SPORTS 'N SPOKES

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Amateur Goes Pro

Life can be tough, but how you approach it can mean the difference between success or failure.

"The biggest thing is to not feel sorry for yourself. There comes a point you have to realize this is your life and you need to make the best of it. You live life once, and just because you have a disability doesn't mean you're different than any other person," says Carlee Hoffman, 20, a member of the 2007 U.S. Paralympics Women's Wheelchair Basketball National Team.

Due to injuries sustained in a lawnmower accident when she was 3, Hoffman is a bilateral amputee. Such an experience would likely present a challenge for most parents. Do you coddle your child, watching over his or her every move, waiting impatiently for another disaster? Or do you sit back and let the child play in the mud and take the bumps and bruises with all the other kids? In Hoffman's case, her parents opted for the latter.

"My parents decided they were going to treat me the same as the other kids," Hoffman says. "They would discipline me like they would my other siblings. Growing up, I honestly didn't think I had a disability. Basically, I lived life like every other kid down the road."

That's how it went for Hoffman. Born and raised in Grand Rapids, Mich., she was like every other kid—she wandered carefree through her childhood without giving her disability much thought. However, with adolescence looming, her perception of herself and her physical disability slowly began to change.


Carlee Hoffman credits her success to the support of her parents, her older sister, and her best friend. Find out about their important roles in Carlee's life.

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