Blogger Rachelle Chapman, an athlete and advocate, 38, became paralyzed in 2010 after getting pushed into a pool by a best friend at her bachelorette party. “Yup, that happened,” she writes on TikTok.
Inspiring millions on her social media channels, the wife and mom to daughter Kaylee aims to live her best life, setting an example for her daughter and anyone facing life challenges that there is always hope to go on.
This week, Rachelle announced she is “excited to share that I’m an official partner of the @ReeveFoundation #OutdoorsForEveryone initiative,” she wrote on Instagram.
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A post shared by Rachelle Chapman | Blogger| (@rachelles_wheels)
The Reeve Foundation was founded by late icon Christopher Reeve, aka Superman, and his wife Dana, who died of cancer not even two years after her husband. In 1995, Reeve became paralyzed from the neck down in a tragic horse-riding accident and later died of heart failure in 2004. His dedication to helping people with similar injuries was monumental and the Reeve Foundation, including the advocacy work of Reeve’s three kids, continues his mission.
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Like Reeve, Rachelle sustained a spinal cord injury that tragic day. “Many people think that I would not want to be in water again, but I actually love the water!” she shared. “Each summer, I look forward to spending time outside with my family and friends.”
“As a wheelchair-user and water lover, I am a huge advocate for water safety and having fun!” Rachelle continued.
“The Reeve Foundation’s ‘Outdoors For Everyone’ initiative aims to make beaches, pools, and water activities more accessible to all. I try to find awesome activities that have equipment that would make it as safe as possible for me, including pool lifts, beach, wheelchairs, and some extra hands to help.”
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“Sometimes it’s not always very accessible and we will have to do a two-man lift to get into a pool safely. At the beach, my husband wheels me backwards if there’s no beach chairs available. Also, sometimes I overheat due to not being able to sweat and so getting in the water alleviates that… And it’s more fun!”
“I love that you find ways to continue doing all the things that you enjoy without missing a beat. Your daughter must love doing all those water sports with you, too!” one supporter wrote in the comments, while another person commented: “I love that you are doing all the things! You are such an inspiration to us all!”
A Tenacious & Cool Role Model
Perhaps most importantly, Rachelle is also an epic role model for her daughter, who she shows firsthand that she can conquer anything she sets her mind to. Encouraging the budding rockstar, who has recently taken up singing and performs in front of audiences, her mom takes her to kid-friendly metal concerts.
“Sometimes I miss her being a tiny toddler, but then I remember that we can totally rock out at concerts together now!” the proud parent wrote, posting a carousel of photos of the duo decked out for their night out, with her daughter sporting combat boots.
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A post shared by Rachelle Chapman | Blogger| (@rachelles_wheels)
“We had a total blast at the @olnband concert. They are a metal/emo cover band that we originally discovered because they do the hard-core rock version of Disney songs! There’s a little snippet of it at the end of this carousel! Definitely flipped through the pictures so you can see her rocking out and in her element.”
‘Endless Abilities’ – Check Out More Inspiring Stories on SNTV
In a similar inspiring story, Endless Abilitiestakes you on a cross-country journey with Zachary Bastian and his three best friends who are searching for adaptive sports for people with physical disabilities, while collecting inspiring stories from these individuals along the way.
Through their journey, they learned that sports can be the great equalizer, unifying people of all abilities across a level playing field.
SurvivorNetTV Presents: ‘Endless Abilities,’ a Story of Four Best Friends Who Drove Cross-Country in Search of Adaptive Sports
Zack and his friends wanted to know why there wasn’t more coverage of what people could do with disabilities in sports. They wanted to know why the Paralympics weren’t featured on mainstream TV. They wanted to be a part of a revolution, while fueling that revolution.
They put out an open call to hear from people with disabilities across the country with a goal of meeting up with everyone from rehabilitation patients to Paralympic legends pursuing adaptive sports. They met courageous adaptive skiers, hockey players, track athletes, swimmers, mountain-climbers and soccer players proving that sports can bring together people of all abilities.
The result had a snowball effect as Zack and his pals met more and more people who inspired and allowed him to join the challenge on theircross-country summer odyssey. The result was a mesmerizing journey that enriched their lives, and the lives of others, forever.
“This is the story of the people we met on the most incredible journey of our lives.”
SurvivorNetTV’s Resilient: A Motivational Story
Resilient is a story of Jerad Fischer, Lindsey Runkel, and Dan Soller – resilient warriors who refused to let injuries get in the ways of their dreams and passions.
SurvivorNetTV Presents: Resilient – Learning to Overcome
Runkel, Fischer, and Soller are all dedicated mountain bike riders, and despite having injuries including losing a leg and becoming paralyzed, they refuse to let that stop them from continuing to soar through the sky.
Instead of dwelling on the accidents, they’ve used them as motivation to keep pushing themselves while hitting the trails. Your life, goals, and passions don’t need to change after an injury – these three inspiring individuals (along with Rachelle!) are proof of that.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
