Making a Difference for the Differently Abled

THIS IS THE STORY OF TWO FRIENDS. One was confined to a wheelchair. The other was rebuilding his life after a crippling depression. Together, they found a way to rise above their challenges and soar.

It all began in 2001, when Timothy S. Wambach ’92 was hired by the Glenview school district to serve as an aide for a disabled middle-schooler. At the time, the 27-year-old Loyola alumnus was between jobs and trying to find his place in the world.

“I dropped out of school—–and life—–when I was 20 after a serious bout of depression and then spent the next five years clawing my way back,” confides the Northeastern Illinois University graduate, who returned to school parttime a semester later and earned his BA in

communications while working as a youth minister at St. Mary of the Woods Parish. Michael Berkson was a seventh grader with cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that caused his muscles to spasm, making even the simplest tasks impossible. Berkson may have needed help with most of his daily activities—– from eating meals to bathroom breaks to getting in and out of his wheelchair—–but he possessed a fierce intelligence, a sharp wit and an irrepressible sense of humor. The middle schooler promptly named his new aide “Billy Madison” after the Adam Sandler film about the adult slacker forced to repeat grade school.

Not long afterward, the two bonded over a mealtime fiasco when a hard-shell

taco exploded after Berkson bit into it, splattering the 12-year-old with bits of shredded beef, cheese, onions and lettuce.

Wambach was horrified, but Berkson broke into a grin and quipped, “Don’t cry over spilled Taco Bell!” The two exploded into laughter.

From that point on, finding humor in difficult situations would be their mutual salvation. Berkson inspired his able-bodied aide to do more with what he had, while Wambach had a gift for cheering up his young charge when the teen’s mood turned dark. According to Berkson’s father, who grew to love Wambach like a son, “They each discovered something in the other that empowered and inspired them.”

As Wambach cared for Berkson, he also got a close-up view of the problems and misperceptions that plagued his wheelchairbound friend. He used humor and positivity to help Berkson cope with everyday frustrations such as broken elevators and inaccessible restrooms. But it was harder to laugh off the people who treated the teen as if he had a cognitive impairment. Berkson often used his trademark wit to set the record straight, declaring, “My body is in a wheelchair, but my mind is not.”

When Wambach left the school district three years later, he could not stop thinking

about the world’s misperceptions about people like Mike. One day, while out on a run, he came up with an ambitious plan that would address those misperceptions—–and ultimately alter the trajectory of both of their lives.

“I decided to fly Mike and his ablebodied, identical-twin brother to Disney World in Orlando for the weekend and then do a month-long run back home to Chicago to raise awareness of the challenges that he faced living with cerebral palsy,” says Wambach.

In 2005, after four months of intensive training, Wambach—–who had never run more than two miles at a time—–put his plan into action.

“It was the hardest thing that I had ever done,” says Wambach, who wore out six pairs of shoes while running 717 miles in 31 days. The Orlando-to-Chicago run generated a lot of press coverage, including a front-page

article in the Chicago Tribune, as well as requests for Wambach and Berkson to tell their story at speaking engagements around the country.

Two years later, Wambach and Berkson cofounded the Keep On Keeping On Foundation (teamkoko.org) with Daniel P. Joyce ’95 and David A. Kunicki ’95 to assist individuals living with severe disabilities. Since its inception, the nonprofit has funded medical equipment and mobility devices, widened doorways in homes, helped with medical bills, advocated for the disabled in Springfield and launched The Accessibility Project, which provides free construction services to make homes more accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Wambach and Berkson also developed a live stage adaptation of their story entitled Handicap This! Since the show’s premiere in 2010, they have shared their story with

more than 100,000 audience members throughout the U.S.

In August 2016, the 42-year-old Wambach repeated the Orlando-to- Chicago run that started it all. This time, he logged more than 1,000 miles in 42 days to raise funds for the Keep on Keeping On Foundation. The day after he arrived back in Chicago, instead of hitting the couch for some well-deserved R&R, this runner for others polished off an additional 26.2 miles at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon to raise funds for the Danny Did Foundation.

“Tim’s run is a symbol of the strength in all of us,” Berkson, now 28, told the local media after Wambach’s second Orlando-to- Chicago run in 2016.

After dedicating 16 years and running more than 1,700 miles to make living with a disability easier for people like his friend, Mike, Wambach has clearly hit his stride. 4

Alone, we can do so little. Together, we can do so much. (Helen Keller)