{"id":2082,"date":"2024-02-21T14:49:59","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T14:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/?p=2082"},"modified":"2024-02-21T14:49:59","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T14:49:59","slug":"disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/","title":{"rendered":"Disability Opened Doors I Couldn\u2019t Have Walked Through"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Most people have compassion to share if you’re vulnerable enough to ask.\u200b<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n

Hey\u00a0Friend!
\r\n
\r\nI’m writing as I prepare my presentation for this Saturday’s annual Chris Norton Foundation dinner fundraiser<\/a>. I realized that none of this would be happening had I miraculously regained my ability to walk after my injury. The Foundation wouldn’t exist. I wouldn’t have experienced the hardships facing so many with disabilities. Our empowering camps wouldn’t uplift individuals who feel isolated. Years later, I see how the biggest battle of my life bore fruit beyond measure – nothing I could have predicted or imagined in my heartache. \u00a0
\r\n
\r\nThat’s the challenge: we can only connect the dots backward, not forward. So what do you do amid the storm, when you can’t see the good or understand the meaning of your pain? There’s a gap between hardship and purpose. What you do in that gap determines everything. Like me, you face a choice: give in to fear and abandon dreams, or have faith to rebuild your life from the ground up, without a clue where it will lead. It takes abundant faith, courage and patience to persist with no guarantee, but I believe you have it inside. \u00a0
\r\n
\r\nHere’s one thing that helped me move forward: simply asking for help. Don’t try to do everything yourself. Most people have compassion to share if you’re vulnerable enough to ask. Whether it’s a counselor, family, friend or someone else – ask for help when you need it, because we all do. Do this long enough and I believe one day you’ll see the good emerge. The good doesn\u2019t have to be big for it to be great. Maybe you’ll be there for someone facing a similar battle, lightening their burden from your experience. Because when we lighten someone\u2019s load, we create ripples that can change worlds.
\r\n
\r\nStay strong, be courageous, be patient, and ask for help when you need it. The helping hands you extend outward today can inspire hope in unexpected ways down the road.
\r\n
\r\n
\r\nYour friend,<\/p>\r\n

Chris<\/p>\r\n


\r\nClick\u00a0here<\/a> to\u00a0share with a friend if you found this valuable \ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u00a0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u00a0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u00a0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u00a0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u00a0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u00a0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Most people have compassion to share if you’re vulnerable enough to ask.\u200b Hey\u00a0Friend! I’m writing as I prepare my presentation for this Saturday’s annual Chris Norton Foundation dinner fundraiser. I realized that none of this would be happening had I miraculously regained my ability to walk after my injury. The Foundation wouldn’t exist. I wouldn’t […]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2084,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\nDisability Opened Doors I Couldn\u2019t Have Walked Through - Chris Norton<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Disability Opened Doors I Couldn\u2019t Have Walked Through - Chris Norton\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Most people have compassion to share if you’re vulnerable enough to ask.\u200b Hey\u00a0Friend! I’m writing as I prepare my presentation for this Saturday’s annual Chris Norton Foundation dinner fundraiser. I realized that none of this would be happening had I miraculously regained my ability to walk after my injury. The Foundation wouldn’t exist. I wouldn’t […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Chris Norton\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-21T14:49:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG_0616.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1365\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"chris_norton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"chris_norton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/\",\"name\":\"Disability Opened Doors I Couldn\u2019t Have Walked Through - Chris Norton\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chrisnorton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG_0616.jpeg?fit=2048%2C1365&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-21T14:49:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-21T14:49:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/#\/schema\/person\/bca8ab972c41f350ecd95d1b976bcc18\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chrisnorton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG_0616.jpeg?fit=2048%2C1365&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chrisnorton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG_0616.jpeg?fit=2048%2C1365&ssl=1\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1365},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Disability Opened Doors I Couldn\u2019t Have Walked Through\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/\",\"name\":\"Chris Norton\",\"description\":\"Norton Motivation | Norton Foundation\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/#\/schema\/person\/bca8ab972c41f350ecd95d1b976bcc18\",\"name\":\"chris_norton\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0ced4c73993966ae117055ee627da35a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0ced4c73993966ae117055ee627da35a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"chris_norton\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/author\/chris_norton\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Disability Opened Doors I Couldn\u2019t Have Walked Through - Chris Norton","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Disability Opened Doors I Couldn\u2019t Have Walked Through - Chris Norton","og_description":"Most people have compassion to share if you’re vulnerable enough to ask.\u200b Hey\u00a0Friend! I’m writing as I prepare my presentation for this Saturday’s annual Chris Norton Foundation dinner fundraiser. I realized that none of this would be happening had I miraculously regained my ability to walk after my injury. The Foundation wouldn’t exist. I wouldn’t […]","og_url":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/","og_site_name":"Chris Norton","article_published_time":"2024-02-21T14:49:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2048,"height":1365,"url":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG_0616.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"chris_norton","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"chris_norton","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/","url":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/","name":"Disability Opened Doors I Couldn\u2019t Have Walked Through - Chris Norton","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chrisnorton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG_0616.jpeg?fit=2048%2C1365&ssl=1","datePublished":"2024-02-21T14:49:59+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-21T14:49:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/#\/schema\/person\/bca8ab972c41f350ecd95d1b976bcc18"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chrisnorton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG_0616.jpeg?fit=2048%2C1365&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chrisnorton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG_0616.jpeg?fit=2048%2C1365&ssl=1","width":2048,"height":1365},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/blog\/disability-opened-doors-i-couldnt-have-walked-through\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Disability Opened Doors I Couldn\u2019t Have Walked Through"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/","name":"Chris Norton","description":"Norton Motivation | Norton Foundation","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/#\/schema\/person\/bca8ab972c41f350ecd95d1b976bcc18","name":"chris_norton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0ced4c73993966ae117055ee627da35a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0ced4c73993966ae117055ee627da35a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"chris_norton"},"url":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/author\/chris_norton\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chrisnorton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG_0616.jpeg?fit=2048%2C1365&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9QuGg-xA","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2082"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2082"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2085,"href":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2082\/revisions\/2085"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chrisnorton.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}