Kyle Maynard is one of the most inspiring young men you will ever hear about. Due to a rare birth defect called congenital amputation, Kyle was born without arms and legs. “We didn’t think he’d ever be able to live on his own, “remembers Anita, Kyle’s mother.
Then Kyle’s dad made a pivotal decision that would ultimately bless his son in ways he could not have known. The Maynards would raise Kyle with a lot of love”but no special treatment. They let little Kyle figure out how to get around on his own, how to use a spoon and how to overcome the hundreds of obstacles he faced”all by himself. Kyle rose to every challenge, and never felt the need to use prosthetics. “It was a decision I made early on, “he says. “¦ [The prosthetics] slowed me down. Why be disabled when I could get up and run around the house without them?”
Like many other boys, Kyle dreamed of playing football. “I thought they would put him as water boy, “Anita says. But Kyle was no water boy. Amazingly, he played down in the trenches with the other guys. His small size, however, put him at a disadvantage. Kyle set his eyes on another sport”wrestling.
Again Kyle was at a disadvantage. He went a year and a half without a win. “He lost and he lost, “says Scott, Kyle’s father, “I started to think this wasn’t such a good idea. “But Kyle stuck it out.
By Kyle’s senior year, he was one of the top wrestlers in the state. Today, this astonishing young man is a freshman and a wrestler at the University of Georgia. As his parents hoped, he does everything any other college kid can do and a whole lot more.
“He uses an electric razor to shave, “Anita says, “an electric toothbrush to brush his teeth. He can put on his socks. The typewriting is what amazes me”he types 50 words a minute!”
“I’ve always said it’s not about what I can do, “Kyle says. “It’s what I will do, and what I will go out and do is exactly what I have my mind set on doing.”
And Kyle has his mind set on big things”in addition to his athletic success, he’s modeling for Abercrombie & Fitch and has written the aptly titled book, No Excuses.
“‘No excuses’ to me, “Kyle says, “is just an attitude. It’s an attitude that says I can accomplish anything. No matter what it takes, I’m going to go out there and achieve my dreams. If I made an excuse early on in my life, I would have given up a lot of things. But I’m here with you today because I made no excuses.”
“I think God made me the way I am because now I have the opportunity to go out and speak and write this book. I have the opportunity to reach other people and tell them that anything’s possible as long as you carry this attitude with you.”
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