If 1990 FHS graduate Marty Wheeler wrote a book, it could be titled Against All Odds. Wheeler has struggled with disabilities his entire life, including: • cerebral palsy, which would have caused blindness for Wheeler if it weren’t for surgery on his eyes; • a hearing impairment that Wheeler has suffered since birth; • a speech impediment that makes it difficult for Wheeler to communicate with others and causes him to resort to writing notes at times; • glaucoma, which he also has suffered from birth; • multiple heart problems, which add to the other disabilities Wheeler deals with every day. But Wheeler did not let those disabilities get in the way of his goal. He graduated from high school with honors and went on to graduate from college with a 3.0 GPA. After moving from town to town for most of his childhood, Wheeler and his family settled in Kalispell in 1979. He started school at Peterson Elementary because there was a special program for the hearing impaired. Children were mean to him at Peterson, but Wheeler doesn’t hold any resentment toward them. “They didn’t understand why I was like this,” Wheeler told Brude Riley’s Outdoor Literature class Oct. 2. “I was different.” Attendance at special schools was offered to Wheeler but he refused to go. Instead, he attended Linderman and Kalispell Junior High School. “I went through seventh grade with a 4.0 GPA,” said Wheeler. “I had to show people I could do it.” School wasn’t easy for Wheeler, however. His hearing and speech impediments made school difficult. He learned to read lips and communicate through sign language, but it wasn’t easy. “After junior high, school got a lot harder for me because of my deafness,” said Wheeler. “There was more writing assignments and that made it really hard for me.” Wheeler never gave up, because to “give up” meant nothing to him. He is not a quitter, and that is why he graduated from Flathead with honors. Wheeler and one of his friends, Rob Bain, were the first two deaf students to graduate from FHS. Wheeler gave a heartfelt speech at his graduation in 1990. “He had people crying because of his sincerity,” said Riley. “He even had former (FHS) Principal Bill Vogt crying.” Graduating from FHS with honors wasn’t enough for Wheeler. He then set out for college. Wheeler first went to a college for the deaf in Washington, D.C., but only stayed for six weeks. The college wasn’t convenient for wheelchairs and communication was difficult. Wheeler had to learn a completely different type of sign language than the Exact English form of sign language he grew up with. English is merely a second language for Wheeler—sign language is his first. Common speech is hard for him to understand because he didn’t grow up hearing it like most people. Wheeler’s disabilities resulted from his mother’s Rubella infection early in pregnancy. Doctors said Wheeler would never walk, but today, with crutches, he can. “I’m a little like a foreign student,” said Wheeler. “They have the same problems I do. They don’t understand the idioms or slangs, either.” After returning to Kalispell from Washington, D.C., Wheeler decided to find a college that better suited him, so he enrolled at Flathead Valley Community College. He stayed there for two years then transferred to the University of Montana in 1992. Wheeler planned to major in math, but later switched to history because of his newly found interest in it. The U of M was the hardest because of the writing assignments, said Wheeler. Wheeler struggled unsuccessfully through the first semester of college, but after failing two classes he had to wait one semester before enrolling again. “I tried my best, but it was too hard for me,” said Wheeler. “I took too hard of classes.” The following semester, Wheeler took classes that weren’t as difficult. Wheeler graduated from U of M with a 3.0 GPA. He was one of the two first disabled students to graduate from the University of Montana. Wheeler now lives off of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), has his own apartment, and is looking for a job. SSI is a government program that gives money to people who are disabled. “I want to get off SSI for good,” Wheeler said. “I’ve been on it for nine years; that’s long enough for me.” Wheeler said that along with his parents, a sense of humor helped to get through the hard times. The ability to laugh when times are tough helped him pull through. Wheeler’s life philosophy is to never give up and that people can fulfill their dreams when they keep trying. Riley had Wheeler for a student many years ago, and admits that the two learned a lot from each other. “Marty taught me compassion,” Riley said. “He taught me to never give up.” |
