LYMAN — “No feet, No fear, No freaking problem!” is Sidney Smith’s motto and his life successes prove it. Smith was the featured speaker at the annual Disability:IN Uinta County award luncheon held in the Heritage Barn in Lyman on Wednesday, Oct. 23, at noon. A large crowd of students, sponsors, board members and employees attended the luncheon.

“Why am I the speaker today,” Smith asked the audience. “My wife would say it isn’t my good looks. It’s because of my legs. As a young child I was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie Tooth, a genetic progressive disease in the muscles and nerves.”

Charcot-Marie-Tooth is a hereditary neurological disorder that causes progressive loss of muscle tissue and sensation in the peripheral nervous system. It causes abnormalities in the nerves that supply your feet, legs, hands and arms and affects the motor and sensory nerves.

Using a slide presentation, Smith shared his personal story of how he was diagnosed, wore metal braces on his legs as a child, and how the disease progressed to the point of infection and, in November of 2015, he faced the loss of both of his feet, then eventually lost both of his lower legs leading to wearing prosthetics on both legs.

“I want to share with you the four things that helped me overcome the fear that was consuming me when I first knew I was going to lose my legs,” Smith said. “I let fear take over and worried that I would be a burden on my family, that my wife wouldn’t love me anymore, that I couldn’t work or do all the things I loved to do.”

Smith said when the worst was happening, his tiny daughter was just learning to walk and as he watched her taking one step at a time, and he knew that was what he had to do. He was determined he wouldn’t spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. He went through months of physical therapy learning how to walk with prosthetics.

He showed a slide photo of a race he had with his 6-year-old son when he got his first prosthetic. He said he was determined not only to walk again, but to be able to hike in the mountains, swim and, eventually, participate in a triathlon.

“What is the opposite of fear?” Smith asked the audience. “For me it was faith. Faith can open many doors. While I was in the hospital, which was a long time, doing therapy and fighting infection, I watched “Iron Man” on television and decided I was going to do that triathlon. I realized that fear is a disability and I was going to conquer it. My dad also encouraged me all along the way. This helped me find the second thing that helped me — purpose. You need to find a purpose that is greater than the pain and it will keep you going. My family was my purpose; I needed to be strong for my kids and for my wife.”

Smith joined the Disabled Outdoorsmen of Utah group and began to prepare himself for competition in a triathlon. He shared many experiences he had hiking when his prosthetic would break so he learned to carry a repair kit with him. He continued to train for 20–24 hours per week, swimming, biking and running.

Then he experienced the third thing that helped him to persevere — failure. He got blisters on his upper leg from the prosthetic. It became infected and had to be drained, which stopped him from training for six to eight weeks.

“Failures are the stepping stones of your story. They shape your journey and reveal the strength within you,” Smith said.

Once the infection healed, he resumed training and finally, the fourth thing he learned from the whole experience was gratitude. Finally, after all the medical setbacks and long hours of training, Smith was able to complete the triathlon in Florida in 16 hours plus a few minutes.

“I am so grateful, I showed my kids that Dad can do hard things,” Smith said. “It was an amazing experience.”

The audience gave Smith a hearty round of applause and many came to speak to him privately at the end of the luncheon.

Prior to Smith’s presentation, Mountain View High School principal Ben Carr was the master of ceremonies and gave the opening address. Carr said the Mountain View High School has been participating with Disability:IN for 26 years. He recognized his staff, the teachers, and parents who have helped to make the program a success and thanked all of the businesses who have employed the students.

Shad Hamilton, special education curriculum director at MVHS announced the students and employers involved in the job shadowing day: AbreeAuna Albrechtson, Elena Elizondo and Madasyn Thurston with the Children’s Learning Foundation; Machayla Arthur with the Uinta Veterinary Hospital; Tharon Brown and Wade Whiting at the Bus Barn with Brian Deru; Tristen Byrne and William Gorrell at the town of Mountain View with Jake Porter; Brady Deepe at the video game tester with Ron Wild; Thomas Elizondo at Redi Services; Mason Hadley at Uinta Bank Mountain View Branch; Tyson Knight at Alta Construction with Tom Hickman; Jaxon Haugstad and Samuel Porter at Fort Bridger Historical Site; Sean Littlejohn and Rhyan Rolson at Union Wireless; Dakota Mair at the U.S. Forest Service in Bridger Valley; Bradley Madsen at Bridger Valley Electric with Bob Larsen; Carley Henstra and Hannah Neilson at Alliance Physical Therapy with Wendy Parkyn; Levi Soolook at Bridger Valley Motors; and Madasyn Thurston with nursing Amanda Barnes.

Disability:IN Uinta County board member Lori Jensen presented the employee and employer of the year awards to Carley Henstra and The Children’s Learning Foundation, Christy Housekeeper.

“Carley worked in the summer program and strived to learn and grow in her position,” Jensen said in presenting the awards. “Christy Housekeeper proved to be an excellent mentor and is recognized for her work with Carley to help her achieve her goals.”

The winner of the Business of the Year award was First Bank of Wyoming’s Mountain View Branch. Board member Chris Adams said due to unforeseen circumstances no one was able to attend the luncheon from the bank and added, “This is the first year the bank’s branch has been a sponsor for this event and we look forward to working with them in the years to come.” 

Ben Carr announced that Dusty Muir, special education teacher at Davis Middle School in Evanston, had received the Wanda Rogers Spirit Award at the luncheon in Evanston on Tuesday.

Carr read a prepared statement, “Dusty has worked with our program as a participant parent, a committee member and has helped with countless events over the years. As a SPED teacher she has touched many lives with her love and service.”

Disability:IN Uinta County Executive Director Bethany Shidler thanked everyone involved for their support of the organization’s programs.