The Beauty of Joey Wells

"I wanted to become a public voice so people could look up to me and say, 'One day that is what I want to be.'"

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Joey Wells had no one to look up to as a boy. There were sports figures and other celebrities – but no one like him. "I always had to pave my own way in life," says Joey, 22, who as an infant was diagnosed with Myotubular Myopathy, one of the many forms of Muscular Dystrophy.

"Words of encouragement always help people," he says. "But if you see somebody living their dream, that example impacts you tremendously." Despite what others would term as severe limitation, Joey grew up to become the very role model he so sorely needed as a child.

Joey Wells has long been a self-starter. He was determined to live an "average childhood," which he did first in Texas and later in North Dakota with his mom, two brothers and sister who treated him like any other brother. "They beat the heck out of me," he jokes. "We used humor to get through many things."

Joey first met Foundation founder Wafa Kanan during a Clear Channel Radio event for Children of Muscular Dystrophy Association in June, 2008. "At the time, I was working on my autobiography and some poems," says Joey who now lives in Shadow Hills, CA. "Wafa was very interested and encouraging. She gave me her card and promised to help me with publishing my poems. And then she told me to call her when my book was done."

True to the aims of the ALO Cultural Foundation, help is given, but most often to those who help themselves. Joey called Kanan a few months later with a complete book of poems and photographs.

Unique Image, Inc., also founded by Kanan, has since published the book, Through My Eyes. "I wrote the book because I feel that people need a voice," says Joey, who became The Foundation's first _Forever Wish Ambassador. "I’m not just talking about people with disabilities. I'm talking about everybody who wants to better themselves and realize their dreams."

The process of publishing his book was a delight for Joey who is known for writing from the heart. "Wafa and everyone at Unique Image taught me the ins and outs of the business," he says. "They allowed me to have my hands on every little detail of the book. If I asked a question of anyone - the editor, graphic designer, copy writers, secretaries - they gave me the advice I needed to make it happen.

"Most of all, Wafa has been the driving force behind this, providing the opportunity, for which I am so grateful."

The cover of Joey's book includes this note to his mother:

Dear Momma:

I promised you three things

when I was ten years old.

Today I can proudly say

I can cross one of them off.

1) Send you on a cruise

2) Buy you a house

3) Make something of myself

As a boy, Joey played street ball with his buddies along with other sports, and mostly, learned to focus on enjoying life, as he does now. Viewing the positive side of any situation is his forte.

Case in point: When he was 16, Joey had a tracheotomy, opening a hole in his windpipe so that he could breathe. Ever since he's been hooked to a respirator at night. "But it’s only at night," he insists, adding that during the day he’s free to move about, visit friends and write - just like everyone else.

When Joey moved to California at age 18, the first couple of years were hard, he says. Then he reconnected with the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). In 2008, things turned around.

"I was named Los Angeles County Goodwill Ambassador for MDA and was awarded their Robert Ross Personal Achievement Award for outstanding achievements and demonstration of success in overcoming the challenges of neuromuscular disease," he says.

That April, he began attending Glendale Community College to earn a Business Degree, holding a 3.25 GPA. He became one of the founding members of the college's power wheelchair soccer team, the Glendale Roughriders. He has accepted a Sportsmanship Award on behalf of his team, and the United States Power Soccer Assoc. awarded him the Western Regional Most Valuable Player.

Joey wants to keep writing books, as well as further his love of writing lyrics. He also would love to marry, have children and run a sports franchise.

Joey says he wrote Through My Eyes "to give back to those who supported me all these years. This was my way of saying thank you to all who inspired me and took care of my family."

For all of us who now look up to Joey as our role model, he has these words of advice:

I have my good days and my bad days. But no matter what difficulty arises, I know there is a way to get through it and benefit from the moment.

If you have the desire, you can do anything.

You must know that you can't expect anything to happen overnight. If you work and work at it, you will eventually get to be where you want to be.

Here's my basic philosophy: Face it, deal with it, see ya next year.

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Please visit Joey Wells’ website. http://joeywells.net

For every purchase, 45% supports the ALO Cultural Foundation’s Forever Wish Program. "To help others as they have helped me," says Joey.

Learn more about the ALO Cultural Foundation’s Forever Wish program.