Nahara Rodriguez

After accident still achieves (Yahoo!)

Nahara Rodriguez is a very strong woman. Surviving a car accident was one of the greatest fears she had to face during life. Paralyzed from the waste down, blood clots formed and developed in her legs. Living in Puerto Rico most all of her life, she came to the United State to have surgery done on her lower back.

Having a metal rod placed in her back would make her wait a long time to heal. She and her family stayed in a hotel for so long, it became like a home. Living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was hard for her. She had to say good-bye to old friends and hello to new ones. It was difficult for her family to talk English. Her mom could only speak a little here and there so they had to hire a translator.

Swimming all of her life since June 16 of 1983 she wasn’t about to give up her dreams. Winning the Courage Award shows that she felt honorable and the people around her made her believe in herself. Doing what she loves to do and finally accomplishing her goal of swimming again, Nahara surprised herself with her own will by achieving her goal.

Accomplishing her goals made me believe that she was brave. Being a mermaid in the water since she got in the car accident she had to go to physical therapy for three or more years. Even with slimy, mermaid legs she still believed in herself. Sooner or later she was going to accomplish her dream by getting in the water again for the first time. The Courage Award went to her because she worked so hard to get where she is today.

Nahara worked extremely hard towards making her legs a lot stronger than they were before. My hero is not just about how she survived that accident but also how she lived through the pain and suffering. She shows me how hard she really worked to get to live her dreams.