Christopher Reeve said, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”
With Reeve’s words in mind, I think all of us would agree that we need heroes. We need heroes because they remind us to believe in more for ourselves. By looking life square in the face, they inspire us to do the same. Whether your hero is Rob Machado or Bill Gates, our heroes encourage us to aim higher, try harder, and be braver. I am writing this because Barney Miller is a hero, and if you talked to his buddies Mick Fanning or Taylor Knox, I expect they would say the same. Barney is a surfer, an Aussie, and an all-around great guy. Barney is a hero because despite everything he has been through, Barney does what heroes do: he proves every day that anything is possible.
Barney only remembers bits and pieces of the accident. He remembers when the driver took that 90 degree turn at almost 89 miles per hour. He was only 19, and he doesn’t remember how the car rolled and rolled until it crashed into a tree. He doesn’t remember being cut out of the wreckage by emergency workers, or flying to Sydney in a med-evac helicopter. He does remember how two weeks later, the doctors told him he would never walk again. He remembers how they told him he had broken the C 5/6 vertebrae in his neck. They threw out phrases like “clinically impossible” and “no feeling below the level of injury.” But it gives me goosebumps to think that those doctors didn’t know Barney.
Eight years post-injury, Barney found the ground-breaking, activity-based recovery program called Project Walk. While most recovery programs teach patients how to live life from the chair, Project Walk asks patients “to throw their chairs aside.” Project Walk was the light of the tunnel Barney had been looking for. Now, Barney and his fiancé Kate “Kada” Southwell split their time between Sawtell, Australia and Carlsbad, where Barney works out at Project Walk’s headquarters.
A few months ago, I parked on the 101 and walked over to Cardiff Reef looking for Barney. I saw the waterproof wheelchair with its huge white plastic wheels, and realized I was far from the only person here to meet Barney for a surf. Carfuls of people funneled into the parking lot. As they got out, they hugged each other, exchanged words about the Hurley Pro, and dabbed zinc on the noses of their grom kids. Barney had invited me to come though I didn’t know a soul. He “liked” my blog on Facebook, and wrote an encouraging comment. Keep in mind, I hardly know Barney now, let alone before. He is a quality person, and when you are around him you feel that.
Weeks earlier, I had been assigned to write about Barney for a magazine I work for. I drove up to Project Walk for the interview and photo shoot where I learned more about Barney and Kate’s love story–one for the books. I listened as Project Walk employees told me about Barney’s miraculous progress and the strength of his will.
Those doctors told Barney he would never feel anything below his level of injury again. But they were wrong. Barney can stand with Kate whenever they would like. He got down on one knee last September to propose to her at a Padres Game. September is Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month and Project Walk had booked the entire rooftop of the Western Metal Building in Petco Park. Kate had just sung the national anthem, and a Project Walk employee distracted her as others rolled out the red carpet. Barney and Kate planned for a long engagement so that Barney can work up to his current goal: dancing the first dance with Kate at their wedding.
I asked Barney what advice he would give to a large group of people and he said, “Everyone should know that you can do anything you put your mind to. Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t.”
Barney hosts the Barney Miller Surf Classic in Sawtell every year to raise money for another individual with a spinal cord injury. There is also a documentary called “No Means Go” in production about his life.
Barney went through his darknesses after the injury, but he never gave up hope. He works so hard towards his goals, and he touches the lives of everyone he meets. Dear Barney: you are awesome.
