Making Tracks | Thalidomide and I | The Imaginary Wheelchair

Randy offers three different Keynote Presentations. All 3 are presented from his life experience and expertise. A standard Keynote request would be for a 90-minute presentation, but Randy will work with the event planner to accommodate their needs. Randy is more than willing to take questions, but this should be requested up front as it will impact on the length of the Presentation. All Keynotes can be customized, highlighting specific areas and downplaying others. Randy varies his presentations to appeal to specific audiences and to meet the goals of the event. Making Tracks A life experience presentation Inspirational / motivational theme Many humorous anecdotes

This hard-hitting and emotional presentation takes the audience on a journey through Randy's life, which is both tumultuous and exciting.

From his youth (click for a sound bite from Randy at 9 years of age talking about disability) undergoing many surgical procedures and surviving long hospitalizations, to the crazy teen years struggling for acceptance, to Randy's exciting professional career, the audience will feel many of Randy's experiences, highs and lows!

Randy "gets real" about living with his many disabilities, and his ingenuity in accommodating his needs. Randy speaks at length about misconceptions he has battled as a man with a visible disability. One of the many moments Randy reveals in this carefully crafted presentation is the first day he realized he was a person with a disability … until that day, he had always believed that all children were disabled and grew into an able-bodied state.

Throughout this stimulating presentation, Randy talks about the "demon" that haunted him, the drug that caused his malformations --- Thalidomide!

The audience will be on a roller-coaster ride through the world of artificial limbs, institutionalization, self-imagery, empowerment and independence, integration, medical treatment, the struggle to fit in and find one's place, and so on …

There is something for everyone in this unique oration. Many of Randy's proudest moments are those that many take for granted. After this presentation, people realize how special each individual is and the real potential of the individual.

Randy does not take an "if I can do it, you can" attitude; rather, he sets out his many experiences and leaves the audience drawing conclusions for themselves. Randy's message is that of everybody having the potential within themselves to accomplish those things they deem most important.

Randy's story to tell is a journey of many adventures culminating in a life-changing event.

Most Audience Appeal:

Born in 1961, disabled as a consequence of the drug thalidomide, Randy Warren would go on to become a historical figure in the saga that is a story too hard to believe and very hard to tell.

As a thalidomider, Randy presents the reality of living with malformations that should never have happened. Randy's life path and the history of Thalidomide are carefully interwoven to provide the audience with the experience of living the reality and emotion from the "inside". Randy worked firsthand with survivors of the drug and their families for over 10 years, helping to co-found the Canadian Victims Association.

Randy's unique approach to problem solving and delivering those solutions highlight a presentation which culminates with the drug's return and Randy's rising to a historic moment. The exciting world of advocacy, the murky world of politics and justice, the naive world of trust, and the seeming "David meets Goliath" struggle in dealing with the pharmaceutical industry, make for an exciting 90-minute presentation that flies by.

This presentation defies the tradition of two opposing forces working from separate ends of the spectrum, and displays the benefits of people coming together to accomplish common goals, respecting each other's differences. Randy takes you inside the journey of thalidomiders struggling to deal with the drugs return and their real fears that another tragedy could happen! Often emotional, certainly witty, Randy brings to life a journey often written about in black and white! Randy brings the "grayness" of many moral issues and compromises to light.

Randy delights in telling the story of how one person can impact the world with a simple message. Randy delights in telling the story of how people are not always what they appear to be! Randy delights in telling the story of Thalidomide.

From struggling to deal with his own disabilities, to forming a victims self-help group, to becoming an expert in the drug that caused his disability, Randy takes the audience on a journey that is intricate, complex, and inspiring. Culminating with a simple Canadian man making the presentation of his life in front of an FDA Advisory Committee (click here to view a clip of this Presentation), Randy weaves a tale from his own life that is both exciting and dramatic.

Throughout the Presentation, Randy provides interesting and little known facts about thalidomide, and the major players in its history.

This presentation is not just one of inspiration and tenacity, but also one that will educate people about the most notorious pharmaceutical tragedy in history. Learning about the Thalidomide Saga from a "human" perspective is a powerful experience. Randy's ability to weave his life and the history of thalidomide into one experience leaves the audience cheering and questioning. From the credibility of Randy's impressive career in thalidomide issues, audiences will enter a world they are rarely exposed to.

Randy is most effective in spreading the message that the risk of "thinking outside of the box" and "bucking the system" can be beneficial for all. Randy, by symbolizing the thalidomide tragedy, is a shining example for pharmaceutical companies and government bureaucracies, of why the burden of regulation is not only necessary, but also life saving. Randy turns the world upside down with an interesting view of details and words!

Most Audience Appeal:

• Pharmaceutical Companies (gatherings, sales training, annual meetings)
• Government Agencies
• Charities
• Pharmacists / Medical Professionals
• Colleges / Universities
• Historical Societies
• Anyone wanting to learn …

The Imaginary Wheelchair

• An educational Presentation
• A mixture of fact and feeling; drawn from a first-hand account
• Delivers sound conclusions
• Eye-opening and Jarring
• "Real"

This cross-disability presentation touches on issues facing all people with disabilities from both the consumer and advocacy perspective to a service-providing view. Randy's eclectic career has positioned him uniquely to tackle the many concerns of people with disabilities. Through a gritty and non-compromising Presentation, Randy espouses the theme of "inclusiveness", but not in a way often heard. Randy challenges the traditional concepts of entitlement and "looking after" and turns them on their ear. Randy talks about citizenship issues and accountability.

From his first-hand experience at the top of the advocacy movement, to his homespun experiences as a person with a disability, to his professional successes as a service provider, Randy weaves all three views into one simple message.

Randy's expertise in "the duty to accommodate", youth with disabilities, cross-disabilities (all forms of disability...), access, sexuality, employment, Home Care, attendant care, and advocacy, provide for a lively and diverse presentation. Randy weaves his own personal and professional experiences together to drive home the "disconnect" that exists in society. Randy takes on the establishment, but not the one you would expect! Randy takes on traditional advocacy and traditional service-providing organizations, challenging both to change their realities. Randy does this, not from a pulpit, but rather by talking about concrete examples from his own experiences, which show that new approaches and new thinking can be successful! Randy focuses heavily on "quality of life" as the engine that should drive delivery of services. Randy believes that dignity and individualization is the real key to future success in incorporating everyone into the mosaic that is society.

As tough as he is, through often humorous life experiences, on service-providers, Randy also "pushes the envelope" when relating the approach of his own community! Randy believes in accountability and the responsibility of each individual. Randy points out the gaps in the thinking of people with disabilities themselves, and their need to evolve the movement to a more professional level.

Any one subject explored by Randy in this Presentation can be a Keynote in their own right (and Randy will provide workshops if asked), but all together they are dynamic pieces of a puzzle that is the individual. By using his own life as a model, Randy speaks eloquently, and controversially, about what works and what doesn't. Randy shatters myths, and talks at length about the "culture and history" of people with disabilities.

Audiences leave this presentation "challenged" and thinking. Randy's ability to extend himself past his own disability, and to speak in a more general sense, opens eyes about what is disability. Randy's unique observations about the differences between birth and acquired disabilities are insightful and controversial.

Most Audience Appeal:

• Service-Providing Agencies
• General Audiences
• AGM's
• Corporations / Labour
• Health Care Agencies
• Educators

back to top