An EmployAbilities staff member was at the Calgary Expo last weekend and was lucky enough to interview Lou Ferrigno, the original Incredible Hulk! Lou Ferrigno has lived with significant hearing loss since he was a little boy and gives us an inspirational message to other people with disabilities in this audio clip:
“After all the obstacles I’ve overcame, there’s no reason why you should feel sorry for yourself. Cuz if anybody with a disability can improve themselves cuz everybody has a superstar personal power inside of them. They just need to ignite that. I don’t care if you’re blind, I don’t care if you’re deaf, I don’t care if you’re in a wheelchair. There’s always part of you , if you’re alive you can maximize and make the best out of it.”
From Wikipedia:
Due to ear infections suffered soon after birth, Ferrigno lost 75 to 80% of his hearing and has been using hearing aids since the age of five.[31] Ferrigno says his hearing loss helped shape his sense of determination in his youth, saying, “I think that if I wasn’t hard of hearing I wouldn’t be where I am now. Early on, as a youngster it was difficult, but I’m not ashamed to talk about it because many people have misconceptions about hearing loss; like who has hearing loss and what it’s like not to hear, so I do talk about it. I think my hearing loss helped create a determination within me to be all that I can be, and gave me a certain strength of character too. Anytime I do a movie or a TV show, I make them aware of my hearing loss at the beginning, and that makes it much easier for all of us to communicate and get the job done.” READ MORE
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore [CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons
