zip around town, with a big, proud smile, and one couldn’t help but smile back.
A few years later, I met Steve Wampler though a mutual friend and quickly discovered what a good person he is. Steve is in a wheelchair because he has Cerebral Palsy.
Steve had a dream: to reopen a summer camp for children with disabilities, that he attended as a kid. Sometime after 9/11, Steve and his wife Elizabeth Wampler reopened the camp, which has brought joy to kids with disabilities.
In 2010, Steve Wampler became the first person with Cerebral Palsy to scale the face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. The amazing feat was the subject of a documentary called “Wampler’s Ascent.” The documentary was edited by another Coronadan, my friend Jacques Spitzer.
If you are looking for something to inspire you during these days, “Wampler’s Ascent” just became available to rent on Amazon (free for Amazon Prime members). You won’t be disappointed.
https://www.amazon.com/Wamplers-Ascent-Stephen-J-Wampler/dp/B0871729TN
Brad Gerbel
