“I'm not willing to give up my life. If I set here and say I'm not going to walk again and give up things I used to do, that's what's going to happen,” said Shepard.
Three days after the accident, Shepard was out of the Intensive Care Unit and into rehab. In six weeks, he was on a long planned vacation to the Dominican Republic and when in a year, he won the handicap division at the U.S. Air Force Marathon. “I felt pretty good about that," he said.
Shepard is also an expert kayaker, hand cyclist, certified snow skiing instructor and water skier.
“Tell me I can't do it and challenge me and I will prove you wrong. That's just how I roll,” said Shepard.
There is one thing Shepard cannot do, and that is walk up stairs. When Shepard wants to run a simple errand to the Piqua Post Office, he cannot. That's because the Piqua Post Office is not handicap accessible.
"It's very frustrating that something that minor is holding me back from functioning,” said Preston.
The federal government says every crosswalk in United States has to be handicap accessible. The city of Piqua spent $61,000 to make its streets handicap accessible. But, the federal government also said decided that U.S. post offices and other government buildings built before 1968 do not have to be handicap accessible.
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, private businesses have to be accessible no matter the age of the building.
Shepard said, “Everything is a challenge, but something as simple as going to the post office should not be.”
Piqua’s postmaster told News Center 7, “It is unfortunate the building can’t be modified but it not the possible under the current law. The post office refers customers to other facilities that are accessible.”
Shepard hopes his story will drum up support to put a ramp at the Piqua Post Office.
News Center 7 took this story to U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and is still waiting for comment from his office.