13-year-old Eva Kalpidis to climb Mount Kosciuszko in wheelchair

A 13yo girl who was told she would never walk or talk after a devastating stroke as an infant will now climb Australia’s tallest mountain.

A 13-year-old girl who was told she would never walk or talk will this week climb Australia’s tallest mountain.

Eva Kalpidis, who lives with cerebral palsy on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, suffered a major stroke at just 10 days old, after which her parents were told by some of the country’s leading doctors their daughter would never walk or talk.

“It was just so unexpected and obviously incredibly unsettling,” mum Stacey told news.com.au.

“I still think about it now and can’t quite fathom it. It’s the kind of thing a parent never expects.”

Eva suffered a devastating stroke at just 10 days old, and her parents were told she would never walk or talk. Picture: Supplied.

The diagnosis and damage caused to Eva’s tiny body was devastating — but when she watched her younger brother take his first steps aged 18 months, she became determined to do the same.

“Her brother stood up and started to walk at one, and Eva watched him toddling around and stealing her toys, and from that moment I could see the determination in her little face,” Stacey said.

“She’s always been focused. She’s got guts and she’s got grit — that showed from a very early age.”

To support Eva and donate to help her raise vital funds for Cerebral Palsy Alliance visit her page

Now, she will take on Australia’s highest mountain. Picture: Supplied.

Later this month, Eva will traverse Mount Kosciuszko in a wheelchair as an ambassador for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance. She will undertake the climb alongside her mum and aunties under the name Team Sunshine.

The team will embark on the hike just days after Eva’s first day of high school, and a few months after a corrective surgery to Eva’s hip last year.

“She’s been in a wheelchair ever since that latest surgery, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to climb,” Stacey said.

“If anything, we’ve only had to slow her down and remind her that recovery takes time.”

Eva’s team has raised a record-setting amount for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance. Picture: Supplied.

She became determined to walk after watching her brother take his first steps. Picture: Supplied.

Team Sunshine has already raised more than $80,000 that will go towards a state-of-the-art gym facility to help with therapy for those living with cerebral palsy — and donations are still open.

Eva herself has undergone “every type of therapy imaginable” to assist in her goal, including hydrotherapy at six weeks old, physiotherapy twice every week, speech therapy and a school readiness program that her mum says was instrumental in allowing her to “live day-to-day life”.

Still, Stacey said she never doubted her daughter, describing her as “like a bull at a gate”.

“I always knew she would walk,” she said.

“She was never going to take no for an answer.”

To sponsor Eva’s climb visit www.krazykosciklimb.com.au/fundraisers/teameva

Originally published as 13-year-old Eva Kalpidis to climb Mount Kosciuszko in wheelchair