On May 25, 2001, 32-year-old Erik Weihenmayer stood on the summit of Mt. Everest. Since the first recorded successful climb of Mt. Everest in 1953 by Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay, more than a thousand people had reached the peak. Mt. Everest was no longer unconquerable, but Erik's climb was noteworthy for one remarkable fact.

Erik Weihenmayer is totally blind—and he climbed Mt. Everest!

He lost his sight at age 13, but determined to live a life of accomplishment. He has a long list of achievements before and after climbing Mt. Everest.

Disabilities

We can learn much from Erik's inspirational story, but have you thought much about what it's like to be physically disabled during what should be your prime years? Probably not.

It's not pleasant for a healthy young adult to consider. Yet according to the 2009 Disability Statistics Compendium, about 12 percent of Americans have some form of disability.

How would your life change if you didn't have use of your eyes, ears, arms or legs?

My wife

I face this difference every day because my wife is blind. Like Erik Weihenmayer, she is driven to overcome obstacles. She went to school to learn a profession. She passed a rigorous exam to become licensed in her field.

Even so I see how much this physical disability impacts her daily life. Things I take for granted aren't simple for her. It affects nearly everything we do. Of course as her husband, I help every way I can, but no matter how much I do, I can't make her see. She always has the obstacle of blindness to overcome.

Help but not healing

Most Western societies have laws to help those with disabilities. The 20th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the United States was on July 26, 2010. This law was passed to protect the rights of and make opportunities available for the disabled. It's society's way of trying to help, but it can't truly remove the disabilities.

Massive amounts of time and money are spent in medical research to help the disabled. Recently excitement was generated when Italian researchers were able to restore sight to some by implanting adult stem cells, but it only works in limited cases.

There have been limited breakthroughs in treatment of spinal injuries. Cochlear implants can restore a measure of hearing to some. However, all the money spent and all the research done have not been able to make the blind see, the deaf hear and the paralyzed walk. Canes, wheelchairs, guide dogs and hearing aids assist, but they do not remove the disabilities.

Future museum pieces

Some of our readers are disabled; others have friends and family members who are. Some of us will become disabled through accident, age or disease. What is the answer? Will there ever be a time when there will be no more disabilities? The answer is, "Yes!"

The prophet Isaiah writes of when "the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing" (Isaiah 35:5-6).

Read of the time when Jesus Christ returns to rule the world in "Coming: An End to Suffering."

When I see my wife and all others who have to face daily disability challenges, I can't wait for that day to come! People won't be limited by physical impairments. Wheelchairs and hearing aids will then be museum pieces. VT