As polio makes a comeback, Minda Dentler reflects on her life with the disease. Paralyzed as an infant in India, she's gone on to become a champion wheelchair triathlete and an immunization advocate.
Minda Dentler handcycling at mile 32 of The Kona Ironman in Hawaii, 2013. She's the first female wheelchair athlete to complete the Ironman World Championship. When she was an infant, her legs were paralyzed by polio."I wish all people who may be on the fence about vaccination could really meet me," she says."I'm a reminder to families that they should vaccinate their children."Minda Dentler handcycling at mile 32 of The Kona Ironman in Hawaii, 2013.
"My mother realized she couldn't take care of me," Dentler says,"so she dropped me off at an orphanage." Once at school, she often felt left out."I was just really embarrassed and self-conscious about the way I looked," she remembers."And people would stare at me and kids would make fun of me. And I really found it difficult to make friends." Her family, which included three siblings, was athletic; Dentler often watched from the sidelines, wanting to compete herself."But I couldn't," she says.
Within seven months, she learned to swim and to compete using a racing wheelchair. When Dentler finished the triathlon, she was motivated to go farther. She soon took up half-Ironman distance triathlons, a distance of nearly 70 miles. And she kept meeting people, mostly able-bodied, with extraordinary athletic ambitions, which led her to attempt her first Ironman in Hawaii. That's a distance of 140.6 miles.
In a comment worthy of a gold medal for understatement, she says,"I think it's important to stay physically active." In kindergarten, some of Maya's classmates teased her about having a mom in a wheelchair. But it didn't last long. By first grade, Dentler volunteered at the school to help kids learn to read, and soon they no longer paid attention to her wheelchair. Maya was so proud of her mom she brought her in for show and tell.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The Best Undated Planners for Year-round Staying on TrackStart these planners whenever it’s most convenient for you, not when the calendar says it’s time.
Read more »
AI Predicts Alzheimer’s Disease from a Single Brain ScanAn AI algorithm has a 98 percent accuracy rate in predicting Alzheimer's disease from one image alone, explains tweetycami
Read more »
Yes, you have to brush your kid's baby teeth — even though they're going to fall outThe most common chronic childhood disease is lurking under the radar of many parents: Dental cavities.
Read more »