For those who have a love for film or just want to kick back and relax for a couple hours Sonoma State will be showing “4 Wheel Bob” on Wed. Nov. 20 in Ives 101. The film, “4 Wheel Bob” is an award-winning documentary that tells the incredible story of Bob Coomber.
Bob Coomber is a fearless adventurer who begins a journey across the 11,845-foot Kearsarge Pass in the Sierra Nevada. However, the twist that makes him extremely courageous and admirable is he sets out to do this despite the fact that he is in a wheelchair, making him the first wheelchair hiker.
Throughout his whole life Bob Coomber was a very active person. He took part in various different sports during his adolescence, basketball and track being his favorites. With age he acquired diabetes; it came about completely undiagnosed. All of a sudden he began losing weight as well as his energy. One day he was taking a walk along the beach and his left leg completely broke into thousands of pieces solely due to the weight that was being put on it. This incident left Coomber in a wheelchair.
Although this was a major setback in his active lifestyle he did not let this discourage him. While he was bedridden for the first few months after this accident, he spent time in his bed looking up hiking trails that he soon hoped to climb.
“Being in a wheelchair is not always the end of everything. You can get people out there and encourage people to get out there, get walking, get involved with their own fitness and their own health,” said Coomber in the trailer for the movie.
It is not as if Coomber immediately began hiking trails right after his accident. It took a lot of time and exercise to help build his strength and stamina. This documentary guides its audience through that process, his day to day life, different events he takes part in, and the journey of climbing Kearsarge Pass.
This journey is already extremely difficult for Coomber due to the fact that he is in a wheelchair but making this journey a million times more threatening for him is his type 1 diabetes. With the altitudes and vigorous work, Coomber has to keep a close eye on his blood sugar levels because it can change suddenly, he has to be aware so he can steer clear from a diabetic coma. Despite all the worries and stress this may cause Coomber and his family, he still continues to do what he loves.
“The draw to me is to be out in nature and whether you go 20 miles or a hundred yards you can have the same experience and that is why I keep pushing to get to the kind of places that I go,” said Coomber.
This film being shown on campus is a great opportunity to raise awareness as well as motivate many students. Although Coomber could have let all of these events in his life discourage him from continuing his active lifestyle he chose not to. He chose to push himself because he knew he was capable of doing so.
One of the many things that Sonoma State wants the students to take away from this film is to not judge someone based off of their disabilities. “Always treat people as an equal. Don’t assume that help is needed just because of a disability,” said Tal Skloot, a professor at Sonoma State. This film proves that to everyone as well as shows the amazing perseverance that Coomber had regardless of the struggles he faced.
