Sports

She was paralyzed. Then her husband left her. Now she’s in the Olympics

Bob CollinsBob Collins Mar 13, 2018
5

Here’s your daily dose of sweetness.

Marie Wright, Canada’s lead for the women’s wheelchair curling team at the the Paralympic Games in South Korea, is ostensibly talking about curling here but is really offering a life lesson. One rock at a time.

In 1988, she was in a one-vehicle accident in Saskatchewan that left her paraplegic. Two of her kids were in the car at the time, one suffering a brain injury, the CBC says.

Marie was in the hospital for 10 months. So was her daughter.

It gets worse.

Two years later, her husband left her. Class act, that guy.

“When my husband left sometimes I felt like giving up, but then I had my four kids. Because of my children I will not give up,” she says.

“She’s strong. She’s resilient. And she is a ton of fun. She should be the face of Canada. She is polite and happy and smiling and hilarious. A superhero really, in every way,” her daughter, Kyla says.

Her daughter, Tara, says she can’t remember a time her mother slowed down, even though she was in a wheelchair.

“She was our coach for everything. She just rocked. She was incredible,” she said.

Tara learned about her mother’s incredible feat by having three kids of her own, which is also how most kids learn about their parents.

“I did not realize the struggles she would have had until I became a mom,” Gottselig said. “She never let us see her down. She always put us first. She took us to sports. She was the most supportive person in the world.”

“Whatever happens to you in life just never give up because there’s something out there for you somewhere,” the face of Canada says.

(h/t: Paul Tosto)