Growing up having a dad in a wheelchair who never let anything stop him, it s always been really difficult to make excuses within my household, Joe Wampler said.
Rather than sit out another year because of the pandemic, the younger Wampler and four of his friends set off on a cross-country tour to bring Camp Wampler to the kids. Their stops have included Denver, Jackson Hole, and North Texas at the Flying 5B Ranch, where campers got a safari-like tour to see the animals and spent the day fishing. I think it was one of our best stops yet, Wampler said. Every time I see one of these kids overcome something that they didn t think they were going to be able to do, it s a perspective change for me. Anything that s going on in my life, anything I m struggling with seems so much smaller than it did before.
Stephen Wampler has made it his life's mission to change the stigma of disability. Born with cerebral palsy, he has lead a rich life with a wife and two children.