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One thing Fred Meyling’s injuries over the years have made clear is that people forced to live with some sort of disability often had a difficult time finding a job and making a living. For example, because employers were under the mistaken impression that people who were confined to a wheelchair were unable to do most jobs, the disabled often find it hard to make a living. In fact, the rejection he received was so profound that he had to do something about it.
That is why, for well over three decades now, Fred Meyling has chosen to work hard with a number of non-profit groups that help those with disabilities. He eventually landed at Sun n Fun, in their Handicap Services Department. In that position, he has been able to experience one of his greatest dreams, which was to learn to fly. As a volunteer with Sun n Fun, he has been able to fly several types of planes and he has been able to stretch his love of flight to the areas of air operations and air show control. Fred Meyling also been on the flight line as a volunteer with EAA Oshkosh. For Fred Meyling, there long existed big, lofty dreams that he held onto despite challenges and pitfalls in his life -- Meyling wanted to become an airplane pilot. And there were many times when he believed this was little more than just a dream. But it was a dream eventually achieved.
Meyling -- a former member of the U.S. Army who was honorably discharged -- thought most of his goals and ambitions were shattered when he fell from a roof one day in June 1976. This accident changed life’s trajectory for Meyling as he broke his back, suffering a spinal cord injury (SCI). It took a big move of his entire family from Pennsylvania to California for better weather and years of physical therapy for Meyling to walk again. And just when all settled into normalcy, a second spinal injury occurred in 1984 as he completed a simple twisting motion with a household task. Fred Meyling spent more than two months in the hospital and then was in a wheelchair. He was unable to find work, and life was simply not the same. But he never gave up. Instead he attempted small businesses and then settled into volunteer work with various organizations. This path led him toward his biggest dream. During volunteerism with Sun n Fun -- to which he committed more than 30 years thus far -- he achieved his dream and flew many different planes with the group. He also started Sun n Fun’s Handicap Services Department for others like him. His pilot dreams also led toward becoming an organizational chairman and working air show control as well. He also volunteered for many years with EAA Oshkosh on their flight line. Back in June, 1976, after he had been honorably discharged from the U.S. Army, Fred Meyling had a terrible accident. He fell from a roof and broke his back. The resultant spinal cord injury left him in a wheelchair with a disability. Following the injury, he moved with his wife and three daughters back to California, hoping to find better weather for recovery. After several years of medical treatment and intense physical therapy, Fred Meyling was once again able to walk and he believed he had largely been cured, but in 1984, he relapsed when he moving an empty plastic trash can and made a twisting motion that hurt his back again and put him back in the hospital for several months.
One thing his injuries made clear to Fred Meyling, however, was that having a disability was hard. It was difficult to find work, in part because employers too often assumed that someone in a wheelchair was incapable of doing most jobs. The rejection he faced was very painful and it motivated him to start several small businesses just to make ends meet. For more than 30 years now, Fred Meyling has chosen to work with non-profit groups and he eventually started a Handicap Services Department at Sun n Fun, where he also fulfilled one of his greatest dreams, which was to fly. As a volunteer with Sun n Fun, he could fly many types of planes. Fred Meyling also has sailed both the west and east coasts of the United States because he loves being on the water. In fact, some of his best times came when he lived on a boat and he hopes to do so again, since he was diagnosed with Hemochromatosis, and the treatment works better at sea level. |