Woman Paralyzed From the Waist Down Becomes an Aerial Gymnast
(INSIDE EDITION) - An Australian woman paralyzed from the waist down has trained for two years to become an aerial gymnast.
Lauren Watson, now 34, was just 19 when she suffered spinal injuries in a car crash. She was left without most of the sensory and motor function in both of her legs, and got around using a wheelchair.
But one day, she saw an aerial performance - where gymnasts climb up silks to perform moves - and decided she wanted to give it a go, she told Buzzfeed.
"I thought, 'That has to be impossible, but if I can master it I'll be able to do anything,'" she said.
After searching for a school that was prepared to teach her the moves, she joined Industry Aerial Arts, and slowly got to work. At first, she was only able to pull herself into a standing position. Even her physiotherapist told her it wasn't possible - but that made her want to push on even harder.
After two years, she was able to perform incredible moves.
She now performs with circus acts, runs a blog to inspire others with disabilities and even performed in a music video for Little Fox.
She added: "Disability or not, we are all just people chasing the dream to be the best that we can be with what we have."