When one plus one makes three
Carol Cronin finds herself uplifted following time spent with a US Paralympian quadriplegic who for decades now has dedicated himself to encouraging those he describes as ‘far less fortunate than myself’. And whose son Justin just joined Dad as a Seahorse Sailor of the Month
Paul Callahan has a theory: ‘the more you help others the better you make your own life’. I didn’t know him when he was ‘just’ another able-bodied Harvard business undergraduate, before he slipped on a wet floor and lost the use of both legs and hands, so I can’t verify Paul Callahan’s conclusion that it was this life-changing accident at 21 that gave him such a sunny attitude. Instead, when we sit down in the quiet sunny flower garden at New York Yacht Club’s Harbour Court (on a day when American Magic hopes are still alive, and its Youth America’s Cup team has just delivered a heart-stopping victory), I choose to bask in his positive perspective rather than worry about its origin. ‘I firmly believe that I’m not unique,’
Paul tells me, as he adjusts his wheelchair to better return my gaze. ‘But I think [the accident] probably gave me more insights,
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made me work harder, and made me more efficient. And I have a wider angle view of life; I get to see a lot of the good in people, because people generally just want to help. That’s been a huge gift. So I think I’m very, very fortunate.’ Paul wasn’t always so accepting of his
‘gift’, he admits. He spent the first five years afterwards working his way across the USA in search of a cure. ‘There were a lot of people who told me at the beginning, “Look, you’re not gonna walk again; you’ve got to get integrated back into life.” And I was not ready for that whatsoever.’ Finally, a doctor told him to focus on
living, not walking – and he listened. ‘I got to the point where I realised that I wasn’t going to walk. However, had I not done the five years of therapy I would no way be as healthy as I am today.’ Along the way he learned another impor-
tant lesson: ‘You should never try to steal anybody’s dream, because you don’t know what’s going on internally and you can’t apply your strengths and weaknesses and background against anybody else’s. You have to let people develop in their own time.’ At 26 Paul became the first quadriplegic
to graduate from Harvard. Next he earned an MBA (and Dean’s Award) from Harvard Business School, joining Goldman Sachs as an asset manager. ‘Those three things gave me a platform to do a lot of things I’m doing now,’ he explains. ‘Platform and education; then you develop your own instincts off of that. Each added a distinct component to who I turned out to be.’
Freedom through competition By the time a friend invited him to go for a sail on a Catalina 20 Paul was in his mid- 30s – and he vividly remembers looking back at his wheelchair on the dock as they
sailed away. ‘It was the first time in 15 years I was able to do something on my own,’ he later told a CNN interviewer. Inspired by that freedom – if not by his job – he left Goldman Sachs to take over an ailing non- profit in Newport, RI, that helped people with disabilities learn to sail and race; that grew into what’s now known as Sail to Pre- vail. He also (metaphorically at least) dived head first into learning to race sailboats. ‘I played competitive basketball in high
school,’ he says. ‘I was an All-American, but I stopped when I went to Harvard because I just got burnt out; too many other things to do. I really didn’t search for another competitive athletic endeavour until I found sailing, and that was a full 15 years later. I said, wow, this is a great recre- ational activity – but for me it was even more fun when the competition started.’ Along with basic racing skills Paul had
to adapt his boats so that he could steer without working hands. ‘I drive the boat with upside down bicycle pedals, like a grinder, attached to my wrists.’ And he’s facing forward; ‘I can’t see the tiller, I just feel which way the boat’s going.’ Sailing became a fully fledged member
of the Paralympic family for the 2000 Games, and Paul threw himself into train- ing on the triple-handed Sonar just in time to win the US Trials. ‘I was still so new to the sport,’ he says now. ‘I was lucky to win, but we gave it our all.’ His team finished seventh in Sydney, thanks to assis- tance from many sailors – including a few names readers may be familiar with… ‘It’s amazing how many people helped
me, everybody from regular day sailors to Jud Smith and Dave Curtis.’ Later, he adds Russell Coutts and ‘even Dennis Conner’ to his helpful legends list. ‘We received a lot of assistance, a lot; on the docks,
ALAMY
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