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Crittenden Keeps Looking Forward

Posted on: Friday, 17 March 2006, 18:00 CST

By ED CULLEN

Crittenden keeps looking forward

Renegade could be a make of bicycle or snowboard, but it's the name of Chad Crittenden's right foot which he uses to pedal bicycles, run and swim in triathlons.

When he took a break the other day from being a stay-at-home dad, athlete, writer and speaker to give a telephone interview, Crittenden mentioned that he was relearning snowboarding.

When Crittenden, 36, lost his lower right leg to cancer four years ago, he and a friend held a brief ritual for the part of his leg Crittenden was about to lose in surgery.

"I said goodbye to that part of me," he said. "That was it. Then, I was looking forward."

Forward would take Crittenden to competitions with other challenged athletes as well as able-bodied competitors. He'd survive to be the ninth castaway to be voted off an episode of "Survivor." He'd become a stay-at- home dad, a break from teaching, and become a writer and motivational speaker who tours college campuses.

Crittenden will speak at LSU at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 21, in the Union's Royal Cotillion Ballroom. His talk is free and open to the public.

Crittenden met his wife, Dianne, at an American school in San Salvador where the two taught. Dianne teaches in San Leandro, Calif., about 10 minutes from the couple's home in Oakland where her husband is house dad to a 2-year-old and a 5- year-old.

When his appearance schedule eases a bit, Crittenden may write a book for stay-at-home dads.

A fan of "Survivor" for eight seasons before he auditioned for the show two years ago, Crittenden wanted to show people how a prosthetic limb lets amputees live normal lives.

Wearing long pants and tennis shoes on a South Pacific island called Vanuatu, Crittenden performed as well as any of the "Survivor" castaways before revealing his artificial foot.

"I went two days before revealing it on my own terms. I don't walk with a limp. I'd hiked over rocks. I wanted to create a little sociological experiment.

"I wanted to see how they accepted me. I was able to keep up. That's what I talk about in my appearances on college campuses."

After Crittenden let fellow survivors in on his secret, one of the castaways said, "Let's get rid of Chad because he's weak."

"He'd gone back to his preconceived ideas" about people with disabilities, Crittenden said.

In his 30 speaking appearances since the show, Crittenden says questions about the show have become fewer.

"Disabled people want to talk about rehabilitation and being judged," he said.

Crittenden prefers "challenged" to "disabled," but said he isn't hung up on political correctness.

"You're missing a foot," he said.

"It was 'handicapped.' Then, it was 'disabled.' Now, it's physically challenged. I just heard 'differentiable.' I like 'challenged' because I like a challenge. I'm a challenged athlete."

Learning to snowboard as an amputee has been easy compared to relearning soccer, he said.

"I'm 98 percent of what I was before on a snowboard. Soccer, I'm 85 percent, and I was an accomplished soccer player before. Now, I rely on my wisdom in soccer - knowing where to be on the field."

What's his wife's reaction been to his life after the surgery to remove part of his leg?

"She wasn't surprised," he said.

"Pleasantly impressed, I hope. She wouldn't have put it past me to do what I've done."

Source: Advocate; Baton Rouge, La.

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