Jim MacLaren- Attitude that Inspires

Whenever you think you have had a really bad day, you need to picture Jim MacLaren in his wheelchair. I am not saying that we should count our blessings because infact Jim MacLaren is the definition of inspiration.

James E. MacLaren, born April 13, 1963, has survived two near fatal accidents. His uncanny ability to articulate his life story with humor and compassion invites others to reach for the best in themselves. Jim lives his life pushing limitations – using challenge to deepen his capacity to live and appreciate life more fully. At 14, Jim left home. At 21, he graduated from Yale a scholar, promising actor and 6’-5” 300-pound defensive lineman. At 22, Jim was hit by a New York City bus, thrown some 80 feet, pronounced dead on arrival at Bellevue Hospital, and his life stabilized after 18 hours of surgery. Thirteen days after waking from a coma, he began a grueling, three-month rehabilitation, after the doctors told him he’d be in a hospital bed for six months and that there was no medical reason he should be alive. In addition to the numerous internal injuries, Jim lost his left leg eight inches below the knee.The accident prompted Jim to overcome what others might have accepted as insurmountable limitation. He was accepted to and graduated from the Yale School of Drama, and landed a part on the soap opera “Another World.” He started competing in running events for the pure exhilaration of it. Pushing himself to see what his body could do, Jim competed for seven years. He holds the record as the fastest amputee marathon runner and triathlete in the world. He holds the Hawaii Ironman (2.4 miles swim, 112 mile bike ride, 26.2 mile run) record for an amputee with a time of 10 hours, 42 minutes. He often finished in the top third of able-bodied athletes.

On June 6, 1993, during the biking portion of a triathlon in Orange County, Jim was hit by a van and thrown headfirst into a lamppost. He broke his C5 vertebra and was diagnosed quadriplegic. In the ambulance, not feeling his legs, before he knew he was paralyzed, Jim mused about competing in a wheel chair.

Again, Jim bounced back. Because the injury to his spinal cord was incomplete, he regained partial use of his limbs and independence. MacLaren had no feeling from the chest down after his second injury, but over time he has regained some feeling. He can now walk very short distances.

In light of the tragedies that befell him, McLaren's greatest example might be his attitude.
“This all may be totally unfair, and that's true,” he said. “And so what? Life's unfair for a lot of us. Every moment isn't happy. When life presses down on us, you can bounce back with a deeper sense of being.” The motivation for dealing with the two accidents that so shaped his life, MacLaren, with a smile creasing his face, said, “There are only two things I'll say I know after everything. You never know what our life's going to look like. And everything's going to be all right. I believe that.”

He has recently formed the Choose Living Foundation. The foundation was established to support his philanthropic work and allow him to contribute his time, energy, resources and newfound exposure to help people in need across the world. The Choose Living Foundation supports any different organizations, including the San Diego, CA. based Challenged Athletes Foundation and the work being done to help disabled people in Ghana by Emmanuel Ofasu Yeboah. Jim will continue his support of Camp Good Days and Special Times, the largest children’s cancer camp in the nation.

For more information on this amazing human being see http://www.jimmaclaren.com/