If you’ve looking for an inspirational tale on how someone overcame obstacles and odds, spare some time and read this. Here’s a tale of a former soldier who defied the odds by doing the impossible.
United States’s Marine Corps soldier and a longtime auto crosser, kart racer and track day enthusiast, Staff Sgt. Liam Dwyer, lost his left leg after being hit by an IED blast while serving in Afghanistan. He was told by his doctor that he’d never drive a manual transmission car ever again. Amazingly, he proved them wrong and taught himself how to drive a stick once again. He returned to his doctor and said “Don’t ever tell me what I can do and what I can’t do.”
During a period of long and painful rehabilitation, he managed to keep up with the racing community. He had raced a vintage Sprite and a Mustang, before earning a spot on Freedom Autosport’s team to participate in IMA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge (CTSC) – where he drives the Mazda MX-5 Miata in the Supersports category.
Despite walking with a prosthetic left leg, he uses a special prosthesis created by his team for his left leg that connects directly to the clutch pedal. Since he participates in endurance racing where driver change is needed, the team managed to work out a system to improve the flexibility of the prosthesis, including a button that will remove his leg from the socket. Dwyer proved he could get into the car in just 13 seconds, 2 seconds less as the race official’s requirements. However, he still requires assistance to pull him in and out during driver’s change.
In the end, all the determination paid off when Dwyer won the CTSC race at Lime Rock in May. He hopes to repeat his success at the Virginia International Raceway in August.
Dwyer, who claims he can perform “heel-and-toe” with his prosthetic leg, remains a true petrolhead to this day as he owns a Mustang with paddle shifters. Despite that, he says it’s nowhere near as impressive. He remains proud that he can operate a manual transmission car despite his disability, and hopes he can inspire others to do things they thought were impossible.
In a way, this piece proves two points – 1. You can do great things by believing in yourself and not allowing others to tell you what you can’t do. and 2. If an amputee can operate a manual, what’s your excuse?
[Source: Jalopnik, Image Source: Mazda, Patrick George for Jalopnik]
