Fred Meyling Has Overcome Challenges, Helps Others Do the Same

Soon after Fred Meyling served his country in the U.S. Army and received an honorable discharge in 1976, he suffered a horrible accident when he fell from a roof and broke his back, which resulted a spinal cord injury that left him wheelchair-bound. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he moved with his wife and three daughters back to California, with the hope that the sea level altitude and the warmer climate might help in his recovery.

It turned out to be a good move. After several years of difficult and intense rounds of medical treatment and physical therapy, Fred Meyling was once again able to walk out of the wheelchair. Believing he was cured, he tried to put his life on something of a normal track. Unfortunately, he was a bit more tender than he thought and, in and he believed he had largely been cured. It didn’t last, however. In 1984, he made a twisting motion while picking up an empty trash can that was apparently awkward and he injured his back again. That put him back in the hospital for several months. His injuries served to make it clear to Fred Meyling was that the rejection he felt for being disabled made everything much more difficult, which is why he’s spent 30 years trying to make things better for others.

The life and times of Fred Meyling

Forty years ago, Fred Meyling stepped onto a roof having little idea that his life would soon alter with one fall. But alter drastically, it did. An accident that day in June 1976 from that very roof caused a broken back and a spinal cord injury to this husband and father of three. Spinal cord injuries (SCI) often cause temporary or permanent damage, including loss of strength, sensation or function from the site of the injury. Meyling was left unable to walk following his accident. The family relocated from Pennsylvania to California, and he underwent physical therapy as often as possible, also incorporating exercises at home. Meyling was motivated to walk again. And he did three years after his fall from the roof.

Sadly, in 1984, his fragile spine was injured again. One small twist the wrong way while completing a household task led Meyling into the hospital for two months, and then immediately into a wheelchair thereafter. But he didn’t let that stop him. Although work was a challenge to find -- and small businesses did not prove fruitful -- he utilized his time toward nonprofit and volunteer work, including three decades of dedication to Sun n Fun. Today, Fred Meyling fights against a blood order, hemochromatosis, but still finds time -- as he is able -- for volunteer work close to his heart.