Our Visit from Bryon Riesch

                A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of having Bryon Riesch come speak to us on communicating with people who are disabled. Riesch graduated from Marquette and during his freshman year of 1998, he had an unfortunate accident on a slip and slide that left him paralyzed from his C5 vertebrae down. This just means that he has no control of what happened below his chest with mild use of his hands, but no fingers. Though Bryon lost so much from this tragic accident, he also gained so much from it. He has started fundraisers, his own foundation, and is now a motivational speaker.

                Riesch has gotten involved with Goodwill by helping people with disabilities get jobs. This taught him how to deal with his diability and helped him find a job at Northwest Mutual. In 2001, after his injury, he put together a golf outing to help pay for some of his expenses. After raising $100,000, they continued this event every year and raised over $2 million dollars and were able to start the Bryon Riesch Paralysis Foundation, and have donated to Madison’s Medical College for paralysis.  The foundation’s goal is to find a cure for paralysis through funding the latest in medical research and to provide assistance to those that suffer from neurological disorders.

                He told us that at first he was afraid to work with other people with disabilities, and then he realized that they weren’t much different from him.  He also inquired that technology has helped him significantly. Since he doesn’t have use of his fingers he has his Ipad on his lap with him where ever he goes. His house also has voice recognition so he can say turn on the lights, or put the house to a certain temperature, the house can do it for him. I think that this is amazing, I know that there is some cool technology out there but that is awesome that his robotic house can do so much for him.

                He also talked about the expenses of a person with disabilities and I was shocked at the high prices that he had to pay just to accommodate his house to be wheel chair accessible. Not only that, he needed a van,  had to make the van wheelchair accessible, then there’s the wheelchair, and you just have to hope nothing goes wrong with it for a few years because those are expensive too.

                When he talked about actually communicating with people with disabilities, he said to use common sense and be respectful. Don’t stare and don’t be afraid to talk to them, ask what happened, talk normally, introduce yourself, shake whatever hand comes to you first, sit down with anyone in a wheelchair so you can talk to them eye-to-eye.

                Something that he said that really pulled at the heart strings is when he said that his dad asked him, “Can you make a positive contribution to society?”He told his dad yes, and he’s been doing just that ever since. His dad also told him to offer out his hand for a shake and see what you get back, I thought that these are some great words to live by and Bryon is so lucky to have such a loving and supportive family. He said that he lost some friends along the way, but then again he had some friends there that he didn’t even know he had. He also mentioned that you lose your dignity in a situation like this because you can’t do anything for yourself. He has someone come help him get ready in the morning which takes two hours and you lose your independence. However, he did learn how to be creative and became a motivational speaker for people who suffer from accidents like his.

                Some inspirational words he had to say was be an advocate, you have to have a dream, don’t be afraid to dream, but live in reality today. Bryon not only had a super positive outlook on life, but he also had a sense of humor about it. He definitely fills the slot of motivational speaker and he makes me realize all of the things that we take for granted which can be as simple at shaving my own legs. After listening to Bryon speak, checking out everything he represents on his website, and liking him on Facebook, I realize how much of an inspiration Bryon is, and only hope that I can someday give back to society like he has, and will continue to do.