Ron Heagy was born in Brownsville, Oregon in 1962. When Ron was 17 years old, he went from being a strapping young wrestler, skiier and bodybuilder with a football scholarship to a quadriplegic, in the blink of an eye.
Just one day before his 18th birthday he went surfing with his little brother in Southern, California. His brother fell asleep in the sun and Ron decided to go in the water. He dove under a wave and the wave came crashing down on his neck, severing his spinal chord.
After realizing that he would never feel any part of his body from the neck down again, he began planning his suicide. An 8 year boy in the bed next to him, that had been in a coma, said in a low voice, ” I love you Ron”, it was at that moment Ron realized that happiness comes from helping other people.
Ron learned to write with his mouth, he started typing with a stick in his mouth and entered College, even though people told him it couldn’t be done. He now has a masters degree from San Diego State University, he’s an inspirational speaker, mouth painter, Author, and founder of a special needs camp in Oregon. He is also the founder of Life Is An Attitude LLC. “Sometimes life dumps on us and we make the choice to either give up or never give up” says Ron. Ron Heagy currently lives in Albany, NY, he is 46 years old.
