Daily HealthBeat TipWon�t slow down.From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I�m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat. Dr. Peter Galpin is a Boy Scout dad, goes camping, snorkels, skis, is a surgeon in Hawaii, has done medical missions in Afghanistan and Laos -- pretty active guy. He does it from a wheelchair. Galpin has been paralyzed since 1977, when a drunken driver struck him. Galpin is the first surgeon in the United States to start and complete his medical and surgical training from a wheelchair. Galpin spoke when U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona announced a call to action that emphasizes what people with disabilities can do. Galpin�s advice: "A person with disability should have unlimited goals. People�s potential is limited only by their imagination. If there was a kid out there that wanted to fly planes, drive race cars, be an astronaut or an oceanographer, I would say, 'Go for it.'" (13 seconds) Learn more at www.hhs.gov. HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I�m Ira Dreyfuss. |
Last revised: August 26, 2005