Spring Break
On top of the world
Rebecca Jania
Issue date: 2/3/03 Section: News
At one time, Jeffrey Dyrek was unable to sit through his classes at Western Illinois University without feeling immense pain. However, in 2002, he made the journey to stand on the geographical North Pole.
Dyrek became physically challenged due to a 200-foot fall onto rocks during a hike in June of 1977. After his injury, he worked 11 years as an avionics technician and an automated test programmer. He was eventually unable to work and was placed on full-disability retirement. He went bankrupt and moved to Illinois, where he took classes in Western’s industrial technology department.
During his junior year, Dyrek was unable to move between or sit through classes. He stopped attending classes because sitting up for more than 20 minutes would make him ill and give him long-lasting stomach pains.
To satisfy his need for mental stimulation, he started his own Web site, www.yellowairplane.com.
Dyrek was asked to help sell North Pole expeditions through the site.
“I said to myself, ‘North Pole Expeditions! This sounds great! I want to go to the North Pole myself!’” Dyrek said.
Through his efforts to help send others to the North Pole, Dyrek realized that most of the trip required trip participants to be in a lying position. When a man in a wheelchair visited the North Pole in 2001, Dyrek realized that he too could make the trip.
However, money proved to be a large hurdle for Dyrek.
“The money I needed for the trip started coming in from everywhere. I was hired as a tour guide by GE Adventures, which lowered my trip costs. I sold my motorcycle and still had to borrow $3,500 to afford the trip and have a little spending money,” Dyrek said.
Once he had enough money, the trip that he had fantasized about for two years came to life. He was part of a 26-person team. Two of his team members included Liz Nelson, the oldest woman to visit the North Pole and Siamak Hatami, the first Iranian to visit the North Pole.
Dyrek became physically challenged due to a 200-foot fall onto rocks during a hike in June of 1977. After his injury, he worked 11 years as an avionics technician and an automated test programmer. He was eventually unable to work and was placed on full-disability retirement. He went bankrupt and moved to Illinois, where he took classes in Western’s industrial technology department.
During his junior year, Dyrek was unable to move between or sit through classes. He stopped attending classes because sitting up for more than 20 minutes would make him ill and give him long-lasting stomach pains.
To satisfy his need for mental stimulation, he started his own Web site, www.yellowairplane.com.
Dyrek was asked to help sell North Pole expeditions through the site.
“I said to myself, ‘North Pole Expeditions! This sounds great! I want to go to the North Pole myself!’” Dyrek said.
Through his efforts to help send others to the North Pole, Dyrek realized that most of the trip required trip participants to be in a lying position. When a man in a wheelchair visited the North Pole in 2001, Dyrek realized that he too could make the trip.
However, money proved to be a large hurdle for Dyrek.
“The money I needed for the trip started coming in from everywhere. I was hired as a tour guide by GE Adventures, which lowered my trip costs. I sold my motorcycle and still had to borrow $3,500 to afford the trip and have a little spending money,” Dyrek said.
Once he had enough money, the trip that he had fantasized about for two years came to life. He was part of a 26-person team. Two of his team members included Liz Nelson, the oldest woman to visit the North Pole and Siamak Hatami, the first Iranian to visit the North Pole.
