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These days, only one thing makes Landen Greene (pictured) extremely giddy.
"He loves the water," says Tami Greene, Landen's mother. "Anytime he can get in the water, he wants to be in the water."
But splashing around in the water isn't enough for the 12-year-old. He prefers to be cruising through it, full throttle.
"There's no speed limit in the water," smiles Landen.
No limits period, thanks to Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center's Adaptive Ski Clinic. Greene has Cerebral Palsy and is unable to walk unassisted.
"We've skied people with no legs and arms," says Al Kaye with Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center.
With a special ski, called a can, and a wingman, Landen rides the wake in a seated position.
"The first time--I cried. I screamed. I was scared to death, but then, you just cheer," says Tami.
When he's up, he's free. Free of Cerebral Palsy. Free of disability. To Landen, being behind the boat is literally the best seat in the house.
"It's a blast," says Landen.
Every day, Landen works on his arm strength.
"He wants to be able to hold his ropes. And then, once we get that, we're working on our balance, so maybe we can get rid of the out riggers," says Tami.
Ultimately, Landen wants to tame the water standing, not sitting!
"He's actually seen somebody on the wake board, and he's decided he wants to try to do that," says Tami. "And, I'm not quite up for the wake board yet!"
And, after that, forget land and water. Landen will seek new heights, literally!
"Somebody's actually suggested hang gliding next," laughs Tami. "Yeah, he can do just about anything."
Beth Haller, Ph.D., is Co-Director of the Global Alliance for Disability in Media and Entertainment (www.gadim.org). A former print journalist, she is a member of the Advisory Board for the National Center on Disability and Journalism (https://ncdj.org/). Haller is Professor Emerita in the Department of Mass Communication at Towson University in Maryland, USA. Haller is co-editor of the 2020 "Routledge Companion to Disability and Media" (with Gerard Goggin of University of Sydney & Katie Ellis of Curtin University, Australia). She is author of "Representing Disability in an Ableist World: Essays on Mass Media" (Advocado Press, 2010) and the author/editor of Byline of Hope: Collected Newspaper and Magazine Writing of Helen Keller (Advocado Press, 2015). She has been researching disability representation in mass media for 30+ years. She is adjunct faculty in the Disability Studies programs at the City University of New York (CUNY) and the University of Texas-Arlington.
From WBIR-TV:
