Ryan Kinnear modified his wheelchair so that he could hold and fire a rifle.
PEORIA, Ariz. — One Arizona hunter is looking to help people understand that sometimes the limitations they place on themselves are the only thing that keeps them from having a great adventure.
“What I love most about the outdoors is getting out there and pushing my limits,” Ryan Kinnear said as he held up his rifle.
Ryan Kinnear is determined to defy all the limitations of his power wheelchair.
“I have spinal muscular atrophy type 2 – it’s a progressive disease and it’s terminal,” Kinnear says.
According to Boston Children’s Hospital, spinal muscular atrophy type 2 is a rare genetic disorder in which nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain stem don’t function properly, causing muscle weakness throughout the body.
When Kinnear was diagnosed as a toddler, doctors told his parents he probably wouldn’t live past age five.
That was the first obstacle the 46-year-old had to overcome.
“I’m an old man,” Kinnear explained.
He spent most of those years playing outdoors.
“I’ve hunted and fished my whole life,” Kinnear said.
Over the years, the disease has limited Kinnear’s mobility and use of his arms, so he adapted his wheelchair to allow him to do what he loves: hunt.
“We took a standard factory rifle and disassembled it and designed a chassis to mount it on the wheelchair,” Kinnear said.
The rifle is slung over his shoulder, the scope at eye level, and Kinnear moves his chair up and down like a gun turret to aim. There’s a microswitch next to his left thumb that fires the rifle.
Ryan has hunted all sizes of game from small birds to elk, and no terrain is too tough.
“So basically, we go anywhere the trucks can go,” Ryan said.
These hunting and fishing trips wouldn’t be possible without the help of his father, Bruce Kinnear, who helps bring Ryan’s design ideas to life.
“I want him to do the best he can and experience everything he can, I want him to have the full range of hunting experiences,” Bruce Kinnear said.
Ryan’s life has always been about problem-solving, and his advice to parents of children with disabilities is to “get out of the way.”
“When a child has a disability, they are going to be dealing with challenges and often parents try to mitigate those challenges as much as possible for their child. That’s a mistake. Parents need to allow their child to find their own path, to fail and succeed,” Ryan said.
Everyone else, please give it a try.
“The main problem that everyone has, not just people with disabilities, is that we limit ourselves. We think about all the things we can’t do. We just have to go out and try,” Kinnear said.
speed up
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel: Subscribe now.