The real obstacles are those who cannot overcome the obstacle that comes their way.

The lives of most people with disabilities have not been easy, and that is why they are an example and a source of inspiration. December 3 is celebrated as the “International Day of Persons with Disabilities”. Today, we will talk about the names that overcame their obstacles and attract attention with their potential, even in different parts of the world.

Frida Kahlo

Frida suffered from polio as a child, and according to some sources she also had spina bifida in her right leg, which causes dysmetria. In addition, due to an accident in her adolescence, her spine problems worsened and she had physical problems all her life. Frida spent most of her life in bed due to severe pain.

Still, he has become one of the most celebrated artists of all time and an icon of the twentieth century.

John Nash

Another example of a disabled celebrity who has broken the mold is John Nash, an American mathematician whose life marked by acute paranoid schizophrenia became known to us thanks to the movie “A Beautiful Mind,” aware of his illness.

Nash fought against it and developed a successful academic career. He deserved to win the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1994.

Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking, a theoretical physicist, astrophysicist, cosmologist, and eminent scientist, was diagnosed with ALS at the age of 21: he was given 2 years to live but lived to be 76. He had been paralyzed from head to toe for more than three decades and used a voice synthesizer and a wheelchair to communicate, powered by gentle movements of his head and eyes.

None of this prevented him from developing his activity as an exemplary researcher and professor, and developing his personal life. The story of Stephen Hawkinh, who has become one of the most recognizable celebrities of our time, was brought to the cinema in the film “The Theory of Everything”.

Ahmet Vujicic

Vujicic was born limbless in 1982. She claims she was ridiculed and discriminated against as a child, attempted suicide, but gradually learned to see her own potential.

Nick Vujicic is another world famous disabled person and the founder of Life Without Limbs, an organization for people with physical disabilities. He currently gives motivational talks around the world, has written several books, and is a regular on talk show and TV shows. He became very famous when he starred in the touching short film “The Butterfly Circus”.

Andrea Boccelli

Boccelli was born with congenital glaucoma that left him partially blind, something that did not prevent him from taking piano lessons until the age of six. However, at the age of 12 he received a blow that completely blinded him at a football match.

Tenor, Italian-born musician, writer and music producer, Andrea Boccelli has sold more than 75 million records. Having an innate growth spirit, she decided to focus entirely on music, especially singing. He also studied Law. Boccelli has received numerous international prestige awards and even owns a beach bearing his name on the Adriatic.

Michael J. Fox

The protagonist of “Back to the Future” was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991 and at just 29 years old, her career was fully successful. She was told that she should step off the stage, but she did not stop being an actress.

Although it was not easy to admit his illness at first (he fell into depression and alcoholism), he has not stopped working in the last decade and his foundation has raised $233 million for Parkinson’s research. Michael J. Fox, after more than 25 years and in a very advanced stage of the disease, is in the spirit of development. continues to carry on.

Alex Zanardi

After racing in F1 for several years, Alex Zanardi was involved in an accident in 2001 in which both of his legs were amputated. Three years later, he hit the road again in a BMW for which he adapted some prosthetics.

He has won four World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) victories. However, in 2007 he decided to focus his sporting efforts on adapted cycling. The tricycle he rides was also designed by him.

Aaron Fotheringham

Aaron Fotheringham is not only one of the most inspiring disabled celebrities, but also one of the most famous skaters in the world. Aaron had several failed hip surgeries during his childhood that forced him to use a wheelchair permanently. Even so, he continued to practice a sport he was passionate about while adapting to his disability.

Aaron Fotheringham took a big leap with a 180º turn in 2005, and in 2006 he did the first somersault in wheelchair history. Since then, his successes and challenges have been an example to thousands of people.

In the hope that we can understand them, feel them and be inspired by them on this day, which is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, on December 3rd.