Mary Gannon is a truly remarkable woman. She was born in Mexico and raised in an orphanage there. She was born with no arms. But when she was 7, she was adopted by an Ohio family. She spoke no English, but was quick to learn. Her Ohio family never gave up on her and totally support and encourage her to this day.
Mary is now a math teacher at Harding Middle School, in Lakewood, Ohio. Her students admire and respect her. The principal, Keith Aheam, says that Mary was hired on her own merit. She knows Math and can teach it well. The parents and students love her, and the remarkable thing is that when you get to know her, her disability seems to disappear.
Ms. Gannon inspires and instructs with her feet. She uses her toes as naturally as we use our fingers. She writes on the board, types on the computer and passes out papers. One of her favorite motivational signs that she puts up on her classroom walls says,”Life has no limitations except the ones you make.”
She hopes that her positive attitude will rub off on her students. In her own words, “If it’s going to inspire or help people for them to be or do better in their lives, then I’m ok with that and I hope that people gain something from me.”
She really is someone we can admire and try to imitate in her positive attitude toward life.
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