Prepare to be inspired as Damian Buchman, Founder and Executive Director of The Ability Center and Co-Founder of The Opportunity Center, shares his extraordinary story of conquering bilateral osteosarcoma, a childhood bone cancer. Against all odds, Damian's positivity became his lifeline, using "currencies" like possibility, positivity, passion, and perseverance to write a story of triumph.
Damian's experience serves as a guiding light for anyone facing their own battles, illustrating how these currencies can navigate the darkest of times. But Damian's impact doesn't stop at his survival. He founded the Ability Center, a beacon of inclusivity that brings people with disabilities together to play and enjoy life to the fullest.
Damian's current project, The Opportunity Center, is a testament to his unwavering commitment and is set to bridge divides, offering hope and unity to both impoverished and wealthier neighborhoods. As we tune in, Damian's journey will remind us that life's currencies can reshape destinies, inspiring us to stand for inclusion and change. Tune in to celebrate the triumph of the human spirit.
Episode Highlights:
10:19 - The Ability Center is literally what I consider my purpose for survival. I think that God saved me for multiple reasons, and I think this is one of the primary ones. And the Ability Center has found a unique niche, and the way I sum it up is making it possible for people with disabilities to play together with those they love most.
22:34 - What makes it unique is the idea of the universal design. What makes it unique is the populations in which we want to serve. And what makes it the most unique is that it will be the first multi-sport tourism center that is built in an urban setting in the country.
26:30 - You've got this opportunity for people to just come together and organically see how it's just another human as opposed to any of the external input in their lives that are screaming at them about how they should see another person, and they can start to be impacted by their own experiences versus the narrative we're being delivered.
Connect with Becky Dubin Jenkins
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Connect with Damian Buchman
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Bio:
As a two-time, 25 year, one-in-a-billion survivor of childhood cancer, Damian was an active and athletic teenager whose childhood cancer diagnosis left him with an ambulatory disability at the age of 13. He quickly learned how to adapt to his "new normal" and today is an adaptive athlete, an adoptive father, and a successful social entrepreneur.
Just three days before his 13th birthday, Damian was diagnosed with osteosarcoma— an aggressive, rare, and deadly bone cancer— in his right leg. Just seven months into remission, he was diagnosed again, this time in his left leg. Against steep odds, Damian became a one-in-a-billion survivor (today only a handful of people worldwide have survived his diagnosis), and while his battle remains never-ending, his power of positivity, passion, and perseverance are at an all-time high.
As in the years since his “recovery,” he has undergone 28 major knee surgeries, including a variety of replacements and revisions. His resulting disability gives him unique insights and passion into his quest to help and inspire others who face physical challenges in their lives.
