What Cerebral Palsy, Physical Disabilities and a Wheelchair Didn't Stop This Man From Doing
Every now and then we get lucky and cross paths with a special someone - an Angel Thread of sorts. For me that special someone was Stephen Wampler nearly two years ago (in the photo above, taken by my dad, Michael Kennedy Sr.). We have a choice during these encounters; we can choose to pass by, or we can choose to weave these angel threads into the fabric of our lives, developing life-long friendships, as I have done with Stephen and his family.
I knew then, as I know now, Stephen Wampler's story demanded more attention, and a larger audience. Any person who summits El Cap in Yosemite National Park deserves accolades. But someone with cerebral palsy (CP), who achieves that monumental task - in a wheel chair over the course of nearly a week - to benefit children with physical disabilities at his 100+ acre camp, Camp Wamp, deserves (imo) his praises being sung from the mountain tops!
Here's my Angel Thread... Stephen Wampler's story as I know him, his praises being sung in the 2021 Summer Issue of Tahoe Quarterly Magazine (on newsstands, June 25, 2021):
Stephen and Elizabeth Wampler (on L) were married in 1995 and raised two children, Charlotte (on R) and Joe, (up top) who are now in college,
photo courtesy the Wampler Foundation.