Alvin Law (Photo supplied)

By James Dunn

March of Dimes Canada

Man born with no arms brings message of self-esteem to Red Deer

Feb 15, 2020 | 8:00 AM

An inspirational speaker is bringing his inspirational story to Red Deer next month.

Alvin Law was born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan during the early 1960’s at a time when women were giving birth to children with birth defects due to the use of a drug called ‘Thalidomide.’

Law was born with no arms and grew up in a foster home after being homeless at five days of age. But, Law accepted his condition and still lived a normal childhood.

He says his message isn’t filled with narcissism or being egotistical, but instead is a message of self-esteem.

“I really believe that in a very short amount of time, I can change just about anyone’s perspective on how they see everything,” he says.

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“When I talk to any kinds of people, I try to remind them to not only look at others maybe differently then they might if they feel sorry or if they feel angry at people. But more than anything to take a look at themselves and really appreciate what we have. I know that sounds cheesy but it’s a really great way to live life.”

While in school, Law found a passion for music, specifically the drums. Law says he took great inspiration from Neil Peart of Rush.

“There is that saying Malcom Gladwell popularized in his book about 10,000 hours makes you an expert at what you do. It’s ironic, I would spend my time in my basement in Saskatchewan, not because I wasn’t popular, but because I didn’t feel like I needed to be hanging out at the corner store. I was so lucky that I had a set of drums in the basement, I had my trombone in my basement. Those first two instruments were a passion for me. Quite often, my parents would tell me to stop playing because I was making too much noise.”

Even though Law was playing these instruments with his feet, Law never felt special or unique.

“When you have that kind of passion, your mind isn’t going ‘jeez I’m doing this with my feet’. Because I was born this way, I never thought about my feet that way. I thought about them as, not only my hands, but a vehicle to whatever I need to do.”

Law will be telling more of his story and his message at the Memorial Centre on April 14 with March of Dimes Canada, a charity organization helping children with physical disabilities.

“Red Deer isn’t a small town, but it has a small town feel. I think when you can feel a part of the community, when you can become an entity that isn’t unusual, but people embrace you. That’s really a powerful tool for developing self-esteem. I think that’s why the bullying subject or even when you’re odd, unusual, or handicapped can be very tricky because how are you supposed to feel good about something when you’re just not feeling good. That’s why we need to do this positive attitude approach, because it’s centered on positive energy.”

You can get tickets to see Alvin Law at the Black Knight Inn or online at tickets.blackknightinn.ca