By Dave Andrusko
Eliza, 21, pictured above with her proud mum Marcie after winning Ms. Wheelchair America
By any standards, Eliza McIntosh and her parents’ story is profoundly inspirational. But coming out today as the Olympics enters the homestretch, the timing couldn’t be more perfect.
The Mirror’s Josh Saunders tells us the 21-year-old was born with spinal dysgenesis, a disease which left her paralysed from the waist down. That she played on the Paralympic basketball team and was crowned Ms. Wheelchair America last weekend is a remarkable testimony to her flinty determination.
And to the faith of her parents, Michael and Marcie, who were told by doctors before Eliza was born that she was “supposed to be born in a vegetative state and unable to breath independently.”
In stories in the Mirror and the Daily Mail, McIntosh lavished praise on her parents and evidenced determination to use her platform to reach a larger audience. Her attitude is captured in this quote: “Having a disability is something you’re born with, but being disabled means you let it stop you.”
McIntosh said this was the first year she was old enough to compete in the Ms. Wheelchair America contest and that she never expected to win.
“I was surprised to represent my state [Utah] and then even getting into the top five was a massive achievement.
“While we were sitting on stage waiting for the results I was revelling in the sisterhood we had created; we all became really close.
“For me, every lady on the stage deserved the crown, in my eyes the competition is to present a united front for advocacy work in all states of America.
“Now my goal is to take on institutional, architectural and attitudinal barriers for people with disabilities, because these things hold us back more than our conditions.
Eliza, a talented wheelchair basketball player, went on to play for the US Paralympic team
Her wheelchair basketball career started when she just eight, according to the Daily Mail’s Esra Gurkian. Determined to help others access the equipment needed to play the game, in 2011 she set a Guinness World Record for the longest distance travelled while doing a wheelie. She held herself up for more than 12 miles!
What about her parents’ decision to choose life?
“Before I was born, doctors advised my parents to have an abortion because they believed I was going to be in a vegetative state, on a breathing tube and with no quality of life.
“But my parents are very religious, so are against abortions regardless, and their attitude was ‘this is the hand we’ve been dealt with, so we’ll play it as well as we can’.
“They weren’t going to let me die, they decided to modify our home to make it more accessible and have never treated me any differently.
Stephanie Deible, director of Ms. Wheelchair America, told the Mirror
“Eliza will now serve as a spokeswoman for the community, she will travel the country trying to spread her platform and awareness for people with disabilities to get positive messages out there.
“I think Eliza will be a good representative because even though she has certain challenges in life she doesn’t let them stop her.
“She’s broken a Guinness World Record, is an avid wheelchair basketball player and is out there trying to show people that life with a disability can be just as fulfilling as life without one.”
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