The Wheel Life Story of Dionte Christian

By Danny Ray Christian

I'm not an advocate for disability issues. Human issues are what interest me. Aimee Mullins

The Abolition, Religious Freedom, Civil Rights, Women’s Suffrage, Anti-Poverty,
Labor, Right to Life, LGBT, Peace, Anti-War,Veterans, Differently Challenged and Black Lives Matter Movements, were and are all about the same thing, the right of every human to respect, dignity,fair and equal treatment before the law and freedom. So though the focus of this book is about the “Wheel Life of Dionte Christian,” who was born with cerebral palsy, uses a wheelchair and survived a vicious attack on his life at just eleven years old, it highlights the resilience of the human spirit. It is about champions of every color, nationality, faith, class and ability which Dionte calls his brothers and sisters.

Dionte asked me to write this book for him because he wants to take the pain of his life and struggles, and use it to help others heal. He decided in the Winter of 2020 that his salvation lies in dedicating his life and gifts to the liberation of the disabled, addicted and depressed from the tyranny of feelings of self-defeat, suicidal ideation and loneliness. He knows that in order to maintain his own sobriety and sanity, he must reach out to those who still suffer with the diseases of addiction, mental illness and depression as well as physical challenges. At the same time it is a Public Education Tool meant to inform everyone about how to best respect the dignity of the physically and mentally challenged in a way that includes them and not exclude them.

Dionte lives in Westchester, Illinois. He graduated from Proviso West High School

2008. Completed one year study of Computer Technology at Triton Community College 2009. He frequently volunteers at Shirley Ryan’s Ability Lab and has previously been a volunteer at Easter Seals. His goal is to share his faith, hope and experience with others who are struggling with depression, addictions and physical challenges. Hit him up at [e-mail], to schedule his appearance at your venue.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664167223

Danny Ray Christian

Danny has been certified by Toastmasters International as a Competent Public Speaker (1991 East Moline). He received his GED from the Chicago City Colleges (1981) and obtained a certificate in Graphic Arts from Southeastern Illinois College (1987). He is a former member of the Pan-African Revolutionary Socialist Party. He spent twenty years in prison and ten in Elgin Mental Health Center. While in the hospital he wrote over eight-hundred poems, three books of daily meditations, and numerous speeches and Afro-centric anecdotes. He also acted as a mentor for younger consumers while there, leading his own peer-support groups and chairing GROW for four years (2003-07). You can contact him about appearing at your venue at [e-mail]

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Copyright © 2021 by Danny Ray Christian.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Rev. date: 04/06/2021

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Contents

Dedication

Preface

Introductioni

Victory # 1 My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things your disability doesn’t prevent you doing well, and don’t regret the things it interferes with. Don’t be disabled in spirit as well as physically. Stephen Hawking

Victory # 2 The world worries about disability more than disabled people do. Warwick Davis

Victory # 3 Disability is a matter of perception. If you can do just one thing well, you’re needed by someone. Martina Navratilova

Victory # 4 Sometimes it takes dealing with a disability - the trauma, the relearning, the months of rehabilitation therapy - to uncover our true abilities and how we can put them to work for us in ways we may have never imagined. Tammy Duckworth

Victory # 5 Disability is articulated as a struggle, an unnecessary burden that one must overcome to the soundtrack of a string crescendo. But disabled lives are multi-faceted - brimming with personality, pride, ambition, love, empathy, and wit. Sinead Burke

Victory # 6 If you have a disability or a handicap, that means you’re limited to certain things. And I don’t feel like I’m limited to nothing. I can do anything anybody else can do. Shaquem Griffin

Victory # 7 Every person with a disability is an individual. Itzhak Perlman

Victory # 8 The way my brain processes information is quite odd. I mean, I have Attention Deficit Disorder and another learning disability I can’t even spell. I don’t even have a high school diploma. I’m smart, but you can’t prove it on paper. Ron White

Victory # 9 It was ability that mattered, not disability, which is a word I’m not crazy about using. Marlee Matlin

Victory # 10 I was slightly brain damaged at birth, and I want people like me to see that they shouldn’t let a disability get in the way. I want to raise awareness - I want to turn my disability into ability. Susan Boyle

Victory # 11 People presume my disability has to do with being an amputee, but that’s not the case; our insecurities are our disabilities, and I struggle with those as does everyone. Aimee Mullins

Victory # 12 I don’t like to use ‘I can’t’. I don’t look at my disability as a negative thing. Billy Monger

Victory # 13 Not only does disability impact individual health and well-being, it also leads to social and