Gary Weiland

Hello everyone. My name is Gary Weiland and I have been a firefighter since 2011. I had a series of unfortunate events happen to me in 2018 which caused my leg to be amputated. It was a very difficult time in my life but through my family, friends, faith, and fortitude, I was able to get back to full duty firefighting without any restrictions in 2019.

Since then, I've been speaking at schools about overcoming obstacles and challenges in life and how to Never Give Up no matter what. I've competed on the TV show "American Ninja Warrior" twice and made history as the only amputee to advance to the Semi-Finals! I've also had the opportunity to be on the U.S. ParaBobsled Team and I won the National Championship in March of 2023!

I just published my first children's book (K-6th) called Fischer's Accident. It is about a firefighter who gets injured on the job and his leg gets amputated. He gets a prosthetic leg and learns how to walk, run, and eventually gets back to firefighting. It is actually the 1st book in a 5-book series. Book 2 is called Fischer Finds a Friend. Fischer meets and adopts a 3-legged puppy and names her Stitch. They seem to have something in common. :) In books 3,4 and 5, Fischer and Stitch go on different adventures together where Fischer teaches Stitch (and the readers) all about fire safety, how to act during emergencies, and many other life lessons.

The purpose of this series is 2-fold. First, I want the young readers to see that the main character in a book may not look like everyone else and that's ok! Our differences are what make us human. Second, the message to the older readers is that no matter what happens to you in life, you can Adapt and Overcome! Never give up. If you put your mind to something, anything is possible. I know from experience. :)

Since this book has been published, I have had numerous teachers reach out to me and ask me to come read my book to their class and share my story a little bit and how to overcome obstacles and challenges in life. I absolutely love it! This is the vision I had for this series and it is coming true. Never give up guys. Keep moving forward. Adapt and Overcome!

www.GaryWeiland.com