“Disability is equal opportunity," Fred Fay told the Globe in 1998. “Anyone can qualify at any moment."
His moment arrived in his junior year of high school, when his hands slipped as he performed a move he often executed on a trapeze in the backyard of his family’s Maryland home.
Left a quadriplegic by the 10-foot fall, the young man had to decide what he would attempt to do with the rest of his life. Choosing activism, he became an early advocate for disability rights, playing a role in everything from ensuring the Metro subway in Washington, D.C., was built to accommodate wheelchairs to lobbying lawmakers to adopt the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Dr. Fey passed away on August 20th of this year at the age of 67, but his legacy will live on. A Life Worth Living, a film about Fred's life and his role in the Disability Rights Movement, is scheduled to air on PBS on October 27.
Check out this trailer for the show, and then be sure to check your local listing for the air time on October 27th.
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