Tracy Schmitt was born a four-way amputee and hasn’t stopped pushing boundaries ever since.
Unstoppable Tracy is an international speaker based out of Toronto, a celebrity who has shared the stage with many including John Travolta along with Mark Wahlberg, been featured in the Oprah magazine, climbed mountains, scuba dives, is a sailor and that is just the tip of what she has done in her life.
Always smiling and positive where others in her position may not be, Unstoppable Tracy was in the area on Friday, February 15, 2019 speaking at five different schools with students from other schools being bused in.
Today’s Northumberland caught up with her at St. Mary Catholic Elementary School in Grafton.
TN: How long have you been doing this for?
UT: I’ve been doing this since I was six-years-old. Being born a four-way amputee and they don’t know why, it was just a fluke. I’m the only one in my family, but I’m exactly the way I need to be. I’m also the only one in my family that dives, has climbed the Himalayas, sailed world cup regattas, took bronze in skiing.
TN:What’s your message?
UT: The Rick Hansen Foundation is about creating a world that is accessible, which means able to access. We’re not talking just for someone who uses a wheelchair, vision loss or hearing loss. We’re talking about pregnant moms, senior citizens, there are people who break their legs, or as simple as someone with a handful of groceries.
We all sometimes trip. If we eliminate tripping hazards and make light switches easy to find and look out for each other and see someone in need we just ask – be supportive.
TN: Where do you get this drive?
UT: I think it’s because I was born with a disability. I was just a kid that wanted to go play on another lawn. So I had to do whatever it took to go play on that lawn. Whereas the other kids just run out their front door, for me it’s “how am I going to get down the lawn, how am I going to get over to the other lawn, how am I going to get up that lawn.”
But you just do whatever it takes. You’re not being a hero. You just want to play. So, I think I’m so lucky that I got to learn that you do whatever it takes to make it happen.
Failure is just a journey – it’s a step. Success is something that you keep going until you get it.
TN: In the short time I’ve been talking to you it seems like attitude is everything?
UT: It is everything. Absolutely. I have phenomenal parents. I’m very, very lucky. I grew up in affordable housing in a tough neighbourhood and we all looked out for each other.
TN: What’s the response from the kids?
UT: They’ve all been phenomenal. They all come out with the mindset, if I can do it, a four-way amputee, you can do it – no excuses. No limits.
The worst thing in the world is a good excuse. Because it gives you a reason and then you’re limited in what your weekend is. If you have no excuses, you have no limits.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
