Being disabled does not have to be a disadvantage. Thats the old saying anyway. And some people in Cincinnati want to live up to it. Their group is called May We Help. Handymen， technicians and engineers volunteer to make devices that help people with disabilities do things that others take for granted.

Bill Sand loves to spend time in his basement. He calls it his “man cave，” but theres no big screen TV， sound system or beer cooler here. Just power tools and whatever else he needs to build things. This 66-year-old is like a lot of guys who tinker. But heres where Bills a bit different. He designs and builds devices for people with disabilities， and he does it for free.

Bill： These are gifts that are special， that are lifechanging.

Here in his home workshop， Bill has made a custom scooter for a little girl who cant walk， and cello stands for sisters， even though they dont have arms. Twelve-year-old Inga and 10-year-old Ylena Elena Petry of Pennsylvania play with their feet. Their mom， Jennifer， says the girls used to prop their instruments on pillows on the floor. But that didnt really work out.

Jennifer Petry： We needed something to keep the cellos steady.

Inga Petry： When my mom told me that we were gonna get something so that my cello wouldnt wobble， I was really happy because I would be able to play it better.

The Petrys are just one of the families Bill has helped pursue their dreams. Hes made several oneof-a-kind devices for nine-year-old Ireland Reed. She has a rare genetic condition called Millers Syndrome. She needs a special walker just to stand. Bill has become a regular visitor to Irelands home in suburban Cincinnati.

Bill： Hello， Amy.

Amy Reed： Hello， Bill. How are you？

Bill： Good.

Amy： Ireland， its Bill.

Ireland is excited to see Bill， and she rolls over to him on the scooter he made for her. The family calls it her “shamrock express.” Its given her mobility shed never had before. Irelands mom， Amy， calls Bill a godsend.

Amy： Its like， how do you know？ Bill， how do you know what we need when we dont even know what we need？

During this visit， Amy says Ireland is having trouble writing with her partially formed hand. Bill crouches so he can watch carefully as the child tries to hold a pencil. He puts his hand gently around hers， thinking about what he can do to help. He brainstorms with Amy about what he might come up with， but says even a simple solution might take five or six tries.

Bill： See， Im thinking of something thatll glide real easy， that her hand is actually sitting on. Kind of like a mouse.

Amy： We cant thank him enough. I cant find the words to really tell you how its helped us and helped Ireland.

Bill Sand has done dozens of projects for families like the Reeds and Petrys.

Bill： I get to be Santa all year round. You know， every time I do a project， its like Christmas all over.

The group May We Help is hoping to expand beyond its roots in the Midwest. Theyre talking about setting up a chapter in Florida and hope it will be the start to help millions of children and adults pursue their passions despite their disabilities.

身體有殘疾并不一定是劣勢(shì)。但不管怎樣，這確是一句老話。而在美國(guó)中部城市辛辛那提，有些人身體力行，將它付諸實(shí)踐。他們建立了一個(gè)名叫“我們能幫你嗎”的志愿者社團(tuán)，成員里有能工巧匠、技師和工程師，他們自愿制造一些設(shè)備，幫助殘疾人去做一些健全人認(rèn)為再平常不過的事。

比爾·桑德喜歡花時(shí)間待在家里的地下室，他稱那是“男人的窩”。但那里沒有大屏幕電視，沒有音響系統(tǒng)，也沒有啤酒冷藏箱，有的只是電動(dòng)工具和他干活所需的東西。他今年66歲，跟眾多男人相似，喜歡敲敲打打，但有一點(diǎn)不同的是：他設(shè)計(jì)及制作助殘器具，而且是免費(fèi)的。

比爾：這些是特殊的禮物，可以改變他們的生活。

在自己家的工作間里，比爾為一個(gè)不能走路的小姑娘造了一輛特制的滑板車，又為一對(duì)沒有手臂的小姐妹造了大提琴支架。12歲的英嘉和10歲的艾琳娜·佩特里住在賓夕法尼亞州，她們用腳演奏大提琴。她們的母親珍妮弗說，兩個(gè)女孩以前將枕頭放在地上用來支撐樂器，但那不能真正解決問題。

珍妮弗·佩特里：我們需要能固定大提琴的東西。

英嘉·佩特里：媽媽告訴我，我們會(huì)有一個(gè)使我的大提琴不會(huì)搖晃的東西，我知道后真的很高興，因?yàn)檫@樣我就可以演奏得更好。

比爾曾經(jīng)幫助過許多家庭追求夢(mèng)想，佩特里家只不過是其中之一。他還為9歲的艾爾蘭·瑞德制作了好幾件獨(dú)一無二的器具，她得了一種名為米勒綜合征的罕見遺傳病，需要一個(gè)特制的助行器才能站起來。艾爾蘭家在辛辛那提市郊區(qū)，比爾成了這家的?？?。

比爾：你好，艾米。

艾米·瑞德：比爾，你好嗎？

比爾：好。

艾米：艾爾蘭，比爾來了。

艾爾蘭見到比爾很興奮，她用比爾為她做的滑板車向他滑過去。家人稱這滑板是她的“三葉草快車”，它使艾爾蘭獲得了前所未有的移動(dòng)能力。艾爾蘭的媽媽艾米稱比爾是天賜的貴人。

艾米：這真是不可思議，你是怎么知道的？比爾，連我們自己都不知道需要什么，你怎么會(huì)知道我們要什么呢？

在這次探訪過程中，艾米說艾爾蘭殘缺的手寫字時(shí)有困難。在孩子試圖握緊鉛筆時(shí)，比爾蹲下來仔細(xì)地觀察，他用手輕柔地握住她的手，想著怎樣才能幫助她。他與艾米討論著他腦海中出現(xiàn)的想法，不過他說即使是簡(jiǎn)單的方案，也需要試驗(yàn)五、六次。

比爾：你瞧，我在想做一個(gè)能很方便地滑動(dòng)的東西，她的手放在上面就行了，類似鼠標(biāo)。

艾米：我們對(duì)他真是感激不盡，我找不到合適的詞來告訴你，他做的一切對(duì)我們和對(duì)艾爾蘭有多么大的幫助。

比爾·桑德已為類似瑞德及佩特里這樣的家庭做了幾十個(gè)項(xiàng)目。

比爾：我一年到頭都可以當(dāng)圣誕老人，你知道嗎，每次我完成一個(gè)項(xiàng)目，感覺就像過圣誕節(jié)一樣。

“我們能幫你嗎”社團(tuán)希望從他們?cè)诿绹?guó)中西部的發(fā)起地向外發(fā)展擴(kuò)大，他們計(jì)劃在佛羅里達(dá)州設(shè)一個(gè)分會(huì)，希望能以此幫助千百萬小孩子和成年人，使他們克服殘疾，追求夢(mèng)想。