Morris E. Goodman

Last updated
Morris E. Goodman
Born (1945-11-09) November 9, 1945 (age 76)
NationalityAmerican
Other names"The Miracle Man"
OccupationMotivational speaker, author
Known forSurviving a plane crash that almost made him not able to speak, walk, move and eat.
Spouse(s)Cathy Goodman
Website Official website

Morris E. Goodman (born November 9, 1945) [1] is an American motivational speaker and author. Goodman has been called "The Miracle Man" following his recovery from a plane crash which left him paralyzed and unable to move, breathe, talk or swallow. [2]

Contents

Biography

In the summer of 1970 Goodman "was a college dropout, lacking purpose and direction" according to his 1985 autobiography. [1] At a local book store, Goodman found the 1937 book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, [3] as well as other books and tapes by motivational speakers such as Zig Ziglar. Following this, Goodman sought a sales career in the insurance industry, where his uncle worked. Within a year, he had joined the Million Dollar Round Table, an association of insurance salesmen. Within ten years, he was running his own company, Morris Goodman and Associates. [1]

In March 1981 Goodman had obtained his pilot's license and had bought his own airplane, a Cessna 172. On March 10, 1981, Goodman took a flight around Chesapeake Bay and the southern tip of the Delmarva Peninsula. Without any warning, the plane's engine lost power. Goodman attempted to maneuver the aircraft back toward the airstrip in Cape Charles, Virginia, to make an emergency landing. (The official NTSB accident report makes no mention of engine trouble.) [4] As he approached the runway, the plane flew through a low-hung set of power lines, crashed to the ground, and flipped over. Goodman broke his C-1 (atlas) and C-2 (axis) cervical vertebrae, and was left fully paralyzed. He was unable to breathe, talk, or swallow on his own, [5] and could only communicate by blinking his eyes. [6]

After initial treatment at a local hospital in nearby Nassawadox, Virginia, Goodman was moved to Norfolk General in Norfolk, Virginia, where surgery was performed. Goodman's sister, Pat Waldo, realized that Goodman was conscious by noticing his limited eye movement. Waldo constructed a series of charts which contained the alphabet and other important subjects, each item correlating to a particular number. Goodman was able to blink his eyes for the number of times to relate to a particular object on each chart, which allowed Goodman to communicate in a limited capacity. [1]

On April 6, 1981, Goodman was transferred to the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, Virginia. After weeks of intense practice, voluntarily using other abdominal muscles, Goodman was able to take his first breath without the use of a machine. [5] Doctors slowly reduced the settings on Goodman's ventilator until he was finally able to breathe on his own. Soon Goodman began working with speech therapists until he was able to utter a single word - "Mama." On June 1, 1981, Goodman was moved to The Towers - a former rehabilitation center at UVA Medical Center where he began to eat, and began working on learning to walk again. [1]

On July 6, 1981, Goodman was admitted to the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center in Fishersville, Virginia. With physical therapy and occupational therapy, Goodman continued to work to improve his leg muscle strength and stamina until he could stand on his own. After several weeks, Goodman was able to walk unassisted, and was released on November 13, 1981. [1]

Morris has since gone on to become a world-renowned motivational speaker who has worked with many Fortune 500 companies and religious organizations. [3]

Media appearances

Goodman wrote a book about his experiences, The Miracle Man: An Inspiring Story of Motivation and Courage. [1] A motivational/training short film about Morris' experience was also made, [7] and a feature film of his story, written and to be directed and produced by filmmaker Brian Jude is currently in development. [8] [9] Goodman also appeared in Rhonda Byrne's documentary film and book The Secret . [10] [11]

Related Research Articles

James Samuel Morris Jr. is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for two seasons with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Although brief, Morris' career is noted for making his MLB debut at the age of 35 and after undergoing several arm surgeries. His story was dramatized in the 2002 film The Rookie.

Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 1988 aviation accident at DFW airport

Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight between Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas and Salt Lake City, Utah. On August 31, 1988, the flight, using a Boeing 727-200 series aircraft, crashed during takeoff, resulting in 14 deaths and 76 injuries of the 108 on board.

Alaska Airlines Flight 261 Aviation accident over the Pacific Ocean in 2000

Alaska Airlines Flight 261 was an Alaska Airlines flight of a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 plane that crashed into the Pacific Ocean on January 31, 2000, roughly 2.7 miles north of Anacapa Island, California, following a catastrophic loss of pitch control, killing all 88 souls on board: two pilots, three cabin crew members, and 83 passengers. The flight was a scheduled international passenger flight from Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport in Seattle, Washington, United States, with an intermediate stop at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California.

United Airlines Flight 232 1989 aviation accident

United Airlines Flight 232 was a regularly scheduled United Airlines flight from Stapleton International Airport in Denver to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, continuing to Philadelphia International Airport. On July 19, 1989, the DC-10 serving the flight crash-landed at Sioux City, Iowa, after suffering a catastrophic failure of its tail-mounted engine due to an unnoticed manufacturing defect in the engine's fan disk, which led to the loss of many flight controls. Of the 296 passengers and crew on board, 112 died during the accident, while 184 people survived. Despite the deaths, the accident is considered a prime example of successful crew resource management because of the large number of survivors and the manner in which the flight crew handled the emergency and landed the airplane without conventional control. It is also the deadliest accident in the history of United Airlines.

Mike Eruzione American ice hockey player

Michael Anthony "Rizz, Rizzo" Eruzione ; born October 25, 1954) is an American former ice hockey player. He is best known as the captain of the 1980 Winter Olympics United States national team that defeated the Soviet Union in the famous "Miracle on Ice" game, in which he scored the game-winning goal. He is the author, with Neal E. Boudette, of the national bestseller, The Making of a Miracle: The Untold Story of the Captain of The Gold Medal-Winning 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, published by HarperCollins.

Air Canada Flight 797 1983 in-flight fire on a DC-9

Air Canada Flight 797 was an international passenger flight operating from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Montréal–Dorval International Airport, with an intermediate stop at Toronto Pearson International Airport. On 2 June 1983, the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 operating the service developed an in-flight fire in air around the rear lavatory that spread between the outer skin and the inner decor panels, filling the plane with toxic smoke. The spreading fire also burned through crucial electrical cables that disabled most of the instrumentation in the cockpit, forcing the plane to divert to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Ninety seconds after the plane landed and the doors were opened, the heat of the fire and fresh oxygen from the open exit doors created flashover conditions, and the plane's interior immediately became engulfed in flames, killing 23 passengers who were unable to evacuate the aircraft.

"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (1939) is a short story by James Thurber. The most famous of Thurber's stories, it first appeared in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and was first collected in his book My World and Welcome to It. It has since been reprinted in James Thurber: Writings and Drawings, is available on-line on the New Yorker website, and is one of the most anthologized short stories in American literature. The story is considered one of Thurber's "acknowledged masterpieces". It was made into a 1947 film of the same name, with Danny Kaye in the title role, though the film is very different from the original story. It was also adapted into a 2013 film, which is again very different from the original.

Og Mandino American writer

Augustine "Og" Mandino II was an American author. He wrote the bestselling book The Greatest Salesman in the World. His books have sold over 50 million copies and have been translated into over 25 languages. He was the president of Success Unlimited magazine until 1976 and was inducted into the National Speakers Association's Hall of Fame.

Frank Tallman

Frank Gifford Tallman III was a stunt pilot who worked in Hollywood during the 1960s and 1970s. He was the son of Frank Gifford Tallman, Jr. and Inez Evelyn Foster.

<i>The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty</i> American television series

The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty is an American animated and partially live-action television series, produced by Filmation, which originally aired for one season Saturday mornings on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) from September 6 to November 29, 1975. Howard Morris, Jane Webb, and Allan Melvin provided voices for the three main characters on the series. The show follows a cat named Waldo who daydreams of being a superhero and defeating the villainous bulldog Tyrone. It was inspired by James Thurber's 1939 short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", and his wife Helen Thurber sued Filmation in 1975 for creating the series without the permission of her late husband's estate. The outcome of the decision resulted in the series being retitled in future broadcasts as The New Adventures of Waldo Kitty.

The Law of Attraction is a New Thought spiritual belief that positive or negative thoughts bring positive or negative experiences into a person's life. The belief is based on the ideas that people and their thoughts are made from "pure energy" and that a process of like energy attracting like energy exists through which a person can improve their health, wealth, and personal relationships. There is no empirical scientific evidence supporting the law of attraction, and it is widely considered to be pseudoscience.

Southern Airways Flight 242 1977 aviation accident

Southern Airways Flight 242 was a flight from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to Atlanta, Georgia, with a stop in Huntsville, Alabama. On April 4, 1977, it executed a forced landing on Georgia State Route 381 in New Hope, Paulding County, Georgia, United States, after suffering hail damage and losing thrust on both engines in a severe thunderstorm.

Nick Vujicic Serbian Australian evangelist

Nicholas James Vujicic is an Australian American Christian evangelist and motivational speaker born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterised by the absence of arms and legs.

Our Lady of Bechouat Marian shrine in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Bechouat, also spelled Beshouat or Beshwat, is a Marian shrine in the village of Bechouat in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon.

2008 South Carolina Learjet 60 crash Fatal air crash during take-off

On the night of September 19, 2008, a Learjet 60 business jet operating for Global Exec Aviation crashed during take-off from Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina.

US Airways Flight 1549 2009 passenger plane accident in the US with successful ditching in the Hudson River

On January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549, an Airbus A320 on a flight from New York City's LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte, North Carolina struck a flock of birds shortly after take-off, losing all engine power. Unable to reach any airport for an emergency landing due to their low altitude, pilots Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and Jeffrey Skiles glided the plane to a ditching in the Hudson River off Midtown Manhattan. All 155 people on board were rescued by nearby boats, with only a few serious injuries.

Healing the paralytic at Capernaum Miracle carried out by Jesus according to the Bible

Healing the paralytic at Capernaum is one of the miracles of Jesus in the synoptic Gospels. Jesus was living in Capernaum and teaching the people there, and on one occasion the people gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left inside the house where he was teaching, not even outside the door. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man but could not get inside, so they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and then lowered the man down. When Jesus saw how faithful they had been, he said to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

<i>Flight</i> (2012 film) 2012 drama film by Robert Zemeckis

Flight is a 2012 American drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by John Gatins and produced by Walter F. Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, Steve Starkey, Zemeckis and Jack Rapke. It stars Denzel Washington as William "Whip" Whitaker Sr., an alcoholic airline pilot who miraculously crash-lands his plane after a mechanical failure, saving nearly everyone on board. Immediately following the crash, he is hailed a hero but an investigation soon leads to questions that cast the captain in a different light. The film is loosely inspired by the plane crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261.

Brian Jude is an American screenwriter, film producer, director, actor, internet radio host and motivational speaker.

Scott Wiley Fedor is a motivational speaker, author, and disability advocate.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Goodman, Morris (1985). The Miracle Man: An Inspiring Story of Motivation and Courage. Miracle Man Productions, Inc. ISBN   0-13-585357-5.
  2. "Morris Goodman: In The Blink Of An Eye". Christian Broadcasting Network. 11 December 2006. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  3. 1 2 Success Magazine: "Morris Goodman: Miracle Man" June, 2013 http://www.success.com/article/morris-goodman-miracle-man
  4. https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=28506&key=0 [ bare URL ]
  5. 1 2 "CNN.com - Larry King Live Transcripts" 2006-10-27. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0610/27/lkl.01.html.
  6. "The Violet Ray Magazine, August 2, 2010 http://issuu.com/violetray/docs/tvr_go_green_dec08.
  7. "The Product Previews". Themiracleman.org. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  8. "IW's Project of the Week "The Miracle Man"; Vote Again! | Filmmakers, Film Industry, Film Festivals, Awards & Movie Reviews". Indiewire. 2011-11-08. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  9. "Secret Story: "The Miracle Man" As A Feature Film".
  10. "The Secret Book :: Official Web Site of The Secret and The Power". Thesecret.tv. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  11. "The Secret Film :: Official Web Site of The Secret and The Power". Thesecret.tv. Retrieved 2012-08-02.