Gina Springower had her whole life figured out by the age of 21. She was a junior in college, a successful business owner, an accomplished athlete, and an all-around happy, independent young woman with a very bright future.
But in an instant, her whole trajectory took a sharp turn. No one expects this to happen to them, but when life throws it your way, you have two options: Keep powering through life with optimism, or give up on happiness. Springower? She is not a quitter, much like the brave paralyzed woman who hiked the Appalachian trail.
One night, she got into her friend's car with a sinking feeling in her stomach that something terrible was about to happen. Just a bit later, the car jumped the curve, flipped multiple times, and tossed Springower out of the car. She escaped with no noticeable injuries on the outside, but the impact through the windshield left her with an injury that changed her life forever.
She was paralyzed from the belly button down.
After nine months of rehabilitation that she mostly worked through with a smile on her face, Springower returned to her life. She finished college, and she started teaching tumbling again using her upper body. Within a few years, something new and wonderful entered her life, too: John.
He saw her for who she truly was, not for her chair. Soon enough, they were engaged to be married.
That is when Springower started keeping a secret from most of her family and friends. Only a select few, including her father and John, knew what she was hiding.
On her wedding day in 2014? Tears everywhere.
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