Skip Wilkins had been an outstanding high school athlete. By the time he graduated from high school in June, 1967, he had received letters from over 20 college football coaches trying to recruit him. When he was seventeen, just three days after he had graduated from high school, he broke his neck in a water skiing accident. The lower part of his body was permanently paralyzed. He had some ability to move his arms, but little control over his hands.

Skip's rehabilitation was a long slow process, but he handled it with good humor. He resumed his favorite outdoor activities, as soon as possible. Eventually, with the help of his family, he earned a degree in psychology. Skip had decided that being in a wheel chair would not hold him back from athletic activities. Between 1975 and 1980 he set 12 national records for wheel chair athletes in the shot put, discus, precision club, and javelin. He won gold medals in international events. He learned to play table tennis and has been national champion ten times. He was the national Athlete of the Year in Wheel Chair Sports.

Now Skip travels all over the world speaking to audiences. His injury, he says, made him "stop competing with others and start competing with life." He emphasizes that "doing your best is a lifetime job." Skip has learned that he can not only go on after a life altering injury, but he can set and reach goals just as he could before his accident. "I would have preferred to not have my injury," he said, "but if anyone said they could take away my condition I wouldn't let them if they took away my experiences. My experiences are too rich and too wonderful to be willing to give up."