by Dr.Harald Wiesendanger– Klartext
What the mainstream media is hiding
Nicholas Vujicic was born without legs or arms. At the age of eight, he, therefore, wanted to take his own life. The turning point came when he began to believe in God. Today, he says, “If I can do anything without limbs, then you can too!” On lecture tours around the world, he proclaims his message: Each of us, regardless of the limitations we have to cope with, has the opportunity for a happy, fulfilling life.
When a spoiled child in the land of the economic miracle once again sabotages the family meal by complaining about the inedible or even disgusting food that’s been served, irritated parents sometimes resort to the rhetorical “Third World” trump card: “Do you realize that children elsewhere are starving while you’re whining? They’d be happy if they had even a handful of rice on their plates. You don’t even know how well you have it!”
Does a similar argument help chronically ill people? Well, tinnitus, atopic dermatitis, or multiple sclerosis are worse than tripe, semolina porridge, and spinach. But how serious are such health problems compared to a life without arms and legs?
The loss of individual limbs—through accidents, in war, or as a result of illness—has driven sufferers to suicide out of sheer despair. Most expectant parents would choose an abortion without hesitation if an ultrasound revealed that their unborn child was missing arms and legs. How could they ever love such a child: a cripple they couldn’t have imagined in their worst nightmares? And what a miserable life that would be for the child itself? A more extreme dependence on the care of others seems hard to imagine. What would become of a person with such a disability? What could they even do? How would they ever find joy, happiness, and fulfillment?
It’s possible. This is convincingly demonstrated by a man whose body actually consists only of a head and torso: the Australian Nicholas James (“Nick”) Vujicic. He was born in Melbourne on December 4, 1982 – without arms or legs; at the base of his left femur, he has only a stunted foot with two toes. The cause is an extremely rare genetic defect: tetraamelia. The chance of being born with this condition is less than 1 in 10 million. The malformation often leads to early death during pregnancy. Only a few dozen cases have been documented worldwide. Besides Nick, the most famous children are Joanne O’Riordan of Ireland and Hirotada Ototake of Japan.
Nick’s father, an office worker, vomits in the maternity ward when he sees his son for the first time; his mother, a nurse, is so shocked that it takes four months before she can bring herself to hold her child. “My mother did everything right during the pregnancy,” Nick says now. “But she still blames herself.”
Gradually, the parents come to terms with their deformed, but mentally completely normal, child, caring for him lovingly and doing their best to help him cope with everyday life. In a wheelchair, Nick first attends a school for the disabled and then transfers to an inclusive mainstream school. He learns to write using his mouth or his foot.
“I hated God for it.”
But he is always dependent on outside help. He suffers terribly from being different: “I hated God for doing this to me,” he says. And “I was afraid of what would happen if my parents couldn’t support me anymore.” His classmates tease and bully him cruelly.
At the age of eight, the desperate boy first considered suicide. At ten, he tried: He threw himself out of a sink he was lying in. “I wanted to break my neck that way.”
But his plan failed, and this failure became a pivotal experience for him: From then on, Nick says, he no longer saw his life as a punishment but as a challenge. He gathered courage and decided to “be grateful for what I can do instead of being angry about what I can’t.” He stopped arguing with God and found strength in deep faith. From now on, he sees his life’s mission as “giving hope to other people” – something he feels he’s been chosen to do. “I know for sure that God doesn’t make mistakes, but he does perform miracles. I am one.”
“I can give hope to other people.”
After graduating from high school, he earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and financial planning. As a sought-after motivational speaker and preacher, he now lives in Los Angeles, California, from where he travels the world, giving lectures, primarily in schools, management seminars, churches, and conferences. He has traveled to 78 countries and spoken on 3,500 stages in front of up to 800,000 people. He earns his living from such public appearances, as well as from the sale of numerous books and DVDs. He is the president of the non-profit organization Life without Limbs and the CEO of the company Attitude is Altitude.
The enormous esteem in which Nick enjoys is illustrated by the number 25: he has already met that many presidents, prime ministers, and vice presidents.
Despite his extreme physical limitations, Nick strives to manage his daily life as independently as possible. He types 43 words per minute on the computer with the toe of his small left foot – above the average for non-professional typists. He even manages to brush his teeth on his own: his toothbrush is firmly attached to the wall, and Nick moves his head to brush. He participates in several sports. When he was just 18 months old, his father taught him to swim; he moves his foot like a propeller. He surfs and skateboards: “I have a low center of gravity, so I can balance well.” When he plays golf, he clamps his club between his head and shoulder; he can’t hit it far, but he can at least hole it.
“Hug me – I don’t shake hands.”
Nick has since managed to deal with his disability with humor and self-deprecation. One of his favorite jokes is: “Give me a hug, I don’t do handshakes.” When children ask him what happened to him, he whispers, “Cigarettes!” He likes to amaze his audience with an acrobatic act in which he spins around on his own axis in a kind of jump. This sometimes leads to some nasty pranks in traffic: “Once, I was sitting in the passenger seat of a car that was stopped at a traffic light. Another car was waiting next to me, with a woman at the wheel who was staring at me. So, I performed a 360-degree spin in her seat. The woman’s jaw dropped and she quickly made a run for it.”
A recent addition to his happiness in life has been a family of his own: On February 12, 2012, he married his fiancée Kanae Miyahara; almost exactly one year later, on February 13, 2013, their son, Kiyoshi James Vujicic, was born – perfectly healthy. He is now the overjoyed father of four children.
In Search of Meaning
What does Nick live for? What gives his life meaning? “God taught me that my story is an inspiration for everyone to cope with life’s challenges,” he says. With his positive attitude, he wants to be a role model. His motto is: “If I can do it, you can do it even more.” And “if no miracle happens, be one yourself!”
(Harald Wiesendanger)
This article contains excerpts from Harald Wiesendanger’s book Ways Out – Helping the Sick Differently (2015)
Inspiring quotes from Nick Vujicic from books, lectures, and interviews:
“It’s a lie to think you’re not good enough. It’s a lie to think you’re worthless.”
“I have a choice: Either be angry at God for what I don’t have or be grateful for what I do have.”
“If you don’t get a miracle, be one yourself.”
“If you fail, try again, and again, and again. It’s how you finish that counts. Will you finish strong?”
“I may not be able to hold my wife’s hand, but I can hold her heart.”
“Change your attitude, and you’ll change your life.”
“There’s no point in being whole on the outside if you’re broken on the inside.”
“You can’t even stand without risking falling.”
“If you don’t know what lies ahead, it’s better to create life than to let it happen.”
“I know for a fact that God doesn’t make mistakes, but he does make miracles. I am one. You are, too.”
“I have the choice to be angry at God for what I don’t have or to be thankful for what I do have.”
“Dream big, my friend, and never give up. We all make mistakes, but none of us is a mistake. Take one day at a time.”
“We may have absolutely no control over what happens to us, but we can control how we react. If we choose the right attitude, we can overcome the challenges we face.”
“Desiring change won’t change anything. Choosing to act now will change everything!”
“Life isn’t about having; it’s about being. You could surround yourself with everything money can buy and still be as unhappy as a person can be.”
“You’re never disabled until you lose hope.”
“Take small steps in the right direction. No matter how small, they’ll keep you moving toward your goal.”
“I found happiness when I realized that, imperfect as I may be, I am the perfect Nick Vujicic.”
“Loving and accepting yourself is the only cure for self-pity and victim mentality.”
“We become vulnerable and fall into the victim mentality when we base our self-worth on other people’s opinions or compare ourselves to others.”
“Money can’t heal your heart. Money can’t give you meaning. I don’t want arms and legs; I want purpose. I don’t want arms and legs; I want peace.”
“It’s about improving the lives of others, being part of something bigger than yourself, and making a positive difference.”
Releases by Nick Vujicic:
Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life (2009)
Your Life Without Limits (2012)
Limitless: Devotions for a Ridiculously Good Life (2013)
Unstoppable: The Incredible Power of Faith in Action (2013)
The Power of Unstoppable Faith (2014)
Stand Strong (2015)
Love Without Limits (2016)
Be the Hands and Feet: Living Out God’s Love for All His Children (2018)
Nick’s website (“Obstacles = Opportunities”)