Life puts many obstacles in our way over the years. However, as it can be difficult to overcome it may seem, we are more than capable to face and get over them. This is the case of people with a spinal cord injury who thanks to their positive spirit towards life have been fighting since and have excelled in what they wanted to achieve.
We would like to share with you three wonderful stories in this post about people who turned their misfortune into an opportunity to be better every day.
A paralympic sportwoman
Ruth Aguilar is a Paralympic athlete who suffered a car accident in 1992. Since then she has been living with a spinal cord injury. According to her, she was “lucky enough” to survive the accident and make it through to becoming a “strong person”. In her case, sport was a blessing and helped her to reinvent herself.
When Ruth suffered the spinal cord injury 22 years ago, she was already an elite athlete and one of the talents of Spanish handball. Against all odds this accident did not stop her from pursuing her dream and she said: “I started practising sport at a professional level and kept practising several disciplines until reaching my target. My dream was to participate in the Paralympic Games and to set very high standards”.
Finally, Ruth was a paralympic athlete in London 2012 in the Spanish National Athletics Team and is the Spanish champion at Shot Put and Javelin Throw. She still holds the Spanish record for these two categories.
A painter
Another female example of excellence is Marta Frutos who also suffered a car accident in 1996 which left her a spinal cord injury. Currently Marta has become a great art painter with over hundred artistic paintings completed.
Marta started painting when she was nine years old but she stopped after some time. After suffering the car crash, she decided to take up her hobby and had to adapt to a new technique: painting with her mouth or foot.
Thanks to the Aspaym association she had Access to different workshops. “I was not very happy with it at the beginning. I felt strange and watched and was trying to paint the same way I used to do with my hands but you change your mind eventually. It was then when I became truly aware of what happened to me and had to accept that I was not the same person”.
A pilot
He is the last of our three heroes. Joan Lascorz crashed in a very quick portion during the Imola circuit in 2012. Crashing toward a mall caused him a spinal cord injury that left him quadriplegic.
Thanks to his will power, positive spirit and passion for cars Joan exceeded all expectations when he became a rally quadriplegic pilot. He made history in the motor world in 2016 when he became the Spanish champion at Buggies.
These are just three examples of great people who overcome the hardships that a spinal cord injury involves. There are many great examples in the world to be followed.
