Lillian Gentz, My Hero, Marilyn Hamilton

Have you ever wondered how you would react if you had an accident that left you paralyzed? It isn't something that we care to daydream about, is it? But, accidents can, and do, happen. It happened on a beautiful summer day in 1979. Marilyn Hamilton was hang gliding. It was one of her favorite passions. But on this particular day, she forgets to hook herself to her hang glider. As she plunges off the mountain, she desperately clings to her perch, which immediately sends her craft into a nosedive. She crashes, breaks her back, and is paralyzed from the waist down.

Does this accident turn Marilyn into a bitter person? Does she lose her zest for life? Does she quit? No. Today, I will share with you the story about my hero, Marilyn Hamilton, and how she became a successful businesswoman and an accomplished athlete despite her adversities.

I'm going to begin by telling you how Marilyn and her two friends conceived and created the Quickie lightweight wheelchair.

Starting a wheelchair manufacturing company was the last thing on Marilyn's mind when she asked her friends, Don Hellman and Jim Okimoto to design a lightweight wheelchair for her.

The truth is, she hated the conventional wheelchairs because they were heavy, bulky, confining, and, most important, the color didn't match with any of her outfits. That's when the first hot purple Quickie with gold rims came to be.

In 1980, Motion Designs emerged from Don Helman's backyard garage. And the chairs began to sell like crazy.

In 1985, Quickie II, the first high-performance folding chair, was created, sending Motion Designs over the top. In that same year, Marilyn Hamilton was named California businesswoman of the year.

By 1986, Motion Designs had achieved $21 million a year in sales. In December of 1986, Marilyn and her partners sold Motion Designs to Sunrise Medical, a worldwide, diversified equipment company. Marilyn remains with Sunrise Medical and serves as vice president of consumer development.

Now that I've told you about how Marilyn Hamilton's lightweight wheelchair and company was created, I will now tell you about her becoming an accomplished athlete.

Marilyn, being the strong-willed person that she is, wasn't about to let paralysis keep her from doing the things that she enjoyed. In her tennis wheelchair, she continued to play tennis, becoming a two-time champion at the U.S. Women's Open Wheelchair Tournament. In 1999, her tennis wheelchair was displayed in the Smithsonian Institute.

In her ski bob, Marilyn was able to snow ski again. She won two silver medals at the Para-Olympics Ski Championships and was a six-time National Disabled Ski Champion.

Up until a few years ago, Marilyn was still hang gliding.

I have told you the story of how Marilyn Hamilton became paralyzed, how her business was created, and her accomplishments as an athlete.

In closing, I would like to share with you Marilyn's favorite saying. "I am not made or unmade by the things that happen to me, but rather how I react to them." I ask you again, if it were you that had an accident and became paralyzed, how would you react?