Heartwarming moment paraplegic stands up on 30th birthday
Footage has emerged of the heartwarming moment a woman who was crushed by a 600kg horse stands up on her 30th birthday.
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Footage has emerged of the moment a woman – who was crushed by a 600kg horse – stood up in front of her family and friends for the first time after the accident.
Hacia Atherton, 34, was told she would never walk again after a horse reared up and fell on her during equestrian championship training when she was 29.
The Melbourne woman was rushed to hospital with a crushed pelvis, nerve damage and spinal injuries.
Despite a nine-hour surgery, Ms Atherton was left wheelchair bound and told she would never walk “in a meaningful way” again.
On her 30th birthday, Ms Atherton told her friends and family that she had “a surprise” to show them, as her sister and husband helped her to stand up.
In an emotional moment, with tears rolling down Ms Atherton’s face, she told the group “you’re the reason I do this”.
“I couldn’t do it without any of you. So thank you so much for coming here and supporting me,” she said.
The crowd can be heard clapping in response to the heartfelt message.
In an interview on The Project on Tuesday, Ms Atherton said going from an athlete to relearning how to walk again changed her core identity.
“It was kind of like my soul was taken out of my body and I was just a bag of bones, skin and muscle lying there with no purpose to do anything. I was alive but what made me live was gone,” she said.
Just five months after the accident, Ms Atherton stood up on her own for the first time and was walking up to almost a kilometre with a frame.
Two years after her first steps, the former athlete was walking 5km on her own.
“After that first 5km I was in a different headspace. I was standing there with my partner and dogs just overflowing with gratitude and joy. I realised how much magic there is in the world,” she said.
“I would think ’you used to be a high level athlete and now you can’t walk a kilometre without assistance and struggle with your bladder’.”
She has also completed a half-marathon and more than one 100km bike ride.
Since the accident, Ms Atherton has reignited her passion for the trades while educating herself on how women experience hardship in the industry.
The now 34-year-old worked as a welder in her family’s factory before delving heavily into horse riding.
Ms Atherton has started a charity called “Empowered Women in Trades” to secure jobs for women in the male-dominated industry.
The industry is represented by just 3 per cent of women, although the now activist aims to boost this number to 25 per cent by 2030.
“I learned so much about positive psychology in hospital and now know that women in trades don’t feel like there is that psychological safety in the industry, so we are giving them the training and the support so that’s no longer a barrier,” she said.
“It is heartbreaking when women tell me that there are no job opportunities for them, especially where they can earn a decent living wage.
“It reminds me of when I was in hospital thinking I no longer had opportunities, that walking wasn’t on the table for me,”
The charity also aims to help women find courses at TAFE that will support them in securing an apprenticeship.
Originally published as Heartwarming moment paraplegic stands up on 30th birthday
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