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Chris Waddell has been an ?lite athlete for more than two decades. He has won twelve medals in downhill skiing, including five golds, in four Paralympic Games events; he was a world-record-holding wheelchair track sprinter; and, in 2009, he became the first paraplegic to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, using his arms to power a customized four-wheeled cycle. Even at forty-five, Waddell, who was paralyzed in a college skiing accident, has a muscular, sharply defined upper body, the product of thousands of hours of training.

But all this exercise has taken a toll. Several years ago, Waddell?s shoulders began to ache constantly. Last year, he tore a rotator cuff while weightlifting, and began having trouble lifting himself into and out of his wheelchair. ?I had no control,? he said. ?When I was getting off a couch, I had to marshal all of my strength.? (more…)

THE NEW YORKER

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