Wilmer

When a hunter's bullet intended for a deer struck nine-year-old Wilmer, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down, no one could anticipate the impact of this tragedy-with effects rippling to himself and his family, and to the global community that adopted him as their own.

In a rural and impoverished area of Northern Guatemala, Wilmer was left with few options for care and spent the majority of his adolescent life living in a home for vulnerable children--angry, confused, and resentful--until a shift occurred that would change his life. "Sometimes to elevate your circumstances, you have to elevate your consciousness," is an adage that Wilmer would ultimately come to embrace as his own. Through an obsession with learning and listening to the wisdom of others, Wilmer began making giant strides, creating tranquility in his internal environment.

Yet a lingering complication from his childhood accident eventually circled back into Wilmer's life, leaving doctors without answers. The operation he required had never been attempted in medical history. Refusing to give up the fight, he began to manifest a new future despite his most recent complication.

Learn about Wilmer's life-and the principles that define his legacy-through his story, told in his own words. Discover the mindset that allowed Wilmer to thrive amidst circumstances that seemed set to destroy him.

Most of all, allow Wilmer's story to demonstrate that perhaps the greatest tragedy of our existence is that we often forget we have complete control over whether we will make the best of our experience, or the worst of it.