By Tom Whittaker and Johnny Dodd

As Tom Whittaker struggled to keep conscious the night of Nov. 27, 1979, his thoughts focused on a singular plea: Please, don’t let them take my legs. Earlier that evening, a drunk driver struck Tom’s VW van on a remote, snow-covered road in Idaho and shattered his legs along with his dreams. When he awoke from emergency surgery, the 31-year-old mountaineer’s right leg had been amputated at mid-shin and his right kneecap removed. Devastated, Tom spent the following months depressed, angry and pondering suicide. For a man whose life had been defined by his athletic prowess, losing his lower leg was overwhelming. As he struggled to find meaning to his recovery and rehabilitation, it finally occurred to him: you don’t need your lower leg to kayak.
Seven months after the accident, Tom hobbled down to the south fork of Payette River, strapped himself into his battered fiberglass kayak and began paddling toward a set of churning rapids. In the years since then, Tom has not only taken his life back, he’s taken his family, his fellow sportsmen and hundreds of thousands of disabled and able-bodied people to the top of world.
In May 1998, Tom became the first amputee to summit Mt. Everest. The climb and his inspirational story, as well as his work on behalf of disabled people around the world, have earned him the recognition as one of America’s unsung heroes.