South Bend Tribune
Series of 7 Front Page Articles:
- It Was Never an Issue
- Bouncing Back — Lessons from Adversity
- Heart of an Athlete
- Deciding on a Direction in Life
- Breaking Down Life's Boundaries
- Lessons on Different Traits
More Press:
In the News
The following is an article written by Colleen Garber, of the Huntington County (IN)TAB and reproduced here with their permission. The original appeared in the March 15 edition of The Huntington County (IN) TAB.
No arms, no legs, no limit on what this hero 'can do'
By COLLEEN GARBER
Most people operate on the baseball theory. They give 110 percent for roughly three attempts. If it can't be done by then, they give up. But if Brett Eastburn would have given up after his third attempt at bouncing a basketball, throwing a football or getting his dream job, he never would have accomplished them. In fact, if he gave up on the third try regularly, he might never accomplish anything. You see, Eastburn was born with a congenital birth defect known as Quadmembral Limbs Deficiency. He has no arms. He has no legs. Yet he has accomplished more than many of us blessed with all our parts ever will. Attitude and sheer will power have made the difference in his life.
It's a life that many in the same situation would have given up on. "I hear people say all the time, 'Brett, how do you do it?' I tell them I was born this way… the doctors have no idea why," he said. "But I believe God made me this way so I can do whatever I want, and then come here and show you guys how it can be done. I'm very proud of my life." Eastburn came to Huntington North High School recently with his wife, Chrisa, and service dog, Murray, to speak to the student body. His message was clear. "There is only one person in this room of hundreds who can keep you from doing the things you want to do," he emphatically told those in the first of two convocations.
"That person is you." In that sentence, he summed up his entire life. It is this life story the 100-pound, 29-year-old Eastburn shared with the high school students. Sometimes he shared from the comfort of his electric wheelchair, other times he would jump onto the table before him. Then he would decide to move to the floor before climbing back into the chair. All of this done under his own power. Eastburn's first order of business was to introduce his wife. And then, his dog. Murray, he explained, is a service dog.