No hands? No arms? No problem for speaker

Just a few minutes with Tom Willis dispels any myth that people with disabilities are missing out on life.

Willis, a motivational speaker from Mira Mesa, typically opens his sessions with “no hands, no arms, no problem,” and tells listeners, “focus on what you can do, not what you can’t do.”

Born in Maryland without arms and hands in 1959, Willis endured the pain of several surgeries as a youngster.
At various times, he wore a prosthetic arm, as well as a brace. Steel rods were placed in his back, and at one time he wore a full body cast.

But, he ultimately gave all that up for a simpler approach, he said.

“I learned to adapt,” he told Poway Kiwanis Club members during a program last week.

The 51-year-old learned to use his feet in place of what he typically would have accomplished with his hands.
From his left shoulder he has one digit, a finger that protrudes, handy for typing and a few other tasks.

His favorite audience is school-aged kids, because they usually ask the most intriguing questions.

Most kids want to know how he does what he does: drive a car, pitch a ball, take photos or extract money out of his billfold.

During assemblies, he often demonstrates how to paint by inviting volunteers to join him, putting brushes between their toes to create art work on nearby paper.

Willis thinks that there is no greater example than showing kids, or adults, that there are ways to overcome obstacles.

To his way of thinking, Willis reminds himself that he can go over, around or under almost any obstacle.

During last week’s Kiwanis Club program, Willis demonstrated his baseball pitch, an inspiring example of his can-do spirit.

Later this month, he expects to be throwing out the first pitch at a Texas Rangers baseball game.

This will be the tenth time he has been invited by a major league team to perform such a task. Some teams, however, have turned down his request.

He continues to reach out to them so he can fulfill his wish to eventually visit all major league stadiums, he said.
The visits are part of his “Pitch for Awareness” goal, a demonstration that those with disabilities can overcome obstacles.

His presence at such stadiums typically coincides with a day that celebrates the abilities of fans with disabilities, which is perfectly appropriate, Willis said.

During a Cincinnati Reds game, NBC’s feed of Willis pitching the ball went nationwide.

“It’s exactly what I wanted,” Willis said. “It demonstrated what someone with a disability can do.”

It takes lots of practice. He grasps the ball with his foot, aims and lets it rip toward home plate.

“I don’t use a hardball, which would be too difficult, but a softer ball,” Willis said. “Still, it’s more than 60 feet to home plate — kind of a challenge.”

That is a challenge he now knows he can meet, he said.

Willis has an extensive production background in television, has a master’s degree in educational technology from the University of Maryland with a 4.0 grade point average and several other accomplishments.

For those who want to reach him, call 619-723-4015, or go to his e-mail at tom@tomsfeet.com.