Claire Lomas is an inspiration to us all. If you, like me, have been living in a hole and hadn’t heard of her prior to this I’ll bring you up to speed. Among her many occupations are Mother, motivational speaker and extraordinarily prolific fundraiser. The spring of 2012 saw her complete the London Marathon in 16 days, raising £210, 000 in the process. More recently, she completed a 400-mile bike ride around England, giving motivational speeches along the way in what we would call ‘breaktime’. While such achievements are phenomenal in themselves, they enhanced by one fact: Claire is paralysed from the waist down.
Formerly an Event-rider at a high level, a freak accident during a trial resulted in a fractured neck back and ribs. But more crucially damage to her spinal cord – an affliction which almost always inevitably causes paralysis. Although she was told walking again was out of the question, she challenged herself to defy this fact. And did so. Her 16 day Marathon was completed on two legs, in a robotic walking suit. The suit itself was a feat of modern engineering,using a computer system and motion sensors to give Claire back some mobility in her legs. Her 400-mile bike ride was completed on a handbike, using only her arms to power her along. She overcame such extreme hardship, physical, mental and emotional to be the woman she is today – doing great things for what seems like fun. Who knows what will be next for this exceptional person?
There will be daily battles, good days and bad days – but stick with it, and you’ll almost certainly win the war.
What does her story teach us? As well as the many others who suffer from some sort of paralysis? Resilience. Courage. These stories we hear are extremes; many of us are fortunate not to be in such a position. But we still experience setbacks and stare deep into the eyes of adversity. Adversity is out to put you down, but it doesn’t expect you to fight back. There will be daily battles, good days and bad days – but stick with it, and you’ll almost certainly win the war.
This example isn’t saying go out and run a marathon – it’s saying whatever you see as hard, difficult, impossible is doable. No matter what is holding you back.
It’s not about whether you get knocked down, because in life, at some point that’s a certainty. But it’s about whether you get up and face your demons and problems, head on.
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