Quad amputee urges students to get out of their element

Daniel Ennett is used to people staring.

The second year University of Alberta student is a quadruple amputee. When he scoots across campus in his motorized wheelchair, he usually meets the curious stares from his peers with a straight face.

Despite being confined to his wheelchair for most of each day, students might not realize that Ennett’s adventurous nature has led him to try everything from skiing and sailing to scuba diving.

When he was five years old, he was rushed to the hospital where he was diagnosed with meningococcal septicaemia — a combination of Meningitis and Sepsis, a life-threatening complication of infection — which led to the loss of both his arms and legs. But growing up posed no extreme challenge, he said, since many school systems were accommodating.

“I had a solid group of friends that I grew up with and we still hang out today,” Ennett said.

Now a host of the TV series ‘Invincible,’ Ennett explores the challenges faced by people with disabilities across the country. The first season was divided into three 15 minute episodes that had him painting at the Nina Haggerty Centre for the Arts — an open community funded art institution that accommodates those with disabilities — as well as interviewing a quadriplegic homicide detective, and engaging in sports such as swimming and sailing.

The second season of the show mainly challenged him to take part in more sports activities such as skiing, dancing, and scuba diving.

“The largest part of it is spontaneity,” he said about hosting the Telus TV show.

“It’s always a guess as to what they are going to throw at me tomorrow. But there’s nothing really preventing me fear-wise.”

Ennett said that his biggest challenge is scheduling these activities around his school schedule.

The second year psychology major and sociology minor said he likes figuring out the motivations and justifications behind people’s actions. But even though balancing his schedule is a “pain in the ass,” he said it has been worth it since he enjoys what he’s doing.

The U of A Specialized Support and Disability Services (SSDS) provides support in making his learning experience easier, Ennett said. He does most of his schoolwork on his home computer and laptop since writing isn’t feasible. He said that SSDS ensures that they obtain PDF format textbooks since it’s difficult to flip through a regular textbook.

“Most of the time I can get anywhere at the U of A,” he said. “The worst that can happen is an elevator breaks down — but you can’t really do anything about that.”

Ennett said he strongly believes in people getting out of their element and trying new things. But, he’s still cautious when trying new activities.

“If at any point I fear something it’s usually while I’m doing it, so it’s usually a little late by then. If I can’t be assured it’s safe then I probably wouldn’t do it,” he said.

Lately, most people ask him if he is going to take on skydiving, but he responds with hesitation since the activity requires him to have a custom-made harness.

But activities such as sailing have been modified for those with disabilities. He said that in his sailing adventure he was a little nervous at first because of the boats and the water, but he found that the boat was stable since it was designed for people with disabilities.

For those looking to break out of their own comfort zones, Ennett’s advice is simple.

“Might as well as well go for it,” he said. “The more you think of doing something the more you’re going to be reluctant to do it, even if it’s just mildly dangerous.

“You should go for gold.”