Rugby Star Helps Paraplegic Walk, Inspiring the World
In 2015, Riona Kelly of Halifax fell down a flight stairs causing her to have a stroke. Her doctor told her that she would never walk again. In addition to this tragic news, her husband of 14 years filed for divorce while she was still recovering. Her doctors told her that she would be a paraplegic, but that is something that she would not accept. Kelly was determined to walk again someday.
Enter Trainer Keith Mason
Mason had a 13-year career as a rugby player and started to train Riona Kelly to help her reach her walking goal. Reeling from her accident and her recent divorce, Kelly kept fighting, using her kids as her motivation to keep going. She began to see some progress and the Doctors were amazed. .
“I was dragging my body and I had no feeling in my legs but I didn’t care,” she said. “I was walking and that’s all that mattered,” she remembered. “Every day I built up my strength and after four months in the hospital, I was finally allowed to go home.”
Soon Kelly was able to start taking normal steps again. She told the Sun that it would take her about 50 minutes to walk 32 steps. She explained that it was her kids that motivated her to keep going.
Soon after coming home from the hospital, Kelly and Mason’s relationship began to grow into something more. The two began seeing each other and have been together ever since.
Riona Kelly Inspires the World
In the five years they have known each other, the pair has refused to let anything stop them. They have completed two marathons with Mason pushing Kelly in her wheelchair. The two have also started to share their fitness journey on Tik-Tok over the last couple of months.
Check out this awesome video from the BBC that shows the impact they have around the world.
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