Overcoming the Challenges People with Disabilities Face

Steve Adubato goes on-location to the 16th annual Stroll ‘N Roll to speak with Scott Chesney, President and CEO, Scott Chesney LLC, about the unique challenges of people with disabilities and how to overcome them.

11/28/17 #2088

Excerpt:

"See when you come to the Stroll 'N Roll here at... in Verona Park with the Kessler Foundation folks, you don't know who you're gonna run into. We've known this guy for a long time... Scott Chesney. Scott, you were here pretty much day one when this whole thing started. Talk about it. Absolutely. Kessler Foundation is like family to me now. They do so much to enhance the quality of life for myself, and my extended brothers and sisters with disabilities, so they're a fixture in our life. So anything that we can do with them, for them, we answer the call. Being one of their ambassadors for the last eight years too, it's just such an honor and such a pleasure, and again, wanting to just extend their work and reach the masses, which they've done. The Kessler name is stronger than ever before, and the foundation's stronger than ever before. You know, it's funny, we're in Verona, and Scott... and I don't want to assume that because he's pretty well known that everyone really knows Scott's story, but it is in this town, more than a few years ago, as a star athlete at Verona High, I think you were a three letter athlete? A three sport athlete. A three sport athlete? Yup. That's right. And you had an injury that changed your life forever. Talk about it. Absolutely. Well here's the thing is that most people, when they see someone who's paralyzed or in a wheelchair, they think they've had an accident or an injury, mine was actually an illness. It was a... It wasn't a virus? It was an arteriovenous malformation. So it was a congenital malformation, and then it just manifested itself when I was 15 years old. Just woke up and... numb big toe, and then 48 hours later, paralyzed from my belly button down. So it can be an illness, it could be a disease, there are so many things that could leave you with a disability, but mine happened almost 32 years ago and I've been using a wheelchair ever since. So the one thing I've always known about Scott, and a mutual friend of ours, the great Ray Chambers, introduced me to Scott, one of the most extraordinary philanthropists you'll ever want to meet, and people, Scott's always had not just a gr... it's so ridiculous, and such a cliche to say he has a great attitude, he has a sick sense of humor, a wicked sense of humor, and he motivates others every day to try to be the best they can be, no matter what their circumstance may be, because? Because it's people like you Steve, who look beyond the wheelchair, look..."