A lot of people believe that if a person has health issues, then he or she will never be capable of having a full and happy life. But it’s not true.
Here are stories of 5 people who have achieved their goals and brought happiness to their lives, despite illnesses or difficulties. They live the way they want and do what they love.
Turia Pitt
The story of the Australian model Turia Pitt who “lost” her face in a fire leaves no one indifferent. When she was 24, she became the victim of a terrible fire. As a result, her body burn percentage was 64%. The girl spent 6 months in the hospital, went through a lot of operations, and lost all of her fingers on the right hand and 3 fingers on the left. However, she lives a full life now, takes part in fashion photo shoots, trains, surfs, rides a bike, and works as a mining engineer.
Nando Parrado
Nando Parrado survived a plane crash and waited for help for 72 days. The crash survivors had to drink melting snow and sleep side by side so as not to freeze to death. There was very little food, so they had to eat anything they could find in the winter forest. 60 days after the crash, Nando and 2 of his friends decided to go for help through the ice desert. Nando lost almost his entire family in the plane crash, and he lost 90 lb over the following 2 months. Now he is a motivational speaker, and he tells people how to achieve their goals in life.
Jessica Cox
Jessica Cox is the world’s first licensed armless pilot. She was born in 1983 without her arms due to a rare birth defect. Her parents did everything for the girl to lead a normal life: Jessica learned how to eat by herself, get dressed, attended a regular school, and even learned to write. Since her childhood, she was afraid to fly, and even swings were too much for her. But she decided to fight her fear. In 2008, she qualified to fly a light-sport aircraft. That was how she became the first armless pilot in the world and made it into the Guinness World Records.
Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox lives with Parkinson’s disease and supports others. The leading star of Back to the Future was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 30. After that, he had troubles with alcohol. However, he managed to overcome his addiction, and he became a strong advocate of Parkinson’s disease research. Thanks to his efforts, $350 million has been collected for the research of this disease.
Patrick Henry Hughes
Patrick Henry Hughes became a musician despite his blindness and inability to walk. He was born without eyes and unable to fully straighten his arms and legs, making him unable to walk. His father introduced him to the piano at the age of 9 months. He later entered the University of Louisville and was invited to join the Louisville Marching Band, playing the trumpet while his father pushed him in his wheelchair through the marching routines. Since then, he has given a lot of concerts in the USA and has been on many TV shows together with his family.
Kenrick Vaz 