Sam Bloom is a paralyzed woman in Sydney and got paralyzed when she was involved into accident and now she is representing Australia in Canoe World Championship. She fell down and she broke the spine. She was leaning on a loose railing on a balcony while in holiday in Thailand. She was well before the accident and decides Kayaking in order to fight off the reality of the not being able to participate in the sports she was involved into before like cycling, running and surfing.
Lisa Kennedy
She attends Manly Warringah Kayak Club and this is where she has to be lifted in Kayak and get strapped on a special backrest. She had fallen in water many times. She had been chosen to join Australian Para Canoe Team and she will compete in Milan. This is how everything started, she did not want to became competitive, what she wanted was to be out in the water and stop to be in the wheelchair.
She goes to kayak for six times each week and she attends the gym at least three times each week. She is now having something to look out for. Her husband is Cameron and he says that this sport had helped her to recover.
After the fall, Sam suffered deep depression from the time she was told that she is paralyzed, starting from the chest to the legs. However, she got the help from the source that none expected. It was a magpie chick which fell out of the nest.
When she fell down, she was taken to a local hospital where the doctors were not happy with the prognosis. When they reached to larger hospital, she had a low blood pressure which did not allow the operation. The skull had been fractured in different places while the brain was also bruised and bleeding. The lungs had ruptured while one had already collapsed. The spine has shattered on the shoulder blades. However, in four days, the surgeons were able to work on her and she was able to recover. In six weeks, she went back to her home in Australia.
She had to spend six months while in the hospital. When she went back to her home, she found out that there are many things she is not able to do again. She would not run at the beach or to surf which were some of the things she liked. Their house overlooks the surfing spot that she liked.
According to her biography, in three months, when they went to visit her mother, her children found a magpie that had fallen at the ground and they took her at home so that they make take good care of her. Even if it was a large commitment, they agree to take the Magpie home and they named her Penguin. It was this magpie that helped Sam to get out of the depression and to enjoy the life again.
Last Modified: Jun 24, 2020