By Katie Manganelli

A Navy veteran turned extreme adventure athlete challenged students to push themselves no matter their limitations in a presentation for disability awareness month at the STAMP Student Union on Oct. 24.

Lonnie Bedwell is also a motivational speaker and the first blind man to descend the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon with only 14 days of whitewater training under his belt.

Bedwell lost his sight in a hunting accident on May 4, 1997, a day he will never forget. 

“I took a full shotgun blast to the face at about nine steps,” Bedwell said.

His friend accidentally shot him in the face, but Bedwell harbors no anger or ill-will. Bedwell said that if he never lost his eyesight, he never would’ve found the sports he loves and his other passions. Since losing his eyesight, Bedwell began building houses. Today, he’s done roofing and wiring on over 30 homes. 

Bedwell kayaks, skis, mountaineers, rock climbs, mountain bikes and surfs with the help of a guide. Guides use their voices or other instruments to make sounds and Bedwell follows the sounds to get where he needs to go safely.

Kayaking and rock climbing are Bedwell’s favorite sports. 

“Kayaking is the most independent sport I’ve done since losing my eyesight. It’s me and my boat, I’m just using a voice command like people use eyesight to drive or steer their boat, but it’s still me controlling the boat,” Bedwell said. 

Bedwell has kayaked the length of the Colorado River four times with other disabled veterans as his guides. In their kayaks in the rapids, nobody can tell that the group is disabled. 

“We look like every other kayaker. The fact is, we are kayakers,” Bedwell said. 

Bedwell summited Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, with a group of other differently-abled people that he’d never met before. Some had missing limbs, no eyesight, PTSD or traumatic brain injuries. 

Bedwell vividly remembers his adventures with his remaining four senses. He remembers climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro by the sounds of monkey screams, the smell of exotic flowers and his guides’ descriptions of vast, green foliage. 

Bedwell’s positive outlook is inspiring. He cracked jokes about not being able to see, saying things like, “I would say you’re all a good looking crowd, but I know one or two of you that’s not,” and “the only sense of mine that’s improved is my nonsense.” But through the jokes, Bedwell said encouraging things about his disability and life in general. 

Bedwell enjoys motivational speaking because he is helping others while helping himself. 

“You can make a positive impact in somebody’s life, give them a little light in the darkness. . . I get more out of it than I ever can provide to somebody else,” Bedwell said. 

Bedwell said he wants to encourage people to take the “dis” out of “disability.” Everyone is limited in some way; disabilities do not define anyone. 

“The blindness is part of me, but it doesn’t define me,” Bedwell said, “I truly believe I have more vision now than I did when I had eyesight.”