My New Hero

I've always thought heroes were the kind of people who rushed into burning buildings to save kittens, or strangers who gave an ailing child a kidney, but I've come to learn recently that there are different kinds of heroes, and they truly come in many shapes and sizes.

I met Elaine Lee at the Calgary Stampede this past July, and while I was as startled as anyone by her appearance, I quickly came to discover that she is easily one of the most amazing women I have ever, and will ever, have the privilege of meeting in my lifetime.

Elaine was born with a condition called osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bones, that has left her the size of a one year old child. At 30 years old, she weighs just 29 pounds, and is completely reliant on her wheelchair to get around, but there is absolutely NOTHING about this woman I would consider even remotely handicapped.

Not only did she work two full time jobs during the Stampede (handing out lost child bracelets to kids regardless of the weather, and pitching kid friendly products in the vendor section of the Stampede), she attends art school in Vancouver where she lives alone, travelling an hour and a half each way to school on public transportation. She is funny, bawdy, irreverant, clever, intelligent, charming, outrageous, animated and has more spirit, and drive than one hundred people combined; she speaks four or five languages of which one is Cantonese, she loves music, dancing, singing, drawing, photography and shopping, and the night before Stampede ended, she stayed up all night long drawing cards with handwritten notes to pass out to the friends she'd made during the ten days we'd all gotten to know her.

She is an amazing woman on so many fronts it was hard to believe, but the thing that struck me the most about Elaine is that she doesn't feel sorry for herself, and she has a greater passion for life and living life to the fullest than I may ever have. In fact, our show was pretty bad from a financial standpoint, but it was impossible to feel sorry for ourselves with Elaine around. About the only time we ever heard a word about her circumstances, was when she revealed that the wheelchair she is in now, which IS her lifeline, desperately needs to be replaced.

She ordered a new one with the help of the Canadian government, but the chair stopped working after three months, so she had to get a new one, but that chair needs $10,000 worth of work on a custom seat to accomodate her needs. I know things are tight for everyone right now, but I would like to encourage you to consider visiting her website, and, if possible, making a contribution to www.getelainerolling.com. And if you EVER get the chance to meet her, please do NOT pass it up. Just don't handle her with kid gloves, because even though her body is fragile, her mind is as sharp as a tack. And for that matter, so is her mouth!