Amazing. Awesome. Unbelievable. We hear these words just about every day. 99.9% of the time, they describe something un-amazing, un-awesome, un-unbelievable and quite frankly, pretty common. In the case of Australian native Sam Cawthorn, things are very different. If you used all these words to describe him, you would be at least accurate and you may even be under-exaggerating him. Sam has a passion for helping people.
He previously worked as a Regional Industry Careers Adviser and assisted local industry to identify skill shortages and provide solutions for youth entering the workforce.
That’s great, but not “Amazing.” Here’s what’s amazing…
In October 2006, Cawthorn was involved in a head-on collision with a semi-trailer. It was a horrific accident and Cawthorn was pronounced dead on the scene. Miraculously, he was resuscitated… but he lost his right arm and has a permanent disability in his right leg.
Sam was hospitalized after the accident for more than 5 months and was told he may not survive and would never walk again. A year later, he was still breathing and back on his feet.
In 2007, he started “Be Motivated,” a program aimed at providing young people with skills to improve their confidence and self-belief in order to attain personal goals while remaining positive when faced with adversity. To deliver this information, he regularly conducts motivational assemblies at schools in Australia and around the world. Sam wants everyone he works with to discover their purpose and strive towards well-defined goals.
He believes having a great and positive mental attitude is extremely important and there are no excuses for not achieving whatever you want to achieve in life.
One of his major principles is “bouncing forward” after a setback. Setbacks are simply challenges that will propel you forward, if you have the right approach and mindset, and if you let them.
Sam was awarded the 2009 Young Australian of the Year Award from Tasmania. The same year, he also started the Cawthorn Foundation. The goal of the foundation is to assist disadvantaged youth in developing countries to enjoy basic human rights.
Also in 2009, Cawthorn became Ambassador for CBM Australia’s human rights advocacy movement which creates awareness for people living with disabilities in developing nations. Under a campaign titled ‘Create2Change,’ Cawthorn traveled around India with a film crew to find stories of individuals living with a disability in the most poverty stricken communities.
Cawthorn is also a musician and one of the few people in the world able to play a guitar with an above elbow amputation. Cawthorn loves working with children and was quoted as saying, “A lot of these young people come over
to me and share with me their own journeys, and I guess by talking with me they feel encouraged and realize there is a light at the end of the tunnel because they can see someone who has suffered massive trauma, yet their attitude, positivity and happiness can shine through.”
Yes, he seems legitimately awesome!
We love helping our patients and their friends and relatives through their tough times and getting them feeling better! We are here to help you stay feeling better and looking younger! Don’t be a stranger. You really can afford Chiropractic care! Don’t wait until you can no longer move!