Eighteen-year-old triple amputee proving anyone can do anything.By Emily Slater / Managing Editor, Times Press Recorder
One Pismo Beach boy remembers every detail of the day he paid homage to the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Except the part where he was hit by a train.
After passing out drunk on Grover Beach train tracks Sept. 15, 2001, Cameron Clapp awoke in the hospital to discover he had lost his right arm and both legs above the knee.
"I asked God, 'Why me?' 'Why this?'" Cameron said of his initial reaction. "I was worried about my friends and family and what was ahead of me, but I was glad to be alive."
Staunch determination helped Cameron beat a doctor's prediction that he would only walk a few steps in his lifetime. Not only has the teenager walked countless steps, but he is also one of only six bilateral amputees in the world competing in athletic events. In his own words, he is proving that "impossible is an opinion, not a fact."
Cameron characterized himself preaccident as a thrill-seeker always looking for an adrenaline rush.
His mom, Berny Crane, called him a neon sign that attracted friends, girls and, sometimes, trouble.
Trouble came in the form of alcohol for Cameron, who said he didn't know his limit at the parties he regularly attended.
Cameron was past drunk the night the sophomore and his friends built a memorial for those who died Sept. 11. Once candles were lit and the American flag unfurled, Cameron remembers stepping outside his friend's Grover Beach house for fresh air and a fresh perspective of the makeshift memorial.
When he reached the train tracks he crossed daily, Cameron sat down.
Beyond that, his memory is a blank.
What he later learned was that a Union-Pacific freight train ran over him while he lay passed out on the tracks.
Emergency personnel who responded to the scene were traumatized by what they found. One volunteer firefighter refused to comment before facing Cameron again. He received counseling in the wake of the accident.
When Cameron came out of a two-day coma, he believes, he subconsciously knew he had lost three limbs.
"It was told to me so many times it soaked into my brain. I wasn't freaked out," he explained.
He never became depressed but experienced denial and guilt "because my family had to endure the pain," he said.
For Cameron's twin brother, Jesse, the aftermath was particularly painful.
"It took a long time for me to accept that Cameron had gotten into an accident and that things were different," Jesse said. "I wanted things to be like they used to."
His family later filed a lawsuit against Union-Pacific, but the case was eventually closed after being deemed frivolous, according to Cameron.
Cameron returned home in a wheelchair -- a vehicle he grew to hate -- and Berny and Bill Crane began researching prosthetics. Soon, they discovered Hanger Prosthetics & Orthotics Inc., the largest prosthetics company in the nation.
"That was the start of everything," Cameron said.
Initially, Cameron wanted to walk on full-length prosthetic legs but couldn't take two steps without falling on his face. He then agreed to test shorter legs -- stubbies -- and banished his wheelchair that day.
"I told myself, 'I'm going to learn to walk by using the stubbies and then go to full-length legs. I want to be as good at walking as I used to be.'"
In six months, Cameron was walking at full height.
Now, he relies on his "C-legs," prostheses with a computer chip in the knee that measures gait speed, weight distribution and ground level.
The legs look robotic, but Cameron couldn't care less.
"I knew my identity had changed, so why hide it?"
He enjoys the fascination people exhibit and even tells children they have met someone who's half robot.
Prosthetists from California to Oklahoma helped in Cameron's rehabilitation because multiple amputees take a team effort, according to Randy Richardson, prosthetic assistant for Hanger.
"Amputees like Cameron are fairly rare. Both legs above the knee are difficult in itself, but the arm above the shoulder ... it's not typical," Richardson said.
Cameron, though, is anything but typical.
During his rehabilitation, other amputees he met suggested he try running. The thought appealed to athletic Cameron, and he was soon sprinting on spring-light feet attached below sockets at his knees.
He can run 100 meters in 18 seconds and competes in athletic events across the country. Cameron also golfs -- his most difficult sport to date -- and swims -- 1.2 miles in the ocean and laps in the pool.
Last week, Cameron returned from his third Endeavor Games for disabled athletes, where he won gold medals in both running and swimming events.
"I want to show people you can do anything, even without an arm," Cameron said.
One day, he may compete in the Paralympics, sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee.
Besides athletics, Cameron serves as a patient advocate for Hanger, traveling across the country to speak to physical therapists and prosthetists "so they can see what's possible."
He added, "It's also good because I tell them not to get discouraged if they get people like me."
He's also helping other amputees get back on their feet.
Recently, Cameron gave an amputee advice on taking her first steps. With his encouragement, she abandoned her wheelchair and now walks without a cane.
Cameron, 18, graduated from Lopez High School earlier this year and walked in the school's graduation ceremony June 9.
A doctor once told Cameron he would only walk at his graduation and wedding. Cameron, though, was a speaker at his graduation -- prostheses sticking out from under his gown -- and considered his walk down the aisle just one more in a day filled with steps.
His next mission is getting his driver's license so he can drive to his classes at Cuesta College in the fall. Someday, he aims to work as a psychologist because he loves helping people. He also wants to get married.
"Pretty much everything I put my mind to I can accomplish," Cameron said, showing his infectious smile.
"Cameron has such a drive and positive attitude; it's unwavering," Richardson added.
His journey, though, has not been without its missteps.
Even after his accident, Cameron continued to drink heavily.
"I was confused and didn't know what was going on," he said. "It was a part of my lifestyle and I couldn't escape until I started focusing on more important things."
Cameron said he hasn't partied for a few months, after he made a pact with his family he wouldn't drink until he was 21.
During his journey, Cameron has developed more patience, but otherwise remains the positive, energetic person he was before the train hit.
"Even though this happened to me, it didn't change me at all. I'm still the same person and it's made it possible for me to see all these places and meet people I would never have met."
He said he would live his life exactly the same -- without regrets or remorse.
"I'm lucky to be alive and I'm proud to tell my story. And if I fall down, I'm lucky I have the opportunity to fall," Cameron said.
If God offered him his limbs back, he would say he's fine without his legs, but missing an arm "takes the fun out of everything."
He is waiting until technology enables him to paint and write with jointed fingers. For now, he will continue using an opening hook attachment to create watercolor paintings and sign autographs..
"This has made me understand that it's not impossible to do anything," said Cameron, summing up lessons learned. "Before I just said I was strong; now, that is more of a reality."
Daily, he awakes to the reality of his life, which is far from easy.
"Tomorrow, I'll have to accept this all over again. Every day you have to realize what happened to you," he said.
Cameron has driven past the tracks where he was hit but doesn't get emotional. For him, his accident has made him who he is today.
For Berny, telling Cameron's journey brings closure to a questioning community:
"It's nice for the community to know what happened to the drunk kid on the tracks. They don't know the rest of the story."
Managing editor Emily Slater can be reached at 489-4206, Ext. 5012, or by e-mail at eslater@pulitzer.net.
Help Cameron compete
To help Cameron Clapp continue to participate in athletic events across the country, people can donate to a fund set up in his name at any Mid-State Bank & Trust branch. Donations are used to cover his training and travel expenses. To learn more about Cameron's journey, check out his Web page at www.cameronclapp.com.
South County teen lost both legs and an arm in 2001, but what he prefers to talk about are his family and his athletics.by Carol Roberts, The Tribune (SLO)
When Cameron Clapp awoke 21 months ago with both of his legs and his right arm gone, it would have been impossible to imagine what he would be doing this weekend: sprinting.
On carbon legs with computerized knee units, the 17-year-old Pismo Beach resident will run in the 100- and 200-meter sprints at the Endeavor Games for Athletes with Physical Disabilities.
"When something bad happens, it's best to turn that into something good," Clapp said Friday from Oklahoma City where he's competing. "When something this serious happens, you shouldn't think life is over."
The "something" for Clapp was a horrific accident. Clapp was hit by a train early on the morning of Sept. 15, 2001, after he fell asleep on Union Pacific train tracks near his former home in Grover Beach.
Clapp remembers nothing of the event or how it came to pass.
He prefers to talk about his family - his mother Bernie Crane of Pismo Beach, stepfather Bill Crane, his dad Don Clapp of Templeton and brothers and sisters - which is part of a large support group that encouraged him toward recovery and beyond.
"My motivation comes from them. They push me, and I push myself," he said. "It's been tough on the whole family. But somehow my accident didn't ruin us; it brought us all closer together."
His good attitude and trying to be an inspiration to others is his gift back to them, Clapp said.
The family is just as proud of him.
"He's pretty amazing," said his mother. "He has incredible spirit, loves all kinds of people and what he's had to accomplish is unfathomable to everyone.
"He can drive a standard car. Yesterday he hiked the Wichita mountains. Once he started walking again after the accident, he never stopped."
Clapp doesn't consider himself disabled. "I'm just as active as I was before the accident."
But there have been some changes. The right hand he once drew pictures with is gone. He still draws but does it with his left hand. He played the piano and now plays a synthesizer. He's still a good cook.
He trains four or five times a week on the Judkins Middle School track in Pismo Beach and swims at an athletic club there. A junior, he attends Lopez High School in Arroyo Grande, where principal Pam Ables describes him as "truly one of the nicest students I've ever met."
Ables said fellow students "adore him" and would even if he weren't disabled. "He's bright, insightful, hardworking and creative. He cares and gives from his heart to others."
Clapp uses limbs for running and walking called the C-leg, which is a computerized knee unit manufactured by Ottobock, a company in Austria. His are fitted and distributed by Hanger Prosthetics & Orthotics Inc. of Oklahoma City, which puts on the games. He discards the prosthetics to swim.
The event has drawn about 300 athletes with physical disabilities ranging from amputees to the blind and deaf. It's just for the athletes, his mother said. There are no prizes. Participants pay their own way and compete for medals.
Clapp said he plans to attend Cuesta College after high school to pursue a career of helping people.
"Maybe I'll be a psychologist. I think I'll have some good advice: Never give up."
Well, there are nearly 2 million amputees in the United States. But for many, losing a limb has hardly slowed them down at all. Yes. And as our Kevin Sites has a story of one such teenager who is a competitive swimmer, runner, and triathlete. More than anything, though, he's an inspiration.Aired June 7, 2003, by Heidi Colins, CNN Saturday Morning News
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAMERON CLAPP: Life is unfair. Some people get it hard, some people get it easy.
KEVIN SITES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cameron Clapp never saw the train that hit him. When he woke up in the hospital three days later, both legs and his right arm were gone. That was almost two years ago.
CLAPP: You almost feel like you're not beat, you know.
SITES: It was an unforgiving new reality, but Cameron says he accepted it almost immediately.
CLAPP: It was like I was born again when I woke up. It was like a whole new life.
SITES: And with the support of his family...
CLAPP: Does it bother you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
CLAPP: No?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
SITES: ... and a new generation of prosthetics, he took his first steps and stumbled on his path to become whole again, a path in which he's no longer content to just walk.
CLAPP: It's not only hard to run without legs and with one arm, but it makes you really tired after one lap.
SITES: Now he runs almost every night at this track near his home on California's central coast, preparing for the Endeavor Games, and maybe someday the ParaOlympics. His mother, Bernie (ph), and his stepfather, Bill Crane, his biggest fans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, Cam!
SITES: As he completes a grueling full lap around the track, even a distant train whistle seems to give him a salute.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's really hard not to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) about it and just get choked up every time I watch him run.
SITES: Especially after one doctor told the family that Cameron would never walk again, with the possible exception of a few steps on his graduation or his wedding day. Now, using special prosthetic sockets, computerized hydraulic knees, and carbon fiber sprint feet, Cameron can cover 100 meters in under 20 seconds.
CLAPP: It kind of feels like I'm flying, but at the same time, I don't have wings.
SITES: But life is never easy. Just putting on his prosthetic legs is an elaborate morning ritual, each day, a struggle for balance on a set of high-tech stilts.
CLAPP: Simply talking to somebody while walking, you know. I mean, even that's a hard task for me.
SITES: There are mechanical breakdowns.
CLAPP: Technical difficulties.
SITES: And people looking at him differently.
CLAPP: When you go to school, you can tell all your friends you met this kid that's half robot.
SITES: And though he's popular at school, voted this year's prom king, typical teenage concerns become more complicated.
CLAPP: That's going to be the hardest thing in my life, is girls. Not my disability, but girls.
SITES: But rather than being crippled by his accident, Cameron has stolen its power, even turning a tiny train into a good luck charm.
With only one limb left, he is a body in constant motion, as fearless in the water as he is swift on land.
CLAPP: I'm trying my hardest, even though something bad happened to me. I'm not going to give up. I'm going to continue on with my life.
SITES: When he runs, he's an image of biomechanical grace, a boy in dogged pursuit of wholeness which he never really lost.
Kevin Sites, CNN, Pismo Beach, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: Really a remarkable story. It takes someone almost three times as much energy to run if -- when you're a bilateral amputee than if you had both your legs, just one lap, saying he making him tired. What an inspiration.
COLLINS: Oh, I'm sure, I can't -- but it is so amazing, the prosthetics that they can use now. And I remember seeing something similar to that just a few years back, and it was just a total revelation, isn't it?
GUPTA: Yes, I mean, he's -- he said he felt like he was flying.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: He's able to swim, even. Really remarkable.
COLLINS: It's a great story.
GUPTA: Thanks, Kevin Sites.
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In September 2001, Cameron Clapp lost both legs and his right arm in a freak train accident. But thanks to a new set of high-tech prosthetics, Clapp can run again -- and he's even winning some medals.